The City of Vista was incorporated on January 28, 1963 as a general law city. On June 5, 2007, the voters in Vista passed Proposition C, which then adopted a City Charter by a special election. Vista is located in northern San Diego County approximately five miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. Vista's neighboring cities include Oceanside and Carlsbad to the west and San Marcos to the south and east. Its mission statement has always been to provide outstanding services to improve the quality of life of all Vista residents and to enhance the uniqueness of their community, reflecting their core values: respect, fairness, teamwork, integrity, compassion and stewardship. The City of Vista ranges at about 18.56 square miles and is made up of residential, commercial, and industrial properties, as well as several areas of open space. Also the City handles sewer utilities and contracts with Vista Irrigation District for its water services. The City operates its own Fire Department and contracts with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services. For recreations around Vista there are 11 parks within the City covering a total of 320 acres, 164 of which are developed. The largest, Buena Vista Park, covers 146 acres. The City’s premier park, Brengle Terrace, has an outdoor theater, known as the Moonlight Amphitheatre. The City has completed a 16 acre sports park in the northern section of Vista. This useful sports park provides two regulation football and soccer synthetic turf fields, one pony-colt baseball field, and two baseball fields. The City of Vista has operated under the Council-Manager form of government since its incorporation. Policy making and legislative authority are in authority with the City Council. The Council is made up of a five-member board, with the Mayor elected at-large every four years. The four Council positions are elected to four-year terms with two Council members elected every two years. The City Council and Mayor are elected on a nonpartisan basis. The Council is responsible for, setting City policy, adopting ordinances and resolutions, adopting the budget, and appointing committee members. The City Council also appoints the City Manager and the City Attorney. The City Manager is responsible for carrying out the policies and regulations of the City Council, as well as overseeing the day-to-day operations of the City. As a result of good planning, the City has not concentrated all of its economic attributes into a specific area. Although the current downturn in the economy has definitely had an impact on the City, there is no single large business or industry that, would devastatingly impact the local economy. However, the deepening of the recession during the fiscal year caused drops in both property and sales tax revenues. These drops in these two important revenue bases caused a reduction in the City workforce and a cutback in some services provided. Some of the larger businesses that have made Vista their home include Watkins Manufacturing with 500 employees, D J Orthopedics with 419 employees, Zodiac Pool Care with 358 employees, Dimension One Spas with 355 employees, US Food Services with 334 employees, Dalton World Communications with 329 employees, and Wal-Mart with 300 employees. Governmental employers within the City include the Vista Unified School District with 1,500 employees, the San Diego Superior Court North County with 602 employees, and the City of Vista with 317 employees. Now a number of the larger retail operators have chosen Vista as a key sales location. These include Ford, Costco, Wal-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory, Home Depot, Lowes, Crescent Electrical, Babies R Us, McCain Traffic Supply, and Target. All have made significant contributions to Vista’s sales tax base. In the 2010 the Census reported that 91,789 people lived in households, 661 people lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,384 were institutionalized. The population density was 5,023.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Vista was 59,551 White, 3,137 African American, 1,103 Native American, 3,979 Asian, 677 Pacific Islander, 20,423 from other races, and 4,964 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 45,380 persons. Over the last five years, Vista has experienced the greatest economic boom ever in its history, outperforming most other municipalities in San Diego County in retail sales and employment growth. In conclusion the city of Vista has numerous beneficial attractions and employment which makes up the city as a whole. It has got a wide variety of businesses which have high employment so job opportunity is at a high level. Getting to work in the Vista community is a learning and new experience it has a lot to offer to individuals. The community is diverse as well as the culture.