How Daly City is run
Who runs Daly City, 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 Daly City's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Daly City
A city manager appointed by the council is the chief executive officer, hires department heads, proposes the budget and runs the city day to day. The five council members serve overlapping four-year terms, and the council picks one of them as mayor each year.
What they are paid
- Contract term runs to January 23, 2027
- Severance of 12 months' base salary plus 12 months of medical benefits if the council terminates him without cause while he is able to do the job
- A city car for his full and exclusive use
- $500 a month to his deferred compensation plan
- The same benefits as other department heads under the executive management salary schedule
- The city's 2023 pay report lists council members in a 2.5% at 62 pension formula with a $5,791.59 city pension contribution each
Daly City city staff
495 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 145, Water and wastewater 76, Fire 75. FY2026-27. 495 full-time positions in FY2026-27, the same as FY2025-26 and up from 487 in FY2023-24. The count includes the five council members. Hourly staff are counted separately. City of Daly City · Jun 9, 2025
The city posts salary schedules with the pay range for every job class, and its pay report to the State Controller, which lists pay by job title without names (latest posted covers 2023). We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Daly City 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 city describes a general fund structural deficit. The adopted budget draws about $7.9 million from reserves in FY2025-26 and $8.8 million in FY2026-27, citing rising salary, health care, overtime and pension costs and reliance on property and sales tax. The June 8, 2026 mid-cycle update raised revenue estimates by $2,903,700 and spending by $1,044,954, cutting the FY2026-27 deficit by $1,858,746. The budget projects unassigned reserves falling to $45.0 million (33.4% of spending) by the end of FY2026-27, still above the 17% minimum. City of Daly City · Jun 9, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $60.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a $1 million contingency fund plus a general fund operating reserve of at least two months (17%), with a target of three months (25%), of annual operating spending and recurring transfers. At June 30, 2025 the unassigned balance held the $1 million contingency fund and a $22.25 million operating reserve. City of Daly City · Dec 16, 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 tax$44.3M · 33%
- Sales tax (general)$18.6M · 14%
- Measure Q sales tax$9.2M · 7%
- Vehicle license fee (property tax in lieu)$9M · 7%
- Draw on reserves (budgeted deficit)$8.8M · 7%
- Utility users tax$8.3M · 6%
- Business license taxes$7M · 5%
- Other (franchise fees, charges and fees, rents and interest, permits, fines, transfers, other)$29.2M · 22%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$52.6M · 39%
- Fire (North County Fire Authority)$32.7M · 24%
- Recreation$12.2M · 9%
- Public works$11.7M · 9%
- Library$5.7M · 4%
- Economic and community development$5.3M · 4%
- Other (city manager, finance, human resources, city attorney, clerk, council, treasurer, non-departmental)$14.2M · 11%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy. Voter-approved school bond rates are added on top, and the city itself has none. Daly City has 67 tax rate areas because school district lines differ; homes in the South San Francisco Unified or Pacifica elementary areas pay those districts' rates instead.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Daly City
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and special districts)1 · 87%
- Jefferson Union High School District0.0745 · 6%
- Jefferson Elementary School District0.0571 · 5%
- San Mateo County Community College District0.0178 · 2%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.1494
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the Jefferson school districts in Daly City (San Mateo County). City of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
See what a Daly City home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Daly City is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDaly City Police DepartmentCity of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
- Paramedic emergency medical responseAnother agencyNorth County Fire AuthorityParamedic fire engines and trucks answer medical callsCity of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Daly City water utilityServes most parcels in the city; more than half the water is bought from the San Francisco Public Utilities CommissionCity of Daly City · Jun 9, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorRepublic ServicesThe city's franchised hauler; it also leased and operated the city-owned transfer stationCity of Daly City · Jun 9, 2025
- LibraryThe cityDaly City Public LibraryCity of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Daly CityCity of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Daly City Public WorksCity of Daly City · Dec 16, 2025
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 | VistaCA | NorwalkCA | Daly CityCA | VacavilleCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 101,365 | 101,453 | 101,898 | 103,195 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $325,944 | $366,324 | $490,659 | $301,000 |
| Council member pay | $38,352 | $11,411 | $28,676 | $9,948 |
| General fund per resident | $1,300 | $880 | $1,318 | $1,641 |
| Debt per resident | $943 | $272 | $20 | $900 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $773 | $463 | $2,300 | $2,255 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.3 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 6.5 |
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). Vista and Norwalk pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Daly City 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 and FY2027 operating and capital budget books are posted on the city's Budgets & Financial Reports page. City of Daly City
- Partly: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2023 contract and the 2024 amendment terms are in council agenda packets on the city's meeting portal. We found no separate posting. City of Daly City · Jan 22, 2024
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes record roll-call votes, naming each member on split votes, such as the 3-1-1 vote on Sept. 23, 2025. City of Daly City · Oct 13, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Daly City
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Daly City · Dec 13, 2022
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city posts salary schedules by employee group and a State Controller pay report listing pay by job title without names. City of Daly City
Questions to ask your council
- The adopted budget draws $8,762,313 from general fund reserves in FY2026-27 after a $7.9 million draw in FY2025-26. What is the plan to close the structural deficit before reserves reach the 17% minimum?
- The city manager's scheduled pay is about $490,659 a year, and his contract term ends January 23, 2027. Will the council review the contract and pay in public before it renews?
- The city's net pension liability was $234.3 million on June 30, 2024, with the safety plan 68.90% funded. How will rising CalPERS payments be covered in future budgets?
- Police take $52.6 million of the $134.3 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. What results does the council track for that spending?
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