How Chino is run
Who runs Chino, 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 Chino's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Chino
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and appoints the department heads. The council is a mayor elected citywide plus four members elected by district, all for four-year terms; it passes ordinances, adopts the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney.
What they are paid
- Nine months' severance if dismissed without cause
- $600 a month car allowance
- City pays 9% of base salary into a 401(a) retirement account (7% before Sept. 2026)
- City adds $350 a month to her 457(b) deferred pay plan, rising $175 a month each year to $700
- Contract now runs through Aug. 7, 2028
- Benefit bank equal to the cost of family HMO medical, dental and vision coverage; unused amounts are paid out
- $700 a month city deferred compensation contribution
- $500 a month vehicle allowance
- $250,000 life insurance
- CalPERS pension
Chino city staff
451 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (police) 185, Public works 76, General government 63, Parks and community services 53, Development services 32, Water 29, Sewer, storm drain and sanitation 13. FY2024-25. City of Chino · Mar 31, 2026
The city posts salary schedules for every employee group with monthly and yearly pay ranges. We did not pull pay bands. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Chino 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: $6.9M (2025-06-30). City of Chino · Mar 31, 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
- Taxes (sales, property, franchise and other)$117M · 77%
- Charges for services$14.1M · 9%
- Interest and property income$6.3M · 4%
- Transfers in from other city funds$6.2M · 4%
- State and federal aid$2.9M · 2%
- Licenses and permits$2M · 1%
- Other (fines and miscellaneous)$3.3M · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$60.9M · 40%
- Public works$22.4M · 15%
- Finance department$19.6M · 13%
- Administration (city manager, clerk, IT, economic development)$17M · 11%
- Community services, parks and recreation$13.4M · 9%
- Development services (planning, building)$9.1M · 6%
- Other (human resources, capital projects, transfers to other funds)$8.1M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% base levy set by Proposition 13, which the county splits among local agencies. The city receives about 10.8 cents of each dollar of that 1%. School and Metropolitan Water District bond rates are added on top.
9¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Chino
- Chino Unified School District (share of the 1% levy)0.3103 · 26%
- State schools shift (ERAF)0.2244 · 19%
- San Bernardino County general fund0.1482 · 13%
- City of Chino0.108 · 9%
- Chino Valley Independent Fire District0.0648 · 5%
- Chino Basin Municipal Water District0.046 · 4%
- Chaffey Community College0.0429 · 4%
- Other agencies (flood control, county library, county schools office, water conservation)0.0554 · 5%
- School bonds (voter-approved)0.1731 · 15%
- Metropolitan Water District (voter-approved)0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.1801
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Chino (tax rate area 1001, San Bernardino County). City of Chino · Mar 31, 2026
See what a Chino house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Chino is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- WaterThe cityCity of ChinoCity of Chino · Mar 31, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of ChinoCity of Chino
- Storm drainsThe cityCity of ChinoCity of Chino · Mar 31, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorWaste Management (city contract)The city handles residential billing.City of Chino
- StreetsThe cityCity of ChinoCity of Chino · Mar 31, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Chino Community Services, Parks and RecreationCity of Chino · Mar 31, 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 | FolsomCA | ChinoCA | MantecaCA | San MarcosCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 95,680 | 95,946 | 96,511 | 97,554 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $332,072 | $348,160 | $338,113 | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | $7,200 | $33,555 | $22,800 | $12,567 |
| General fund per resident | $1,289 | $1,569 | $879 | $1,065 |
| Debt per resident | $2,188 | $208 | $519 | $15 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,077 | $585 | $1,426 | $768 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
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). San Marcos pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Chino publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 budget, adopted June 16, 2026, is posted on the city's Budget page with past budgets. City of Chino
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2022-2027 City Manager Agreement and its Second Amendment are posted on the Labor Agreements page; the Third Amendment, dated Oct. 6, 2026, is posted in the city's Legistar system. City of Chino
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Chino
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Chino
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance No. 2024-011 sets the mayor at $3,348.53 and council members at $2,796.26 a month; the schedule is posted online. City of Chino · Dec 30, 2024
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $6.87 million on June 30, 2025, while $20 million sits in a committed operating reserve. What unassigned level does the council aim to keep?
- Police make up $60.9 million of the $150.5 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will the department's costs be kept in line with Measure V revenue?
- The city's CalPERS plans were underfunded by $56.1 million as of June 30, 2024. Does the city have a plan to pay that down faster?
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