Overview
Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County. Its FY2026-27 budget is presented as a one-page fund-level table, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027.” The table’s printed grand totals are revenue $24,217,683 and expense $28,522,729, with transfers in and out of $11,651,133 each. The General Fund (1000) shows revenue $8,858,055 against expense $2,889,286. Police, fire, and community services sit in separate funds (1009, 1010, 1011) fed by transfers, so the General Fund expense line alone is not full public-safety spending. The most recent audit in hand covers the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024: General Fund revenues $9,779,433, expenditures $8,365,686, ending balance $8,330,892.
Sources: City of Susanville, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027” (one-page fund-level table), and Annual Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 — both received via public-records reply (request closed). See Sources & notes for the disclosures on these documents.
At a glance — FY 2026-27
No figures match that search.
Tax-dollar calculator: skipped, with disclosure. No property-tax levy or rate is printed in Exhibit A, so no per-household tax-dollar split can be driven from it; the grand totals alone do not support one. No calculator is shown rather than one built on an assumed levy.
Source: City of Susanville, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027.”
General Fund — FY 2026-27
| Fund | Revenue | Expense | Transfer in | Transfer out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 GENERAL FUND | $8,858,055 | $2,889,286 | ($2,033,915) | $8,444,328 |
| 1009 PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE | $255,376 | $4,623,140 | ($4,363,063) | — |
| 1010 PUBLIC SAFETY FIRE | $545,950 | $2,933,172 | ($2,387,222) | — |
| 1011 COMMUNITY SERVICES GF | $496,015 | $1,642,260 | ($1,048,617) | $243,781 |
| Computed sums, these four funds | $10,155,396 | $12,087,858 | ($9,832,817) | $8,688,109 |
Police, fire, and community services sit in separate funds fed by transfers — the General Fund expense line of $2,889,286 alone is not full public-safety spending. The three public-safety funds’ expenses alone total $9,198,572 (computed sum). Transfer-in figures are shown parenthesized (negative) as printed in Exhibit A. Do not present the General Fund expense line as total city spending.
Source: City of Susanville, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027.”
All funds — Exhibit A, FY 2026-27
| Fund | Revenue | Expense | Transfer in | Transfer out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 GENERAL FUND | $8,858,055 | $2,889,286 | ($2,033,915) | $8,444,328 |
| 1002 GF-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | $110 | — | — | — |
| 1004 GF-PANCERA | $110 | — | — | — |
| 1005 GF-RESERVE ACCOUNT | $2,510 | — | — | — |
| 1006 POLICE FACILITIES & EQUIP FUND | $60 | — | — | — |
| 1007 FIRE FACILITIES & EQUIP FUND | $510 | — | — | — |
| 1008 ADMIN SVCS FACILITIES & EQUIP | $510 | — | — | — |
| 1009 PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE | $255,376 | $4,623,140 | ($4,363,063) | — |
| 1010 PUBLIC SAFETY FIRE | $545,950 | $2,933,172 | ($2,387,222) | — |
| 1011 COMMUNITY SERVICES GF | $496,015 | $1,642,260 | ($1,048,617) | $243,781 |
| 1012 CODE ENFORCEMENT ABATEMENT | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 ASSET SEIZURE | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 STATE COPS | $226,010 | $348,862 | — | — |
| 2004 AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT | — | $1,259,225 | — | — |
| 2005 ROAD MAINT AND REHAB SB-1 | $478,474 | $430,064 | — | — |
| 2006 SNOW REMOVAL | $28,411 | $74,251 | — | — |
| 2007 STREETS & HIGHWAYS | $771,932 | $712,289 | ($70,000) | $382,501 |
| 2008 TOBACCO GRANT | — | — | — | — |
| 2010 STREET MITIGATION | $60 | — | — | — |
| 2011 POLICE MITIGATION | $60 | — | — | — |
| 2012 FIRE MITIGATION | $60 | — | — | — |
| 2013 PARK DEDICATION FUND | $60 | — | — | — |
| 2016 CDBG REVOLVING LOAN FUND | $510 | — | — | — |
| 2018 HOME REVOLVING FUND | $5,010 | — | — | — |
| 2030 TRAFFIC SAFETY | $520 | — | — | — |
| 2035 TRAFFIC SIGNALS FUND | $510 | — | — | — |
| 2036 SKYLINE NUMA SIGNAL | — | — | — | — |
| 2037 SKYLINE BICYCLE LANE | $210 | — | — | — |
