2025/26 Huntington Beach Financial Review:
Public Safety Expenditures & MOU Focus
July 2026
SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION - Meeting Date: 8/18/2026 Item No. 26 (26-658) Police and Fire Operations Consume 67%
of the FY26-27 General Fund Budget of $327.3 million ($6.29 million per week) 67%
Other
Departments:
33%
Police:
38%
Fire
29%
$85.4
million
$74.6
million
Fire Dept. spending is up 52% since
2018/2019 expenditures of $40 million
Police Dept. spending is up 31% since
2018/2019 expenditures of $75.2 million
Public Safety spending totals $172.8
million ($3.3 million per week),
surpassing $147.1 million collected in
property tax revenue
Total annual budget (All Funds) is $590
million---$11.1 million per week.
1 $98.2
million
Top 50 Paid Employees City of Huntington Beach – 2025 – Link to Data by selecting the underlined Hyperlink below
Huntington Beach Salaries 2025 | Transparent California 1 Legend
Blue = HBPD
Orange = HBFD
White = City Staff
The Top 50 City Employees Average Over $400,000
in Total Annual Compensation
49 out of these 50 top earners
belong exclusively to Police or Fire.
Overtime pay ($159k) is nearly identical
to regular base wages ($167k).
Base Wages - $167,470 Overtime - $159,769 Benefits -
$73,869
$401,108 Total Average Compensation
2 Eliminating 50% of Public Safety Overtime Recovers
Two-Thirds of the Projected $15M Deficit
$15M
Projected
Deficit
Two-thirds
deficit
recovered
$8.45M
(50% of Police &
Fire Overtime)
FY26/27 Overtime Spending:
• Fire: $9.2M
• Police: 7.7M
• Other: 1.3M
$18.2 million
The deficit is a localized
spending problem---
NOT a systemic revenue
collapse.
3 Top Earner Overtime Has Surged 75% Since 2019
While Base Salaries Rose Less Than 20%
Base Salary - $140,415
Overtime - $92,883
$233,297 Total
2019
Base Salary - $167,470
Overtime - $159,769
$327,239 Total
2025
Overtime Growth:
+$66,886
(Nearly 75% Increase)
Average Top 50 Employee
Note: For the top 10-20 employees, these growth numbers are even higher.
4 Municipal Ledger
Unchecked Compensation Growth Began in 2019
Following Years of Stable, Inflation-Aligned Pay
Top 50 Salaries (Wages + Overtime/Other
Pay)
Controlled Growth
(Less than 10% total increase
over 7 years)
Anomalous Surge
(Over 40% / ~$100,000 increase over
6 years)
$200,000
$225,000
$250,000
$275,000
$300,000
$325,000
$211,004
2012
$221,031
2015
$227,414
2017
$233,297
2019
$243,413
2021
$277,456
2023
$285,976
2024
$327,239
20255
Structural Management Failure Shifts Overtime from
an Occasional Need to a Dependent Wage Pillar
Standard Municipal Model Huntington Beach Model
Emergency Overtime Buffer
Base Salary
Systemic Staffing-Shortage Overtime
Base Salary
HB’s compensation structure relies on an ~50% overtime ratio, whereas standard, healthy municipal structures aim for an occasional, carefully managed buffer.
This transforms overtime from an emergency tool into a dependent wage pillar. 6 Municipal Ledger
Huntington Beach Police Top Earners Outpace
Peer Orange County Cities by 10% to 30%
Top 50 Police Wages and Overtime/Other Pay Overtime Ratio Anaheim $384,518
Irvine $330,361
Huntington Beach $326,262
Newport Beach $310,053
Santa Ana $296,203
Orange $294,349
Fullerton $266,243
Costa Mesa $254,215
Garden Grove $236,051
~50% OT Ratio
(Extreme
Outlier)
30-40%
Regional
Norm
7 Fire Department Compensation Significantly Exceeds
Equivalently Sized Neighboring Municipalities
Top 50 Fire Wages and Overtime/Other Pay
Anaheim $406,769
Newport Beach $372,324
Huntington Beach $328,498
Orange $293,038
Fullerton $274,430
Costa Mesa $240,211
Overtime Ratio
Overtime Ratio
~50% OT Ratio
(Extreme Outlier)30-40%
Regional
Norm
Key Takeaway: HB Fire out-earns all standard peer
cities, trailing only the richest (Newport Beach) and
most dense (Anaheim) anomalies. There is zero
financial risk of a mass personnel exodus to
standard peer cities like Costa Mesa or Fullerton.
