How San Marcos is run
Who runs San Marcos, 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 San Marcos's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs San Marcos
A city manager hired by the council runs city departments day to day. The council of a mayor and six members, all elected citywide, sets policy, passes the budget and tax rate, and hires the manager.
What they are paid
- Severance: 12 months' base salary in a lump sum if fired without cause
- Medical, dental, life and vision coverage at the active-employee rate for up to 5 years after leaving (without-cause firing or resignation)
- City pays both the city's and her own TMRS pension contributions
- City pays 4% of base salary into a 401(a) retirement plan
- Car allowance at the city's highest tier, plus a phone or phone allowance
- Term life insurance at 2 times base salary
- $450 a month of the pay is set aside for buying private health insurance, if the member wants it
- Option to take a taxable $1,125 a month expense stipend without receipts (raised from $625 by Ord. 2025-03)
- Travel and other expense account: $9,500 a year per council member, $15,500 for the mayor (Ord. 2025-03)
- Shared Special Council Travel account of $15,000 a year, used only with council approval
San Marcos city staff
988 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 186, Fire (incl. fire marshal) 109, EMS (new) 54. FY2026-27. Up from 935.93 in the FY2026 estimate, mostly from 54 positions in the new city EMS department. City of San Marcos · Sep 15, 2026
The budget lists positions by department. The City Charter requires the salary range of each city position to be posted on the city website; individual employee pay is not posted. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is San Marcos 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
In February 2026 the city's general fund forecast showed spending above revenue by $4M in FY2027, growing to $10M in FY2028, $12M in FY2029 and $15M in FY2030. Staff closed the FY2027 gap with a retirement incentive, flat department budgets and managed hiring, and said in September that the budget is balanced with an improved outlook. The adopted budget materials do not include an updated multi-year forecast. City of San Marcos · Feb 26, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $13.8M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: General fund balance should be at least 25% of yearly operating spending (about three months), with a goal of 30%. The city meets it with a separate emergency reserve of $26.7M (assigned), so the unassigned balance here is on top of that. The city meets this target. City of San Marcos · Mar 25, 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 tax$50.5M · 37%
- Sales tax$40.5M · 30%
- Franchise fees (incl. city utilities)$14.6M · 11%
- Transfers in from other funds$13.6M · 10%
- Licenses and permits$4.6M · 3%
- Miscellaneous revenue$3.5M · 3%
- Ambulance (EMS) fees$3.2M · 2%
- Other (interest, fines, grants, service charges)$5.2M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$29.3M · 21%
- Citywide costs and transfers (Special Services)$26.1M · 19%
- Fire and fire marshal$20.1M · 14%
- Streets, traffic and engineering$12.1M · 9%
- City administration (manager, council, clerk, finance, HR, legal, communications)$11.9M · 9%
- Emergency medical services (new)$9.1M · 7%
- Parks, recreation and pools$7.3M · 5%
- Other (library, planning, facilities, animal services, court, other)$23.5M · 17%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a San Marcos homeowner in San Marcos CISD pays, about 32 cents goes to the city, 19 cents to Hays County and 49 cents to the school district. Exemptions, such as the homestead exemption, differ by taxing unit, so the split on a given bill can vary.
32¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of San Marcos
- San Marcos ISD (operations)0.6969 · 34%
- San Marcos ISD (debt)0.3183 · 15%
- City of San Marcos (operations)0.4868 · 24%
- City of San Marcos (debt)0.1647 · 8%
- Hays County (incl. road and bridge)0.3999 · 19%
- Total ($ per $100 of value)2.0666
2025 tax-year rates for a home in the city of San Marcos in San Marcos CISD (Hays County). Texas Comptroller
See what a San Marcos home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in San Marcos is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySan Marcos Police DepartmentCity of San Marcos
- FireThe citySan Marcos Fire DepartmentCity of San Marcos
- Ambulance (EMS)The citySan Marcos EMS (city department)The city is taking over ambulance service from San Marcos Hays County EMS. The FY2027 budget funds 54 EMS positions and $9.1M from October 1, 2026.City of San Marcos · Apr 7, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe citySan Marcos Police Department emergency communicationsDispatches police, fire and EMS inside the city.City of San Marcos
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of San Marcos Water/Wastewater UtilityCity of San Marcos
- ElectricityThe cityCity of San Marcos Electric UtilityCity-owned electric utility. It pays the general fund a franchise fee, about $6M in FY2027.City of San Marcos · Sep 15, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorTexas Disposal Systems, under city contractThe city bids out residential collection and passes the hauler's per-customer fee to residents. Contract extended five years in October 2024.City of San Marcos · Oct 15, 2024
- SchoolsSeparate districtSan Marcos Consolidated ISDTexas Comptroller
- LibraryThe citySan Marcos Public LibraryCity of San Marcos
- ParksThe cityCity of San Marcos Parks and RecreationCity of San Marcos
- City streetsThe cityCity of San Marcos Public Works (Streets)City of San Marcos
- TransitThe cityCity of San Marcos TransitCity of San Marcos
- AirportThe citySan Marcos Regional Airport (city-owned)City of San Marcos
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 | PflugervilleTX | KyleTX | San MarcosTX | BaytownTX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 68,316 | 69,917 | 77,830 | 86,561 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $270,758 | $288,699 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | No salary | $12,000 | $17,400 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,005 | $1,020 | $1,792 | $1,779 |
| Debt per resident | $16,465 | $4,007 | $7,178 | $3,263 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $236 | $121 | $599 | $759 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 6.6 | 12.7 | 11.6 |
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). Pflugerville pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What San Marcos publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Audited financial report filed on timeFY2025 report (year ended Sept. 30, 2025) has an auditor's opinion dated March 25, 2026, 176 days after year end, within 180 days. City of San Marcos · Mar 25, 2026
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineFY2027 budget book is on the city website; the adopting ordinance and personnel schedule are on the council agenda site. City of San Marcos
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineAugust 2025 restated employment agreement and severance agreement are attached to Res. 2025-144R on the council agenda site. City of San Marcos · Aug 19, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe Legistar agenda site lists each member's vote on each item; minutes also show roll-call votes. City of San Marcos
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil videos are on the Granicus archive. Minutes are posted as attachments when the council approves them at a later meeting. City of San Marcos
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCity Code Sec. 2.024 and Ord. 2025-03 state monthly pay, health allowance, stipend and expense amounts for the mayor and council. City of San Marcos · Mar 18, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe charter requires salary ranges for each position on the city website. The city does not post pay by employee. City of San Marcos
Questions to ask your council
- The February 2026 forecast showed general fund spending above revenue by $10M in FY2028, rising to $15M by FY2030. What is the plan for FY2028?
- The new city EMS department is budgeted at $9.1M in FY2027, with $3.2M in expected ambulance fees. How will the difference be paid for in later years?
- The council raised the city manager's base salary by $8,920.70 in October 2025, but no public document states the new total. Will the city publish her current base pay?
- Ord. 2025-03 raised the optional council expense stipend to $1,125 a month. How many members take the stipend, and what did council expenses total last year?
The fiscal year starts October 1. For FY2027, budget workshops ran from February to June, the proposed budget was posted August 12 and submitted August 18, hearings were held September 1 and 15, and the council adopted the budget and tax rate on September 15, 2026. See who is running for council
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