| 2045 STATE OF CA OTS STEP GRANT | $60,642 | $60,642 | — | — |
| 2051 CHP CANNABIS GRANT | $14,374 | $14,374 | — | — |
| 4003 CITY HALL | — | $139,251 | ($139,251) | — |
| 4005 COMMUNITY POOL DEBT SERVICE | — | — | — | — |
| 7110 WATER SYSTEM | $2,916,015 | $2,326,394 | — | $1,045,421 |
| 7112 JOHNSTONVILLE WATER SYSTEM | $18,100 | $17,799 | — | — |
| 7114 WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS | $734,100 | $1,015,130 | — | — |
| 7201 AIRPORT | $127,510 | $315,542 | — | $61,152 |
| 7202 AIRPORT CIP FUND | — | — | — | — |
| 7301 GEOTHERMAL UTILITY | $91,010 | $89,015 | — | $62,716 |
| 7401 NATURAL GAS | $4,807,101 | $4,370,273 | — | $1,096,742 |
| 7530 GOLF COURSE | $468,700 | $451,481 | — | $43,496 |
| 7620 PW ADMIN & ENGINEERING FUND | $5,010 | $1,754,996 | ($1,609,065) | — |
| 7630 RISK MANAGEMENT FUND | $1,442,925 | $1,275,662 | — | — |
| 8402 LAFCO | $71,484 | $81,484 | — | — |
| 8404 AIR POLLUTION | $1,439,679 | $1,227,902 | — | $270,996 |
| 8405 AIR POLLUTION-CARL MOYER | $350,000 | $404,234 | — | — |
| 8406 REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT GROUP | — | — | — | — |
| 8407 AIR POLLUTION- CCI REDUCTION | — | $66,000 | — | — |
| Grand Total (as printed) | $24,217,683 | $28,522,729 | ($11,651,133) | $11,651,133 |
Transfer-in figures are shown parenthesized (negative) as printed. Transfer columns foot exactly: transfer-in magnitudes sum to $11,651,133 and transfer-out to $11,651,133, matching the printed grand total. Revenue rows including the five $60 lines sum exactly to the printed $24,217,683. Expense rows sum to $28,522,728, $1 below the printed grand total of $28,522,729 — a rounding difference; the printed total governs.
Source: City of Susanville, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027.”
Audit — fiscal year ended June 30, 2024
| General Fund revenues | $9,779,433 |
| General Fund expenditures | $8,365,686 |
| Excess of revenues over expenditures | $1,413,747 |
| General Fund ending balance | $8,330,892 |
| Of which unassigned | $7,915,673 |
| Total net position, all activities | $25,892,020 |
The excess foots exactly: $9,779,433 − $8,365,686 = $1,413,747. Basis disclosure: the audit General Fund is a different (GAAP) basis from the budget Exhibit A fund lines — never substitute one for the other. The FY2023-24 audit figures above are not comparable line-for-line with the FY2026-27 budget figures.
FY2016 ACFR disclosure: the FY2015-2016 slot on the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports page serves a byte-identical copy of the FY2015 report (md5-verified) — no real FY2016 ACFR is posted there.
Source: City of Susanville, Annual Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. City of Susanville Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports page.
Elected officials
City of Susanville official website
| Mayor | Mendy Schuster |
| Mayor Pro Tem | Russ Brown |
| Council Member | Curtis Bortle |
| Council Member | Patrick Parrish |
| Council Member | Dawn Miller |
Roster and roles as recorded in the Susanville City Council special meeting minutes of May 20, 2026 (approved June 3, 2026). Names are unlinked: no individual official page was found for any council member. Note: a later local news item (October 2026) named Dawn Miller as Mayor pro tem; the roles above are as recorded in the latest official minutes retrieved, not re-verified against a later official record.
City Council meetings
The City Council holds regular meetings in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 66 North Lassen Street, Susanville, on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 4:30 p.m. When a regular meeting day falls on a holiday, the meeting is held at 4:30 p.m. on the following day instead.
Next regular meeting (derived from that pattern): Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 4:30 p.m.
Sales-tax tracker
| California state sales tax | 6.00% |
| Lassen County sales tax | 0.25% |
| City of Susanville tax | 1.00% |
| Special district tax | 1.00% |
| Combined rate in Susanville | 8.25% |
Worked example: a $100 purchase in Susanville carries $8.25 in sales tax at the combined rate. Areas outside the city limits in Lassen County fall in the Lassen County local-tax region at 7.25%, not the Susanville region rate above.
