How Clovis is run
Who runs Clovis, 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 Clovis's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Clovis
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' salary as severance, plus six months of health coverage, if fired without cause
Clovis city staff
756 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 233, Public utilities 228, Fire 93. FY2026-27. Authorized positions in the FY2026-27 budget, up 35 from 721 the year before. City of Clovis · May 18, 2026
The city posts monthly salary schedules for every job class with the budget resolution; we found no city-posted list of individual employees' pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Clovis 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.
The city's own outlook
The March 2026 five-year forecast says Measure Y moved the general fund from a "precarious fiscal condition" to a stable path, with revenue growing faster than spending and a positive fund balance in every year through FY2030-31. Before Measure Y, forecasts showed deficits and service cuts. When grants end, the general fund takes on about $1.5 million a year for six police positions after FY2026-27 and about $1.3 million a year for six firefighters after March 2029. The city says sales tax, including Measure Y, is the revenue most exposed to economic swings. City of Clovis · Mar 9, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $8.2M (2025-06-30). City of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
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 taxes (including the state's vehicle license fee swap)$46.2M · 36%
- Sales tax (the city's share of the statewide 1%)$30.2M · 23%
- Charges for services$16.5M · 13%
- Other taxes (business license, franchise, hotel, card room, property transfer)$14.4M · 11%
- Net transfers in, mostly from the Measure Y sales tax fund$12.1M · 9%
- From other agencies (gas tax and grants)$7.8M · 6%
- Other (licenses and permits, fines, interest, miscellaneous)$2.2M · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$67.7M · 52%
- Fire$29.6M · 23%
- Public utilities (streets, street lights, storm drains, parks)$16.1M · 12%
- General services (facilities, senior services, recreation, personnel)$5.8M · 5%
- Finance$4.7M · 4%
- City manager (administration, economic development, city clerk)$3.5M · 3%
- Other (city council, city attorney)$2M · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
California caps the base property tax at 1% of assessed value; voter-approved bond rates are added on top. The city itself levies no voter-approved rate. The table shows the Clovis Unified rate; homes in the parts of Clovis served by other school districts pay those districts' rates instead.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Clovis
- Base levy (Prop. 13 1% cap), split among the county, city, schools and other agenciesThe city's budget says Clovis gets about 13% of the 1% base.1 · 85%
- Clovis Unified School District (voter-approved bonds)0.155358 · 13%
- State Center Community College District (voter-approved bonds)0.020406 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.175764
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Clovis (Fresno County). City of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
See what a Clovis house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Clovis is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityClovis Police DepartmentCity of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
- Fire and emergency medical responseThe cityClovis Fire DepartmentCity of Clovis · May 18, 2026
- Fire dispatchThe countyFresno County Emergency Medical Services Division (by contract)City of Clovis · May 18, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Clovis Public UtilitiesCity of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Clovis Public UtilitiesCity of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Clovis Public UtilitiesCity of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
- Streets and storm drainsThe cityCity of ClovisCity of Clovis · Nov 26, 2025
- Bus serviceThe cityClovis Transit (Stageline and Round Up)City of Clovis · Jun 1, 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 | ConcordCA | Simi ValleyCA | BerkeleyCA | ClovisCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 122,494 | 123,842 | 127,654 | 129,889 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $346,931 | $328,140 | $401,722 | $303,828 |
| Council member pay | $22,800 | $14,433 | $90,594 | $18,156 |
| General fund per resident | $1,173 | $812 | $2,459 | $996 |
| Debt per resident | $821 | $451 | $2,192 | $793 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,056 | $1,170 | $5,377 | $1,375 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 4.4 | 12.6 | 5.8 |
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). Concord and Clovis pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Clovis publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2024 contract and the 2026 first amendment are in council agenda packets on the city's CivicClerk portal. City of Clovis · Jan 5, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Clovis
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentA June 1, 2026 staff report and the city's election page state the $1,513 monthly council salary. City of Clovis · Jun 1, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedMonthly salary schedules for every job class are attached to the budget resolution; we found no list of individual employees' pay. City of Clovis · Jun 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- About $12.1 million of the $129.4 million FY2026-27 general fund budget comes from net transfers, mostly from the Measure Y sales tax fund. How would services change if sales tax falls short?
- Net pension liability was $178.6 million on June 30, 2025, and the safety plan was 66.65% funded. What is the plan to pay it down?
- When grants end, the general fund takes on about $1.5 million a year for six police positions after FY2026-27 and $1.3 million a year for six firefighters after March 2029. Which revenues will cover those costs?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Clovis next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.