police officer

code enforcement officer

assistant

planner

correctional officer

City of Santa Ana

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at the City of Santa Ana is being able to make a real, positive impact in the community every day. Whether it’s improving public services, helping residents access resources, or contributing to projects that shape the future of the city, there’s a strong sense of purpose in the work we do. Santa Ana is a diverse and vibrant city, and it’s incredibly rewarding to serve such a dynamic community alongside dedicated colleagues who genuinely care about making a difference.

As a Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Santa Ana is knowing that the work we do directly improves the quality of life for residents. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities to help maintain safe, healthy, and attractive neighborhoods. I take pride in being part of a team that supports public safety, protects property values, and works closely with the community to find solutions—not just enforce rules. Santa Ana’s diversity and strong sense of community make the job even more rewarding, and it’s fulfilling to serve in a role where you can truly see the positive impact of your efforts.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
One of the most challenging aspects of working as a Code Enforcement Officer is handling situations where residents may be upset or resistant to compliance. Our role involves enforcing regulations that affect people’s homes or businesses, which can be sensitive and emotional. It requires strong communication skills, patience, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. That said, these challenges are also opportunities—to build trust, educate the public, and find cooperative solutions whenever possible. It can be stressful at times, but it’s also one of the most meaningful parts of the job.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture within the City of Santa Ana's Code Enforcement Division are characterized by a strong commitment to community service, collaboration, and a focus on public health and safety.
The primary goal of the Code Enforcement Division is to enhance the quality of life in Santa Ana by ensuring compliance with city codes related to nuisance and land use violations. Officers engage proactively with residents and businesses, aiming to educate and resolve issues cooperatively. This approach fosters a supportive and service-oriented atmosphere.
The division emphasizes teamwork and effective communication. Officers often collaborate with various city departments, including Business Licenses, Police, Public Works, and the Orange County Fire Authority, to address code violations comprehensively. This interdisciplinary cooperation enhances problem-solving and ensures a unified approach to community issues.
While some us employees have noted limited internal promotion opportunities, the division offers avenues for professional growth through workshops and community engagement initiatives. For instance, the Code Enforcement Community Workshops provide staff with opportunities to interact with residents, educate the public, and gain insights into community concerns.
The demanding role, with officers handling complex cases that may involve public health and safety concerns. Dealing with non-compliant property owners and navigating legal processes can be stressful.
Generally supportive work environment, with some noting a laid-back atmosphere in some departments and friendly colleagues. However, micromanagement and limited promotional prospects in certain departments.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
After 10 years of service with the City of Santa Ana Code Enforcement Division, I can say that no two days are ever the same—but that’s what makes the job so rewarding. A typical day starts with reviewing new complaints, planning inspections, and following up on ongoing cases. I spend a good part of the day in the field, investigating code violations related to housing, zoning, or public nuisances.

With a decade of experience, I've learned how to approach each case not just from an enforcement standpoint, but with an understanding of the community and the people we serve. I’ve built strong relationships with residents, business owners, and colleagues across departments, and that collaboration makes all the difference when it comes to resolving complex issues.

Over the years, I've seen the positive impact of our work—neighborhoods become safer, properties get revitalized, and residents gain a better understanding of the role we play. It’s a challenging job at times, but deeply fulfilling to know that we’re helping to protect quality of life in Santa Ana, one case at a time.

They have a great Water System, and the work is so unpredictable, that you have no time to get Bored with the job. You start the day with updates from the standby person with the problems that you have in the System after Hours. Include on the schedule work that you have for the day the emergency repairs, if any, assign the work, make sure the operators have access to the tool and material needed, and the safety equipment needed. All electrical work will be done by two person, always have a back up. For Confined Space entry, make sure that you have 3 Certified operators, and all the equipment necessary. I have learn a lot on the job, like PLC, MCC Troubleshooting, Supervisory skills and Excel and Word for reporting. Most of the coworkers are willing to do what ever it takes to do their job. I really enjoy this job, and i can not point to a part of the job that was hard. I took a lot of pride on adjusting the settings to see the minimum variations of pressure on the system, to be sure that I have back up to back up, in case something failed.
To come back from a long weekend, and hear that there were no failures on the system, that was the most enjoyable part of the job.

I worked for park and recreation. It was a joke. First they will try to hire you with minimal hours and pay. Then if you choose to take the job, they lie to your face about all this great training you’ll receive. After that if you don’t follow around the management with your head down and your tail between your legs, you can forget about working there. If you’re not a robot and meet every command, forget it. Plus you cannot have a mind of your own, and be careful about saying anything or giving ideas or opinions, that’s out. It is a very toxic environment. The head management follows the employees in their employee vehicles to spy on them, that’s crazy. They try to make it seem they are so nice and cool with you but they are always trying to find a “I gotcha moment “, so they will let you go. If you have a job already just stay there it isn’t worth all the unhealthy environment you’ll be experiencing with the city of Santa Ana. And if you work there I say just quit, don’t give a two week notice. It’s a at will environment, they will never give you notice when they let you go.