Sources: Avalara 2026 Susanville rate page; SalesTaxHandbook Susanville page (rates updated July 2026, current as of October 2026).
Livability — Lassen County
Lassen County scores 65.4 on the Hometown Numbers Livability Index, ranked #4 of 58 ranked California counties. Violent crime: 449.5 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI Crime Data Explorer; score 53.5, where a higher score means a lower rate). Full rankings: California livability rankings. (This dashboard is for the City of Susanville; livability is a county-level measure.)
| Component | Value | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| Housing affordability (median home value ÷ median household income) | 3.94 | 97.4 |
| Median household income | $67,403 | 21.6 |
| Mean commute time | 19.5 minutes | 94.0 |
| Violent crime (reported crimes per 100,000 residents) | 449.5 | 53.5 |
| High school graduation rate | 87.7% | 49.1 |
| Uninsured rate | 6.0% | 76.7 |
| Unemployment rate | Not retrievable (see note) | — |
Method: percentile rank (count below + 0.5 × count equal) ÷ N × 100, lower-better measures inverted; composite is the mean of available component scores, rounded to 1 decimal; a county needs at least 5 of 7 components or it is unranked, never estimated. Vintages: ACS 2024 5-year (2020–2024) for housing affordability, income, and commute; FBI Crime Data Explorer 2024 for violent crime; County Health Rankings 2025 release for graduation and uninsured. Unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024) is missing for every California county because the BLS public API was unreachable (HTTP 503) on 2026-10-25; composites rest on the other components and will be recomputed if BLS data becomes available.
Housing prices — Lassen County
County-level figures for Lassen County. (This dashboard is for the City of Susanville.)
| Median home value | $265,300 |
| Median gross rent | $1,000 per month |
Source: American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020–2024), tables B25077 (median home value) and B25064 (median gross rent).
Public schools — Lassen County
Schools physically located in Lassen County. (This dashboard is for the City of Susanville.)
25 public schools in 14 school districts, from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES EDGE Public School Locations, 2024–25 school year).
| School | Level | District | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Valley Elementary | Elementary (KG-07) | Big Valley Joint Unified | Bieber |
| Big Valley Jr. Sr. High | High (07-12) | Big Valley Joint Unified | Bieber |
| Credence High | High (09-12) | Lassen Union High | Susanville |
| Diamond View Middle | Middle (06-08) | Susanville Elementary | Susanville |
| Fletcher Walker Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Westwood Unified | Westwood |
| Fort Sage Middle | Middle (07-08) | Fort Sage Unified | Herlong |
| Herlong High | High (09-12) | Fort Sage Unified | Herlong |
| Janesville Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Janesville Union Elementary | Janesville |
| Johnstonville Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Johnstonville Elementary | Susanville |
| Juniper Ridge Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Ravendale-Termo Elementary | Termo |
| Lassen Community Day | High (09-12) | Lassen Union High | Susanville |
| Lassen County Special Education | Other (KG-12) | Lassen County Office of Education | Susanville |
| Lassen High | High (09-12) | Lassen Union High | Susanville |
| Lassen ROP | High (11-12) | Lassen ROP | Susanville |
| Long Valley | Other (KG-12) | Long Valley District | Doyle |
| McKinley Elementary | Elementary (KG-02) | Susanville Elementary | Susanville |
| Meadow View | Elementary (03-05) | Susanville Elementary | Susanville |
| Mt. Lassen Charter | Other (KG-12) | Fort Sage Unified | Herlong |
| Richmond Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Richmond Elementary | Susanville |
| Shaffer Elementary | Elementary (KG-08) | Shaffer Union Elementary | Litchfield |
| Sierra Primary | Elementary (KG-06) | Fort Sage Unified | Herlong |
| Susanville State Preschool | Not Reported | Lassen County Office of Education | Susanville |
| Thompson Peak Charter | Other (KG-12) | Thompson Peak Charter District | Susanville |
| Westwood High | High (09-12) | Westwood Unified | Westwood |
| Westwood State Preschool | Not Reported | Lassen County Office of Education | Westwood |
School performance (proficiency): district-level proficiency values are published in the federal Ed Data Express tool and are retrievable by CSV export, but they have not yet been added to this page — the export requires a live-browser download (direct requests to the tool are blocked), so no proficiency figures are shown rather than substituted ones. Source for the list: NCES EDGE Public School Locations — Current, 2024–25.
