How Visalia is run
Who runs Visalia, 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 Visalia's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Visalia
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads with council approval. The five-member council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney.
What they are paid
- Six months' pay as severance if fired without cause
- CalPERS pension at the 3% at 60 formula; she pays 12% of salary toward it, including 4% of the city's share
- Vehicle allowance of $550 a month
- City-paid term life insurance equal to twice her base salary
- 160 hours of vacation and 80 hours of administrative leave a year
- $1,000 a year for community events and charitable contributions
- May join the CalPERS pension plan
- Members who decline CalPERS put 5.5% of pay into a 457 plan; the city adds 2%
- Cell phone reimbursement of $60 a month
Visalia city staff
737 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 256, Fire and paramedics 89. FY2026-27. Full-time positions in all funds, including 21 added in the FY2026-28 budget. The city also budgets 278 part-time employees. City of Visalia · Jun 15, 2026
The city posts salary ranges for every job title, plus the city manager's contract and the council's pay. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Visalia 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: $2.7M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an emergency reserve equal to 30% of general fund operating spending. The city holds it as committed fund balance ($24.0 million on June 30, 2025, about 27.5% of operating spending), not as unassigned money. City of Visalia · Dec 15, 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 (city's share of the 1% local rate)$50.4M · 45%
- Property tax$21.3M · 19%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$18.6M · 16%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$5.2M · 5%
- Business license tax$3.5M · 3%
- Franchise fees$3.4M · 3%
- Other (fees for service, grants, fines, interest, misc.)$10.4M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$49.7M · 45%
- Fire and paramedics$20.6M · 19%
- Parks and recreation$11.9M · 11%
- Transfers to other funds and debt payments (mostly convention center and animal control)$6.1M · 6%
- Capital projects$5.8M · 5%
- Planning and community preservation$4M · 4%
- Engineering and building$3.9M · 4%
- Public works$3.8M · 3%
- Other (administration, administrative services, finance and technology, non-departmental)$4.7M · 4%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% general levy, which Tulare County splits among local agencies; the city's budget says Visalia receives 11.57% of it. The rest is voter-approved school, college and hospital bonds. The city has no voter-approved debt rate of its own.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Visalia
- 1% general levy (shared by Tulare County, the city, schools and special districts)1 · 92%
- Visalia Unified School District bonds (2018)0.03 · 3%
- Visalia Unified School District bonds (2012)0.0246 · 2%
- Kaweah Delta hospital district bonds (2004)0.014918 · 1%
- College of the Sequoias bonds (2022)0.013 · 1%
- College of the Sequoias bonds (2008)0.002 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.084518
FY2026-27 rates for a home in the city of Visalia (Tulare County, tax rate area 006-008). County of Tulare Auditor-Controller
Who provides your services
Not everything in Visalia is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityVisalia Police DepartmentCity of Visalia
- FireThe cityVisalia Fire Department (six stations)City of Visalia
- Emergency medical responseThe cityVisalia Fire Department paramedic squadsCity of Visalia
- 911 dispatchThe cityVisalia Police Department Communications UnitCity of Visalia
- WaterPrivate companyCalifornia Water Service (Cal Water)City of Visalia
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Visalia Water Reclamation FacilityCity of Visalia
- Storm drainsThe cityCity of VisaliaCity of Visalia
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Visalia Parks & RecreationCity of Visalia
- TransitThe cityVisalia Transit (city-run)City of Visalia
- AirportThe cityVisalia Municipal Airport (city-run)City of Visalia
- Convention centerThe cityVisalia Convention Center (city-run)City of Visalia
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 | OrangeCA | VisaliaCA | EscondidoCA | PomonaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 141,063 | 148,302 | 152,196 | 154,680 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $326,400 | $268,462 | $326,480 | $352,820 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2022) | $14,957 | $26,941 | $9,828 |
| General fund per resident | $1,202 | $745 | $956 | $1,176 |
| Debt per resident | $1,970 | $587 | $1,364 | $2,350 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $481 | $1,090 | $1,865 | $205 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 4.2 |
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). Pomona pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Visalia publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 budget book is posted on the city's budget and financial reports page. City of Visalia
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2021 employment agreement and the 2026 Sixth Amendment are attached to council items in the city's Legistar system. City of Visalia
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote, e.g. the 4-0 vote adopting the FY2026-28 budget on June 15, 2026. City of Visalia
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted salary schedule lists council pay of $1,182.11 to $1,246.41 a month. City of Visalia
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Visalia
Questions to ask your council
- The emergency reserve held $24.0 million on June 30, 2025, about 27.5% of operating spending against the council's 30% goal. When will the reserve reach 30%?
- Police costs about $49.7 million of the $110.4 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How does the council plan to pay for the added officers as costs rise?
- The five-year forecast shows surpluses but assumes no recession. What would the city cut first if sales tax, now about $50.4 million a year, fell?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council sets budget goals in the fall (Nov. 3, 2025 for this budget), staff presents the proposed two-year budget in late spring (June 1, 2026), and the council holds a public hearing and adopts it before July 1; the FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 budget was adopted June 15, 2026. See who is running for council
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