How Yorba Linda is run
Who runs Yorba Linda, 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 Yorba Linda's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Yorba Linda
A City Manager appointed by the council runs the city's day-to-day administration. The five council members are elected citywide to four-year terms and each year pick one of themselves as mayor. The council also appoints the City Attorney. Police and fire services come from the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Orange County Fire Authority.
What they are paid
- Six months' base salary as severance (or the months left in the term, if fewer), plus continued health benefits, if fired without cause
- $250 a month for a cell phone and technology, plus a monthly car allowance
- Up to 100 hours of administrative leave each fiscal year, which cannot be carried over
- Up to $25,000 for moving or temporary housing if he moves to the city or within 10 miles of City Hall
- Five-year term, from Oct. 13, 2025 to Oct. 13, 2030
- No city health, dental or vision coverage (Measure JJ)
- No CalPERS pension for members who took office after Dec. 3, 2014; a part-time 457 plan instead
Yorba Linda city staff
172 full-time-equivalent positions, including Parks and recreation 56, Library 37. FY2026-27. City of Yorba Linda · Jun 17, 2025
The city posts a salary schedule with pay ranges for every job title and links to its pay data on the State Controller's website. We did not pull pay bands from that database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Yorba Linda 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: $327,321 (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an operating reserve equal to 50% of the general fund spending budget, excluding transfers: 40% for emergencies and 10% for economic contingencies. The city holds this as a committed reserve ($23.8 million at June 30, 2025), separate from the unassigned balance. The city meets this target. City of Yorba Linda · Jun 2, 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$28.4M · 56%
- Sales taxes$8.8M · 17%
- Franchise fees (electric, cable, trash and other utilities)$2.6M · 5%
- Charges to other city funds (library, landscape district)$1.9M · 4%
- Recreation fees$1.9M · 4%
- Building permits$1.9M · 4%
- Investment income$800,000 · 2%
- Other (transfers in, hotel and property transfer taxes, business licenses, rentals, grants, other fees)$4.2M · 8%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Orange County Sheriff's contract)$16.4M · 33%
- Parks and recreation$10.3M · 21%
- Administration (council, manager, clerk, IT, personnel, risk management)$10.2M · 20%
- Public works$6.2M · 12%
- Community development (building, planning, code enforcement)$4M · 8%
- Transfers to other funds (landscape district, SB2 housing fund)$1.5M · 3%
- Finance$1.5M · 3%
- Other (city attorney and non-departmental, less expected savings from vacancies)$203,788 · 0%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% base levy that the state constitution caps and the county splits among local agencies. The city's budget says the city receives about 8% of the property taxes collected inside its limits. The city charges no voter-approved tax rate of its own. Parts of the city sit in other school and college districts with different bond rates.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Yorba Linda
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and special districts)1 · 94%
- Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District bonds0.03409 · 3%
- North Orange County Community College District bonds0.01735 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.05844
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Yorba Linda in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified and North Orange County college districts. City of Yorba Linda · Jun 2, 2026
See what a Yorba Linda home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Yorba Linda is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyOrange County Sheriff's Department (city contract)City of Yorba Linda
- FireSeparate districtOrange County Fire Authority (city contract)City of Yorba Linda
- Ambulance transportPrivate companyEmergency Ambulance Service, Inc.City of Yorba Linda
- SewerSeparate districtYorba Linda Water DistrictYorba Linda Water District
- LibraryThe cityYorba Linda Public Library (city-owned)City of Yorba Linda
- Animal control and shelterThe countyOrange County Animal Care (city agreement)City of Yorba Linda
- Golf courseContractorKemper Sports Management, private operator of the city-owned Black Gold Golf ClubCity of Yorba Linda
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 | DavisCA | BrentwoodCA | Yorba LindaCA | Union CityCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 66,002 | 66,070 | 66,190 | 66,665 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $288,453 | $304,515 | $315,000 | $352,873 |
| Council member pay | $16,392 | $13,807 | $6,000 | $25,500 |
| General fund per resident | $1,471 | $1,285 | $761 | $1,336 |
| Debt per resident | $1,388 | $2,201 | $183 | $1,590 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,433 | $779 | $301 | $1,657 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.8 | 5.3 | 2.6 | 4.1 |
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). Brentwood and Yorba Linda and Union City pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlinePeter Grant's 2025 employment agreement is linked from the city's Compensation & Benefits page. City of Yorba Linda · Sep 16, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Yorba Linda · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's eScribe meeting portal posts agendas, minutes and video for council meetings. City of Yorba Linda · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentResolution 2017-5429 sets council pay at a $500 monthly stipend, linked from the city's Compensation & Benefits page. City of Yorba Linda · Apr 4, 2017
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Yorba Linda · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $327,321 in June 2025, with $23.8 million held as a committed operating reserve. Under what conditions would the council draw on that reserve?
- Police services from the Orange County Sheriff's Department are budgeted at $16.4 million in FY2026-27, the largest general fund cost. How will the sheriff's new labor contracts affect later years?
- The city's CalPERS plan was 81.1% funded in June 2025, with about $20.0 million unfunded. Will the city keep making extra payments each year?
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