How Santee is run
Who runs Santee, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Santee's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Santee
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and hires the department heads. The council of five, a mayor elected directly and four members elected by district, passes ordinances, adopts the budget and appoints the city manager, city attorney and city clerk.
What they are paid
- City deferred compensation contribution of $20,000 a year
- Car allowance of $500 a month
- Technology allowance of $100 a month
- 80 hours of administrative leave a year, plus 25 vacation days a year
- Severance of 12 months' base pay if fired without cause
- Car allowances for the mayor and four council members: $34,200 budgeted in FY2026-27
- Technology allowances: $5,400 budgeted in FY2026-27
- Health insurance: $111,950 budgeted in FY2026-27 for the council budget
Santee city staff
166 full-time-equivalent positions, including Fire and life safety 74. FY2026-27. City of Santee · May 28, 2026
The salary schedules adopted with the budget list the pay range of every city job title. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Santee in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $20.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: A council policy adopted June 26, 2024 sets a minimum general fund reserve of 22% of annual operating expenditures. The FY2026-27 budget projects an available reserve of $14.9M at June 30, 2027, or 22.44% of operating spending. The city meets this target. City of Santee · Dec 22, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax (including property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees)$29M · 43%
- Sales tax (after a sales tax sharing payment of $2.65M)$18.2M · 27%
- Transfer from the EMS fund (repays ambulance and paramedic costs)$7.1M · 10%
- Franchise fees$4.4M · 6%
- Charges for services$2.7M · 4%
- Use of money and property$1.5M · 2%
- Licenses and permits$1.3M · 2%
- Other (fire benefit fee, hotel tax, state and federal aid, fines, landfill fees, other)$3.9M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire and emergency medical services$23.5M · 35%
- Law enforcement (Sheriff's contract)$19.1M · 29%
- General government (council, attorney, manager, IT, clerk, HR, finance)$8.7M · 13%
- Community services (maintenance, parks, fleet, recreation, events)$8.1M · 12%
- Planning and building$3.5M · 5%
- Engineering$3.4M · 5%
- Animal control (San Diego Humane Society contract)$496,740 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's part is its share of the 1% base levy, about 15 cents of each property-tax dollar in this area. Tax rate area 16007 has the highest assessed value in the city. Other areas of the city can have different rates.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Santee
- County, schools, state school fund (ERAF) and other agencies (share of the 1% levy)0.8205 · 70%
- City of Santee (share of the 1% levy)0.1795 · 15%
- Grossmont Union High School District bonds0.06293 · 5%
- Santee School District bonds0.04395 · 4%
- Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District bonds0.03752 · 3%
- Grossmont Healthcare District bonds0.01989 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District debt0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.17129
FY2025-26 rates for a Santee home in tax rate area 16007 (San Diego County). San Diego County Auditor and Controller
See what a Santee house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Santee is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countySan Diego County Sheriff's Office (city contract)Contract cost is $18.9M in FY2026-27; the five-year contract expires at the end of FY2026-27City of Santee · Jun 24, 2026
- FireThe citySantee Fire Department (Fire & Life Safety)Opened a third station, Interim Fire Station 20, in FY2025-26City of Santee · May 28, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtPadre Dam Municipal Water DistrictCity of Santee · Dec 22, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtPadre Dam Municipal Water DistrictCity of Santee · Dec 22, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorWaste Management (city franchise)City of Santee · Dec 22, 2025
- Electricity and gasPrivate companySDG&ECity of Santee
- LibraryThe countySan Diego County LibrarySan Diego County Auditor and Controller
- Animal control and shelterContractorSan Diego Humane Society (city contract)City of Santee · May 28, 2026
- Parks and streetsThe cityCity of SanteeCity of Santee · Dec 22, 2025
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | CupertinoCA | SanteeCA | San RafaelCA | BeaumontCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 59,765 | 59,812 | 59,890 | 59,896 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $336,810 | $298,700 | $354,065 | $332,800 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2017) | $24,519 | $18,192 | $19,200 |
| General fund per resident | $1,838 | $1,114 | $1,933 | $1,262 |
| Debt per resident | $199 | $78 | $714 | $2,368 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $709 | $909 | $1,414 | $429 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 2.8 | 7.0 | 4.7 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Cupertino and Santee and Beaumont pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Santee publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineAdopted budgets for FY2023-24 through FY2025-26 are posted. For FY2026-27 only the proposed budget was posted when we checked. City of Santee
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Santee · Sep 10, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's vote by name, e.g. the vote appointing the city manager on September 10, 2025. City of Santee · Oct 22, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe agendas page lists council agendas, recordings and minutes, and meetings air on SanteeTV. City of Santee
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe salary schedule adopted with the FY2026-27 budget states monthly and yearly pay for the mayor and council members. City of Santee · Jun 24, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Santee · Jun 24, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Law enforcement, mostly the Sheriff's contract, takes $19.1 million of the FY2026-27 general fund budget, and the contract expires at the end of the fiscal year, with larger increases expected. How large an increase does the long-range forecast assume?
Help decide what comes next
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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