Helping the local businesses with their licensing needs has given me the opportunity to work with many different and unique needs that a growing company requires.  Good listening skills, time management and some compassion has been critical in helping small businesses succeed and helping them know the avenues to go to for additional help (ie. Small Business Administration, Chamber of Commerce, Redevelopment Agency). Good staffing that work together when out in the field to answer phone in questions & problems has helped make this position effective. Management is somewhat out of touch with the businesses needs and focuses for on government issues that are not always the most effective process to this local agency. The hardest part has been not having management working with the employees and the constituents more and causing more hardship on these same people through lack of contact with the public.

This is a great place to start working at if you plan on working with children. The youth programs are great and being a positive role model for the community is something you will carry with you for the rest of your life. 
Moving up is hard if you doubt yourself and dont try. Work days can get slow some months but if you plan on moving up you need to not slack off. Some staff have been around for a very long time and aren't productive but its transparent because they are still a lower position despite all the years they have with the City. Other staff have been around for a long time as well, and are now full-time staff in charge of center because they didnt slack off. It all depends on on the type of person you are.  

 If you love working with kids, families and seniors than you will love working for the City of Santa Ana as we care about the community we serve always

I worked for the city of Santa Ana for over 20 years, the last five years or so @ 4/10 work week. I enjoyed my job, working with the public in person and over the phones. I found that working in this particular department, teamwork was very important, thus getting along with your co-workers was an essential part of this job. In all my years working for the city of Santa Ana, I found management to be fair when they had to be and disciplined when they had to, in order to balance the workplace environment.

I would say that the hardest part of my job was when I first started, learning all the different duties assigned. I thought I would never pass my probation, but thank God I did. The most enjoyable part of the job was getting assigned to different job duties, which is a rarity. Most jobs you have the same duties day in an day out, where with the position I had, we were assigned a different task each day, and in doing so, were privy to so many more opportunities to learn the different jobs that are required in law enforcement.

Working for the City of Santa in Recreation has taught me how life can easily be change. I have being working  in Senior Services for 6 years already and has taught me many lessons in life that changes one personally. A typical day at work is help Seniors with their personal issues; such as finding them help, making doctor's appointments, hearing their personal problems, even playing Bingo, cards with them. Management at the City of Santa Ana is great, they are flexible.  I can say that the hardest part of my job is when a Senior citizen is asking us for help when they don't have a place to live or simply don't have enough food to get through the month until their next check.  What I enjoy the most is that the Seniors see us as part of their family and the way that we bring a smile to their face when we find a solution to their problem.

I was disheartened when I learned I had to pay over a hundred dollars a month to work there. Between pers and other fees they attached to my paycheck not including regular federal and state taxes I’m not really making much. I also was told a monthly salary for my position. But after I started it dropped because they said it was based off 26 weeks of the year. They take like two hundred dollars every paycheck for their 26 week payroll. Then benefits are extremely expensive. The City only contributes three hundred to benefits. So anything else you pay for. They take out of every paycheck for benefits as well. At the end of the day your take home after their fees, benefits and 26 week pay, ends up being hundreds of dollars less then what your really were told. Very disappointing. Other cities can offer better benefits or contributions, and a salary that actually is just that, the actual salary.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with and for the community 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
High demand task, attention to detail, attempt to deliver excellent work as a CITY OF SANTA ANA standard 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unfortunately, I would
have to say work to environment is often tense and divisive. Everybody has to maintain a certain level of “correctness” in Lieu of just being naturally personable while kindly expressing themselves in a real manner.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
And within my particular consultant and creative Director title, there was a wide variety of tasks and objectives to fulfill in my day-to-day work while at city of Santa Ana anything from administrative tasks to being in the editing room creating marketing material.

City of Santa Ana is so unprofessional. The management of parks and recreation is so fake. They lie and say they will train you but don’t. It’s a huge red flag when they give you a year probation. A year? For what it’s parks and recreation, not the fire department. They micro manage employees. Management needs to get with reality, if you constantly hire part time employees and there’s no benefits and sorry pay, no employee will take you seriously. It will continue to be a revolving door. And seriously what manager follows their employees around at their job, that’s real toxic. You can get paid better at fast food and put up with less drama than this place. Oh and forget about actually talking to people around your work environment or city hall. No one talks to each other, smiles, or laughs. It’s really strange. It’s a very funeral like environment.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Police officer 10 salaries reported	$108,511 per year
Code enforcement officer 13 salaries reported	$98,287 per year
Assistant 3 salaries reported	$25.40 per hour
Planner 6 salaries reported	$81,246 per year
Correctional officer 5 salaries reported	$22.17 per hour

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