Overview
Santa Ana — the Orange County seat, 27.2 square miles, population 310,227 at the 2020 census — approved a balanced FY 2025-26 budget of $778.37 million. The General Fund budget is $424.2 million, funding police and fire protection, libraries, park programs, planning and building services, code enforcement, public works, and economic development. A $58 million capital improvement plan supports road and traffic safety projects, athletic improvements, and other infrastructure upgrades. The city preserved an 18% operating reserve of recurring General Fund revenues.
Sources: City of Santa Ana, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2025; City of Santa Ana, Fiscal Year 2025-26 City Budget page.
At a glance — FY 2025-26 adopted
Sources: City of Santa Ana, FY 2025 ACFR; City of Santa Ana, FY 2025-26 budget page.
Adopted budget, FY 2025-26
The ACFR states the adopted budget in rounded millions; the city’s adoption notice gives the exact total. Both are shown, labeled by source, and are consistent within rounding ($778.4 million rounded vs. $778.37 million exact).
| Total budget (ACFR, rounded) | $778.4 million |
| Total budget (city adoption notice, exact) | $778.37 million |
| General Fund budget (ACFR, rounded) | $424.2 million |
| Capital improvement plan (ACFR, rounded) | $58 million |
| Operating reserve (ACFR, June 30, 2025 unassigned accounts) | $73.9 million |
| Unallocated, available for one-time spending (ACFR) | $23.2 million |
Sources: City of Santa Ana, FY 2025 ACFR, Management’s Discussion and Analysis; City of Santa Ana, FY 2025-26 budget page.
General Fund outlook
The ACFR’s outlook for FY 2025-26 puts projected General Fund revenue at $413.8 million, a $7.3 million (1.5%) increase over FY 2024-25. Property tax is expected to generate $95.9 million, up 3.3% from the prior year — slower than the roughly 4.6% average growth of prior years, which the ACFR attributes to higher interest rates and fewer home sales. Sales tax revenue dropped, as both Bradley-Burns and the Measure X local add-on tax were affected by consumer adjustments to higher prices and financing costs, and jail revenue estimates decreased on staffing issues and deferred maintenance. The ACFR flags pension commitments through CalPERS as a major obligation, with FY 2024-25 investment returns of an estimated 11.6% not reflected in contribution requirements until about two years later.
| Projected General Fund revenue, FY 2025-26 | $413.8 million |
| Increase over FY 2024-25 | $7.3 million (1.5%) |
| Expected property tax, FY 2025-26 | $95.9 million (+3.3%) |
| Operating reserve target | 18% |
Source: City of Santa Ana, FY 2025 ACFR, Management’s Discussion and Analysis.
Elected officials
As named in the FY 2025 ACFR’s directory of city officials. No contact details are shown because none are given in the cited document.
| Mayor | Valerie Amezcua |
| Mayor Pro Tem | Benjamin Vazquez |
| Councilmember | Phil Bacerra |
| Councilmember | Johnathan Ryan Hernandez |
| Councilmember | Jessie Lopez |
| Councilmember | David Penaloza |
| Councilmember | Thai Viet Phan |
| City Manager | Alvaro Nuñez |
| City Clerk | Jennifer L. Hall |
| City Attorney | Sonia R. Carvalho |
Source: City of Santa Ana, FY 2025 ACFR, directory of city officials.
Sources & notes
- Sources used: City of Santa Ana, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 (transmittal letter December 12, 2025; audited by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, unmodified opinion). FY 2025 ACFR. City of Santa Ana, Fiscal Year 2025-26 City Budget page (Adopted Budget Book, budget ordinance, program sheets, and adopted CIP listed June 17, 2025). Budget page.
- What is not claimed: the Adopted Budget Book PDF itself was not text-retrieved, so no fund-level, department-level, revenue-source, or debt breakdown is shown; ACFR figures are rounded to $0.1 million as published; the $424.2 million General Fund budget and the $413.8 million projected General Fund revenue are different measures and are not reconciled here; no sum-check is possible on rounded headline figures, and none is claimed.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified Santa Ana palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a city color.