How Concord is run
Who runs Concord, 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 Concord's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Concord
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
- $15,000 a year city contribution to a 401(k) or 457 deferred compensation account
- 40 days of general leave a year in place of vacation and sick leave, plus 80 hours of administrative leave
- May cash out up to 15 days of paid time off each fiscal year
- Mileage reimbursement for using his own car, and up to $10,000 for moving costs
Concord city staff
439 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 196. FY2026-27. Authorized full-time positions in the adopted FY2026-27 budget, including the five council members. In May 2026 staff put the full-time workforce at 433. City of Concord · Jun 10, 2025
The city posts salary schedules for every job class, a compensation matrix by employee group, its labor contracts and the city manager's contract. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Concord 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $44.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund reserves and contingencies, held in several named reserves, at no less than 17% of general fund operating spending, with a goal of 30%. On June 30, 2025 these reserves held $48.6 million, about 36% of operating spending. Staff says the city will keep its 30% target through FY2026-27. The city meets this target. City of Concord · Dec 29, 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
- Sales taxes$40.7M · 29%
- Property taxes$38.5M · 28%
- Charges for services, licenses and permits$12.7M · 9%
- Franchise fees$10.3M · 7%
- Business license fees$4.3M · 3%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$2.3M · 2%
- Other revenues and intergovernmental$30.9M · 22%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$83.6M · 58%
- Public Works$17.6M · 12%
- Community Development$12.1M · 8%
- Recreation Services$8.3M · 6%
- Finance$5.7M · 4%
- Office of the City Manager$4.8M · 3%
- Other (non-departmental, human resources, city attorney, economic development)$11.4M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy set by Proposition 13, which is shared by all the local agencies that serve the property. Concord has no voter-approved city rate on top. Voter-approved rates for school and college bonds, BART, the water district and the regional park district bring the total to about 1.10%. Not every rate applies to every property in the city.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Concord
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and special districts)1 · 91%
- Mt. Diablo Unified School District and community college bonds0.0831 · 8%
- BART0.0148 · 1%
- Contra Costa Water District land levy0.0019 · <1%
- East Bay Regional Park District0.0013 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.1011
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Concord (Contra Costa County). City of Concord · Dec 29, 2025
See what a Concord house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Concord is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityConcord Police DepartmentCity of Concord · Dec 29, 2025
- Fire and emergency medicalSeparate districtContra Costa County Fire Protection DistrictContra Costa County
- Police dispatchThe cityConcord Police Department communications center17 dispatcher positions in the FY2026-27 budgetCity of Concord · Jun 10, 2025
- WaterSeparate districtContra Costa Water DistrictCity of Concord
- Sewer collectionThe cityCity of ConcordCity of Concord · Dec 29, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorMount Diablo Resource Recovery (city franchise)City of Concord
- StreetsThe cityCity of Concord Public WorksCity of Concord · Dec 29, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of ConcordCity of Concord · Dec 29, 2025
- SchoolsSeparate districtMount Diablo Unified School DistrictCity of Concord
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 | Thousand OaksCA | FairfieldCA | ConcordCA | Simi ValleyCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 121,286 | 121,389 | 122,494 | 123,842 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $362,985 | $304,138 | $346,931 | $328,140 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2008) | $15,600 | $22,800 | $14,433 |
| General fund per resident | $1,048 | $1,320 | $1,173 | $812 |
| Debt per resident | $47 | $927 | $821 | $451 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $512 | $1,980 | $2,056 | $1,170 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.0 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
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). Thousand Oaks and Concord pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Concord 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 Concord · Jun 10, 2025
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Concord
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes note unanimous votes and list each member by name when a vote is not unanimous, as on April 28, 2026. City of Concord · Apr 28, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's compensation matrix lists council pay of $1,900 a month. City of Concord · Aug 3, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Concord
Questions to ask your council
- Police make up $83.6 million of the $143.7 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will rising police labor costs be covered once the Fiscal Stability Fund runs low?
- General fund reserves were about 36% of operating spending on June 30, 2025, against a 17% minimum and a 30% goal. How far below 30% is the council willing to go?
- The city's audited report shows $251.8 million of net pension liability. What is the plan to pay it down?
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