8 Restoring Economic Solvency Requires Immediate
Action on Structural Staffing and Overtime
Solvency Threat Infrastructure Sacrifice Leverage
Post-pandemic wage
increases
severely threaten Huntington
Beach’s economic survival
over
the next 3-5 years.
A 67% General Fund
dominance
by just two departments
leaves
the physical city to decay.
Retention risk is a myth; we
already
vastly out-pay peers.
The immediate
solution is reining in overtime
caused by poor staffing models.
Adjusting these expenditures is not a penalty to public safety, but a prerequisite for municipal survival. 9 City of Huntington Beach - Costing Summary
POA 7-21-26 | Proposed term: 3 years (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2029) MOU
Item
#
Description
Year 1
Estimated YOY
Impact
Year 2
Estimated YOY
Impact
Year 3
Estimated YOY
Impact
Total Cost
of
Proposal
Ongoing
Cost
% Increase
Cumulative Total
1 Term: 3 years (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2029)
2 Salary Increases
Sworn
Non-sworn
3,719,465
365,981
2,008,511
197,630
2,611,064
256,919
8,339,040
820,530
8,339,040
820,530
8.00%
8.00%
4.00%
4.00%
5.00%
5.00%
17.00%
17.00%
3 Health Insurance
Single
2-Party
Family
-
-
-
45,000
61,200
218,400
45,000
61,200
218,400
90,000
122,400
436,800
90,000
122,400
436,800
0.63% 0.63%
1.26%
TOTAL COST OF
PROPOSAL 4,085,446 2,530,741 3,192,583 9,808,770 9,808,770 10 The new 2026-
2028 MOU for
Police will cost
our city $20
million over the
next 3 years.
That amount
increases to over
$30 million if Fire
asks for similar
pay increases
$4.1
$6.6
$9.8
FY26/27 FY27/28 FY28/29
Annual Impact of MOU
11 Projected Deficit: Baseline with Minimum MOU Adjustment Deficit FY 26/27
18,834,743
FY 27/28
26,944,173
FY 28/29
34,265,467
FY 29/30
44,483,374
FY 30/31
$47,646,701
-
5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
30,000,000
35,000,000
40,000,000
45,000,000
50,000,000
55,000,000
FY 26/27 FY 27/28 FY 28/29 FY 29/30 FY 30/31
12 Five-Year Forecast: Baseline with Minimum MOU Adjustment Expenditures
FY 26/27
331,031,395
FY 27/28
348,326,724
FY 28/29
365,109,495
FY 29/30
379,072,723
FY 30/31
392,273,730
Revenues 312,196,652 321,382,552 330,844,028 334,589,349 344,627,029 -
50,000,000
100,000,000
150,000,000
200,000,000
250,000,000
300,000,000
350,000,000
400,000,000
450,000,000
FY 26/27 FY 27/28 FY 28/29 FY 29/30 FY 30/31
Expenditures Revenues
13 2025/26 Recommendations: Re-establish Leadership
1. Cap Overtime. Remove from Police & Fire MOU consideration 14 2. Freeze Increases for the foreseeable future; limit to C.O.L.
3. Cancel helicopter operations including 3 helicopters & 9 people
4. Close 3 of 8 Fire stations with commensurate staffing cut
5. Repeal this year’s increase in fees, fines & penalties
6. Repeal the $24 million annual Utility Tax