How Baldwin Park is run
Who runs Baldwin Park, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Baldwin Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Baldwin Park
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- Six months' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- Cannot be fired without cause within 180 days after a council election
- Benefits under the city's Executive and Unclassified Managers Benefits Matrix
- Vacation earned in his prior city job paid out at $26,276.31 a year, 2025 through 2029
- No cost-of-living raise unless the council approves one
Baldwin Park city staff
357 full-time-equivalent positions, including Park & recreation 155, Public safety 94. FY2025. City of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
The city posts salary schedules with pay ranges for every job class, and at-will employment agreements for top managers, on its Human Resources documents pages. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Baldwin Park in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $29.6M (2025-06-30). City of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees and other governments$12.6M · 28%
- Sales tax$8.6M · 19%
- Property taxes$5.9M · 13%
- Utility users tax$3.8M · 8%
- Franchise fees$3.7M · 8%
- Miscellaneous$3.2M · 7%
- Charges for services$2.2M · 5%
- Other (transfers in, permits, interest, hotel tax, fines)$4.6M · 10%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$27.7M · 62%
- Recreation and community services$7.3M · 16%
- Non-departmental (includes transfers out)$3.2M · 7%
- Community development$2.4M · 5%
- Administration (includes city council)$2.1M · 5%
- Finance$1.7M · 4%
- Other (public works)$182,655 · 0%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Baldwin Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBaldwin Park Police DepartmentCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- LibraryThe countyLos Angeles CountyCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Baldwin Park Recreation & Community ServicesCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Baldwin ParkCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- Storm drainsThe cityCity of Baldwin ParkCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- Local transitThe cityCity of Baldwin ParkCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
- Planning, building inspection and code enforcementThe cityCity of Baldwin ParkCity of Baldwin Park · Mar 25, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | Palo AltoCA | EastvaleCA | Baldwin ParkCA | TurlockCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 69,004 | 70,575 | 70,729 | 72,592 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $435,510 | $315,675 | $250,797 | $277,140 |
| Council member pay | $19,200 | $19,200 | $7,200 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $4,521 | $682 | $631 | $935 |
| Debt per resident | $5,382 | $818 | $760 | $1,548 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $7,311 | $4 | $242 | $1,413 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 15.8 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.3 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Eastvale pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Baldwin Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Baldwin Park · Jun 17, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Baldwin Park · Aug 19, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's salary schedule lists an annual fixed rate of $7,200 for the mayor and council members. City of Baldwin Park
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Baldwin Park
Questions to ask your council
- The city still owes $43.1 million on 2019 pension obligation bonds, and its CalPERS net pension liability was $17.1 million. How will these costs change over the next few years?
- Police make up $27.7 million of the $44.6 million FY2026-27 General Fund budget. How is that spending measured against results?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council adopts the budget before then; the FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 17, 2026. See who is running for council
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