How Tracy is run
Who runs Tracy, 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 Tracy's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Tracy
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. The council of five, a mayor and four members, passes ordinances, adopts the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney.
What they are paid
- Car allowance of $700 a month
- Same benefits as city department heads under the Department Head Compensation and Benefit Plan
- CalPERS pension, with the city paying its required contributions
- At-will: either party may end the agreement with written notice
- Travel budget of $20,000 per council member and $30,000 for the mayor in FY2026-27 ($110,000 total)
Tracy city staff
737 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 191, Fire authority 113. FY2025. City of Tracy · Dec 18, 2025
The city posts a master salary schedule with the pay range of every job title, and the city manager's and city attorney's contracts. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Tracy 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.
The city's own outlook
The city's April 2026 five-year forecast showed a $4.7M general fund gap in FY2026-27 and break-even budgets through FY2030-31. The city expects to lose about $10.5M a year in sales tax when a fulfillment center reopens as a distribution center. Because of the expected sales tax drop, the FY2026-27 budget removed most of the council's fiscal sustainability set-asides. City of Tracy · Jun 2, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep reserves equal to 30% of the general fund's operating budget and recurring transfers: 17% for emergencies (committed) and 13% for economic and budget stability (assigned). These reserves sit outside the unassigned balance. The city meets this target. City of Tracy · Dec 18, 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
- Sales tax$76M · 48%
- Property tax$38.1M · 24%
- Measure V half-cent sales tax$12.1M · 8%
- Charges for services$10.9M · 7%
- Interest and use of money$6M · 4%
- Licenses and permits$5.2M · 3%
- Business license tax$4M · 3%
- Other (hotel tax, cannabis tax, state and other agencies, fines)$5.8M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$57.8M · 38%
- Parks, recreation and community services$21.6M · 14%
- Fire (city share of the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority)$21.4M · 14%
- Transfers to capital projects and other funds$12.4M · 8%
- City Manager’s Office$10.7M · 7%
- Public works$9.3M · 6%
- Finance$7.6M · 5%
- Other (debt payments, HR, city attorney, economic development, council)$12.4M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city has no voter-approved debt rate of its own. Its share of the 1% base levy is about 17 cents of each base-levy dollar, or about 16 cents of each total property-tax dollar here. Homes in the Jefferson, Lammersville or Banta school areas pay those districts' bond rates instead. For 2026-27 the county added a new Tracy school facilities bond (Measure O, 0.048%).
16¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Tracy
- County, schools, state school fund and other agencies (share of the 1% levy)0.83097 · 77%
- City of Tracy (share of the 1% levy)0.16903 · 16%
- Tracy Unified School Facilities Improvement District 3 (2014 bond)0.0364 · 3%
- Tracy Unified School Facilities Improvement District 3 (2008 bond)0.021 · 2%
- San Joaquin Delta College District bonds0.0122 · 1%
- Tracy Unified School District bonds0.0092 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0788
FY2024-25 rates for a Tracy home in the Tracy Unified School District area (San Joaquin County). City of Tracy · Dec 18, 2025
See what a Tracy house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Tracy is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityTracy Police DepartmentCity of Tracy · Dec 18, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Tracy UtilitiesCity water treatment plant and wellsCity of Tracy
- SewerThe cityCity of Tracy UtilitiesCity wastewater treatment plantCity of Tracy
- Storm drainsThe cityCity of TracyCity of Tracy · Dec 18, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorTracy Delta Solid Waste Management (city franchise)City of Tracy
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Tracy Parks, Recreation and Community Services84 parks, Legacy Fields Sports Complex, the Grand Theatre and a senior centerCity of Tracy · Dec 18, 2025
- Transit and airportThe cityCity of Tracy (city bus service and municipal airport)City of Tracy · Dec 18, 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 | MercedCA | TracyCA | VistaCA | NorwalkCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 99,435 | 99,705 | 101,365 | 101,453 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $250,080 | $369,540 | $325,944 | $366,324 |
| Council member pay | $6,000 | $22,800 | $38,352 | $11,411 |
| General fund per resident | $689 | $1,535 | $1,300 | $880 |
| Debt per resident | $176 | $1,092 | $943 | $272 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,186 | $1,255 | $773 | $463 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 7.4 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
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). Vista and Norwalk pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Tracy publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe budget page links the adopted FY2026-27 budget book and a Budget in Brief. City of Tracy
- Partly: City manager's contract findable onlineThe HR page posts the 2024 pay amendment. The 2023 agreement's terms are summarized in the Dec. 19, 2023 council packet. City of Tracy
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Tracy
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeetings stream live and recordings are posted; agendas and minutes are online. City of Tracy
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe master salary schedule lists monthly pay of $2,100.02 for the mayor and $1,900.02 for council members. City of Tracy · Jul 7, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Tracy · Jul 7, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city expects to lose about $10.5 million a year in sales tax when a fulfillment center reopens as a distribution center. Which services or projects would change if sales tax keeps falling?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $4.96 million at June 30, 2025, apart from the 30% emergency and stability reserves. How much cushion does the council want beyond the 30% target?
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $125.2 million short of full funding at June 30, 2025. The FY2026-27 budget removed most extra pension prefunding. What is the plan to pay down that gap?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget is $153.0 million including transfers. Police take $57.8 million. How will the new police substation's operating costs be paid?
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