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Palo Alto's Non-Personnel Costs: A 10-Year Overview
Between FY2016 and FY2025, Palo Alto's non-personnel expenditures — contracts, services, and supplies — grew by 17.7%, from $502.7M to $591.7M. That's a much slower rate than the 59.1% growth in payroll over the same period, but the absolute dollar amounts involved are substantial.
2026-06-27 · Social Liberty Foundation
Community Services: Where Does the Money Go?
Community Services is Palo Alto's most citizen-facing department, operating libraries, recreation centers, aquatics, arts programs, and social services. Its non-personnel budget — $70.5M in FY2025 — funds contracts and services across 60+ distinct activities.
2026-06-27 · Social Liberty Foundation
Average Compensation Across Santa Clara County: A $100K Gap Hiding in Plain Sight
In 2024 the gap between the highest- and lowest-compensated municipal workforces in Santa Clara County spans nearly $100,000 per employee — from Santa Clara City at $172.1K average to Morgan Hill at $73.7K. That gap is not random. It reflects which services each city provides in-house, how aggressively labor contracts were renegotiated after COVID, and — in a few outlier cases — the small-sample distortions that come with a workforce of 15 or 76 people.
2026-06-28 · Social Liberty Foundation
10 Years of Payroll Across Santa Clara County: Who Grew, Who Didn't
From 2015 to 2024, total payroll across 15 Santa Clara County cities rose sharply — but the story behind the numbers varies dramatically. Santa Clara City nearly doubled its payroll with essentially no headcount change. Several smaller cities shed staff while costs still climbed. San Jose added $290M in payroll, the largest absolute increase in the region.
2026-06-28 · Social Liberty Foundation
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