How Solana Beach is run
Who runs Solana Beach, 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 Solana Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Solana Beach
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- Six months' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- Car allowance of $600 a month
- Technology allowance of $75 a month
- CalPERS pension at 2% at 62; she pays the employee share
- 120 hours of management leave a year, and may cash out up to 120 vacation hours a year
Solana Beach city staff
78 full-time-equivalent positions, including Fire 19, Marine safety (lifeguards) 12. FY2024-25. Includes firefighters and lifeguards. Police are county sheriff's deputies under contract and are not counted. City of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 2025
The city posts salary schedules with pay ranges for every job class, the City Manager and the council. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Solana Beach 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: $13.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy aims to keep at least 20% of the general fund operating budget, including transfers, for significant emergencies. The council raised the goal from 17% to 20% in June 2025. The budget counts a $4.4M designation for contingencies as part of the unassigned balance. City of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 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$11.4M · 41%
- Sales tax$4.6M · 17%
- Hotel and vacation rental tax$2.7M · 10%
- Motor vehicle in-lieu (state)$2.5M · 9%
- Licenses and permits$1.1M · 4%
- Service charges$1.1M · 4%
- Franchise fees$922,959 · 3%
- Other (fire benefit fees, fines, interest, other)$3.4M · 12%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries$9.7M · 35%
- Supplies and services$6.2M · 22%
- Sheriff's law enforcement contract$5.3M · 19%
- Benefits$4.8M · 17%
- Internal service charges$1.6M · 6%
- Transfers to other funds$239,701 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The basic 1% levy is split among the county, schools, the city and districts. About 17 cents of each dollar of that levy goes to the city. Voter-approved school, college and water debt adds about 6 cents per $100. Rates for a given property can differ.
16¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Solana Beach
- City of Solana Beach (its share of the 1% levy, incl. lighting and improvement districts)0.1735 · 16%
- School districts (share of the 1% levy)0.4029 · 38%
- San Diego County (share of the 1% levy)0.16749 · 16%
- State education shift, ERAF (share of the 1% levy)0.1255 · 12%
- Community college (share of the 1% levy)0.1049 · 10%
- Santa Fe Irrigation District and water authority (share of the 1% levy)0.02533 · 2%
- Other districts (share of the 1% levy)0.0004 · <1%
- Solana Beach School District bonds (Prop JJ)0.0225 · 2%
- San Dieguito Union High bonds (Prop AA)0.0207 · 2%
- MiraCosta College bonds0.01148 · 1%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (per $100 of taxable value)1.06164
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Solana Beach (San Diego County). City of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Solana Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorSan Diego County SheriffCity of Solana Beach
- SewerThe cityCity of Solana BeachTreatment at the San Elijo plant, co-owned with the Cardiff Sanitation District.City of Solana Beach · Jun 18, 2025
- WaterSeparate districtSanta Fe Irrigation District and Olivenhain Municipal Water DistrictCity of Solana Beach
- Trash and recyclingContractorEDCO Waste and Recycling Services (franchise)City of Solana Beach
- Streets and parksThe cityCity of Solana BeachCity of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 2025
- Animal controlContractorSan Diego Humane SocietyCity of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 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 | LarkspurCA | MendotaCA | Solana BeachCA | Grass ValleyCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,650 | 12,805 | 12,941 | 13,238 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $291,838 | $229,861 | $286,000 | $279,500 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $12,384 | $6,600 |
| General fund per resident | $2,185 | $749 | $2,139 | $1,507 |
| Debt per resident | $2,935 | $337 | $1,536 | $1,823 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $336 | $10 | $1,580 | $767 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.8 | — | 6.0 | 9.3 |
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). Larkspur and Solana Beach pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Solana Beach publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Solana Beach · Jun 18, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Solana Beach · Jun 18, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Solana Beach
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentA salary schedule lists $1,152 a month for the mayor and $1,032 for each councilmember. City of Solana Beach · Dec 12, 2024
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts salary schedules with pay ranges for job classes, including management and the City Manager. City of Solana Beach
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $13.1M at June 30, 2025. How much does the council want to keep above its 20% emergency reserve goal?
- The Sheriff's contract is $5.3M of $27.7M in planned FY2026-27 general fund spending. How does the council review what it gets for that cost?
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