Neighbor comparison
How the City of Susanville’s General Fund spending per resident compares with adjacent counties, computed from each dashboard’s own published figures.
| Government | Per-capita GF spending | Fund balance % |
|---|---|---|
| City of Susanville (this dashboard) | $95.18 | — |
| Shasta County | $1,220.82 | — |
| Sierra County | $5,857.89 | 20.11% |
| Modoc County (no dashboard yet) | — | — |
| Plumas County (no dashboard yet) | — | — |
GF figure: General Fund expense $2,889,286, FY2026-27 Exhibit A. Per-capita figures divide each government’s General Fund total by county population (ACS 2024 5-year, table B01003). For the City of Susanville row, the divisor is the Lassen County population (30,356, as recovered from the Lassen County dashboard’s published per-capita figure: $25,199,338 ÷ $830.13) — the city has no separate population divisor in this table — so the comparison mixes city and county figures.
Fund-balance % dashed: no GF ending balance is published in Exhibit A (the exhibit prints no fund-balance column).
Shasta County and Sierra County figures are as published on their dashboards, via the Lassen County dashboard’s neighbor table.
Modoc County / Plumas County: no county dashboard in this dataset (no county GF figure exists here); a city dashboard in the county, if any, does not supply a county figure.
Neighbor rows are county figures for the counties adjacent to Lassen County (U.S. Census Bureau County Adjacency File, 2024; out-of-state neighbors excluded).
Sources & notes
- Budget document: City of Susanville, “Exhibit A, City of Susanville Budget 2026-2027,” a one-page fund-level table received via public-records reply (request closed). Disclosed: no adoption date, resolution number, or fund-balance column is printed on this page; police, fire, and community services sit in separate funds (1009/1010/1011) fed by transfers, so the General Fund expense line alone is not full public-safety spend.
- Audit document: City of Susanville, Annual Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, received via public-records reply. Disclosed: the audit General Fund is a different (GAAP) basis from the budget Exhibit A fund lines — never substitute one for the other. Also disclosed: the FY2015-2016 slot on the city’s ACFR page serves a byte-identical copy of the FY2015 report (md5-verified) — no real FY2016 ACFR is posted. City of Susanville Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports page.
- Sum checks: audit excess $9,779,433 − $8,365,686 = $1,413,747, exact; budget transfer columns foot exactly at $11,651,133 each in magnitude; budget revenue rows including the five $60 lines sum exactly to the printed $24,217,683; budget expense rows sum to $28,522,728, $1 below the printed $28,522,729 — the printed total governs.
- Meetings: pattern from Susanville Municipal Code, Chapter 2.04 (first and third Wednesdays, 4:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 66 North Lassen Street); next date November 4, 2026 is derived from that pattern, labeled as derived.
- Officials: roster and roles as recorded in the May 20, 2026 special meeting minutes (approved June 3, 2026); a later local news item naming Dawn Miller as Mayor pro tem is flagged, not adopted, because it is not an official record.
- Calculator: skipped with disclosure — no property-tax levy or rate is printed in Exhibit A.
- Livability, housing, schools: county-level figures for Lassen County, reused from the Lassen County dashboard (same home county): livability 65.4, ranked #4 of 58 (FBI Crime Data Explorer 2024 violent crime 449.5 per 100,000); housing ACS 2024 5-year B25077/B25064; schools NCES EDGE 2024–25, 25 schools in 14 districts.
- Sales tax: combined 8.25% for the Susanville tax region (Avalara 2026; SalesTaxHandbook, July 2026 update); 7.25% applies outside city limits in Lassen County.
- Neighbor comparison: city row $95.18 = General Fund expense $2,889,286 ÷ Lassen County population 30,356 (ACS 2024 5-year B01003, recovered from the Lassen County dashboard’s published per-capita figure); the comparison mixes city and county figures, as disclosed above.
- Hero photo: Downtown Susanville, Lassen County, California. Photograph: ShakataGaNai, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (file page). The image file already ships in the site build as /california/photos/lassen.jpg (shared with the Lassen County page); no new photo file was written for this staging.
- Page accent: neutral. No official Susanville palette is on file and no theme-color was recovered from the city homepage by text fetch; homepage-palette sampling is queued for the parent live-browser pass. No color has been invented.
