How Vacaville is run
Who runs Vacaville, 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 Vacaville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Vacaville
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
- Five-year contract to June 29, 2030, then renews a year at a time unless the council gives 90 days' notice
- Six months' base pay plus medical coverage as severance if fired without cause (nine months in the first year)
- City pays 9% of base pay into deferred compensation when she contributes 4%
- $400 a month car allowance
- 25 vacation days a year
Vacaville city staff
668 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 193, Fire 120, Public Works 104, Utilities (water and sewer) 99. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time positions, down from 672 in FY2024-25. Some positions are held vacant to save money. City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
The budget lists the pay range for every job title, and the city posts its salary schedule online. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Vacaville 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 expects an $11M gap between ongoing revenues and spending in FY2026-27, the third year in a row it uses reserves. The reserve is projected to fall from about $43M (28% of spending) to $31M (20%) by June 2027 and below policy in FY2027-28. More than $9M a year of cost cuts stay in place. The council put a one-cent sales tax, Measure V (about $28M a year), on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $38.3M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund operating reserve of two to three months (16% to 25%) of general fund operating spending, with a target of 20%, reviewed each year with the budget. Surplus in years the target is met goes 35% to infrastructure, 30% to community programs, 20% to internal service funds and 15% to unfunded liabilities. City of Vacaville · Mar 31, 2026
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 taxes (incl. in-lieu vehicle fees and former redevelopment share)$48.6M · 30%
- Sales tax$27.6M · 17%
- Measure M sales tax (3/4 cent)$22.2M · 13%
- Charges for services (recreation, ambulance, police and fire fees)$13.5M · 8%
- Transfers in (mostly community facilities district taxes)$11.4M · 7%
- Excise taxes (Measures I and G)$9.8M · 6%
- Paramedic tax$7M · 4%
- Franchise fees$5.6M · 3%
- Other (hotel tax, transfer tax, business license, state aid, medical transport programs, interest, cell tower leases)$7.8M · 5%
- From reserves$11.1M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$61.8M · 37%
- Fire and ambulance$50.1M · 30%
- Public Works (incl. park maintenance)$17.2M · 10%
- Parks and Recreation$11.9M · 7%
- Transfers to other funds$8.3M · 5%
- Finance$6.1M · 4%
- Non-departmental$5.1M · 3%
- Other (city manager and clerk, attorney, HR, IT, council, economic development), less $6.8M charged to other funds$8.8M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
These are the county's rates for Vacaville's main tax rate area. Bond rates differ by tax rate area, so homes in other school districts pay somewhat different totals. The city's budget says the city gets about 18 cents of each dollar of the 1% levy. The county lists the city's own add-on as city debt service.
3¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Vacaville
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and other agencies)1 · 87%
- Vacaville Unified School District bonds0.069449 · 6%
- City of Vacaville (voter-approved levy)0.03035 · 3%
- Solano Community College bonds0.024538 · 2%
- Solano County Water Agency (State Water Project)0.02 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.144337
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Vacaville (Solano County tax rate area 6000). Solano County Auditor-Controller · Oct 16, 2025
See what a Vacaville house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Vacaville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityVacaville Police DepartmentCity of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- FireThe cityVacaville Fire DepartmentCity of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityVacaville Fire DepartmentAlso provides ambulance transport across about 160 square miles of nearby unincorporated areas.City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Vacaville Utilities DepartmentCity of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Vacaville Utilities Department (Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant)City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- Public transitThe cityCity Coach (city-run bus service)City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Vacaville Public WorksCity of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Vacaville Parks and RecreationCity of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
- LibraryThe countySolano County LibraryVacaville Cultural Center and Vacaville Town Square branches.Solano County Library
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 | Daly CityCA | VacavilleCA | HesperiaCA | San MateoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 101,898 | 103,195 | 103,349 | 104,020 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $490,659 | $301,000 | $280,686 | $380,120 |
| Council member pay | $28,676 | $9,948 | $3,600 | $14,400 |
| General fund per resident | $1,318 | $1,641 | $583 | $1,833 |
| Debt per resident | $20 | $900 | $302 | $7,373 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,300 | $2,255 | $347 | $2,644 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 6.1 |
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). Hesperia and San Mateo pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Vacaville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 budget document is posted on the city's financial reports page. The council adopted the budget on June 23, 2026. City of Vacaville
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2025 employment agreement is attached to the May 13, 2025 council agenda item in the city's Granicus meeting archive. City of Vacaville · May 13, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's yes or no vote on split votes, e.g. a 4-3 vote at the April 28, 2026 meeting. City of Vacaville · Apr 28, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's Granicus archive posts video, agendas and minutes for council meetings. City of Vacaville
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's election page states $829 a month for the mayor and council members, and the budget's salary listing shows $9,948 a year. City of Vacaville
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe budget includes a salary listing with the pay range for every job title, effective July 1, 2026. City of Vacaville · Jun 23, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget plans to draw about $11.1 million from general fund reserves, the third year in a row the city has used reserves. What changes if Measure V does not pass on Nov. 3, 2026?
- The reserve is projected to reach 20% of spending by June 30, 2027 and fall below the city's policy in FY2027-28. Which steps would the council take first if that happens?
- The FY2024-25 audit report was dated March 31, 2026, nine months after the fiscal year ended. Will the FY2025-26 report be finished sooner?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Budget work begins in January with a midyear update (Feb. 24, 2026 this year). The council held a budget overview on May 12 and study sessions on May 26 and June 9, and adopted the FY2026-27 budget on June 23, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Vacaville next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
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?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.