How Danville is run
Who runs Danville, 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 Danville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Danville
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
- Two-year agreement from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027; she serves at the pleasure of the council
- Town contribution to a defined contribution pension plan equal to 30% of base salary
- $4,200 a year auto allowance
- Accrued sick leave converted to general leave under the 2026 amendment
- Reimbursement of up to $250 a month for medical expenses; no employee fringe benefits
Danville city staff
151 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (incl. 30 contract Sheriff's deputies) 38. FY2026-27. 95.75 regular town employees, 30 sworn officers from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office under contract, and 24.75 full-time equivalents of part-time temporary staff. Unchanged from FY2025-26. Town of Danville · Jun 3, 2026
The town posts monthly salary ranges for every job title and its total budgeted salaries and benefits, and links to the State Controller's statewide pay site. We found no town list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Danville 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 town calls the FY2026-27 budget balanced. Its ten-year forecast projects general fund revenue rising 13.0%, from $33.75 million to $38.13 million by FY2035-36, while town operating spending rises 21.54%, from $42.59 million to $51.77 million. It expects contracted services and utility costs to outpace revenue growth. Repayments from the former redevelopment agency, about $1.1 million a year, ended in FY2025-26. The four lighting and landscape assessment zones run deficits and are forecast to exhaust their reserves by FY2035-36. Town of Danville · Jun 3, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $659,401 (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund operating reserve of at least 20% of the year's operating budget, to be used only in a financial emergency with council approval (Resolution No. 35-98). The town holds this reserve as committed fund balance, not unassigned: $16,009,768 on June 30, 2025, or 39.1% of FY2024-25 operating spending. The FY2026-27 budget reports it at $17,995,095. Town of Danville · Dec 9, 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$19.5M · 57%
- Sales tax$6.5M · 19%
- Recreation fees and charges$2.8M · 8%
- Franchise fees (cable, gas and electric, solid waste)$2.6M · 8%
- Interest income$750,000 · 2%
- Property transfer tax$475,000 · 1%
- Transfers in from other funds$292,639 · 1%
- Other (business license tax, rental income, fines, hotel tax, other)$1.1M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office contract)$13.1M · 39%
- Administrative services (finance, IT, HR, insurance, animal control, library hours)$5.4M · 16%
- Recreation, arts and community services$4.2M · 12%
- General government (council, town manager, city attorney, city clerk, outreach, events, economic development)$3.5M · 10%
- Maintenance services$3M · 9%
- Transfer to capital improvement projects$2.1M · 6%
- Transfer to lighting and landscape district$1.1M · 3%
- Development services$1.1M · 3%
- Other (transfers for pavement management and asset replacement)$550,000 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county splits among local agencies by state formula. The town's budget says Danville receives only 7% of the property taxes its owners pay. The town levies no voter-approved rate of its own. Voter-approved rates for the school district, BART and other agencies bring the typical total to about 1.08%.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Danville
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the town, schools and special districts)1 · 92%
- San Ramon Valley Unified School District (voter-approved debt)0.0521 · 5%
- Other voter-approved rates0.0155 · 1%
- BART (voter-approved debt)0.0148 · 1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.0824
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the town of Danville (Contra Costa County). Town of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
See what a Danville home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Danville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyContra Costa County Sheriff's Office, under contract with the town30 sheriff's employees work under the contractTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- Fire protectionSeparate districtSan Ramon Valley Fire Protection DistrictTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- WaterSeparate districtEast Bay Municipal Utility DistrictTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtCentral Contra Costa Sanitary DistrictTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- SchoolsSeparate districtSan Ramon Valley Unified School DistrictTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- Animal servicesThe countyContra Costa County Animal ServicesTown of Danville · Jun 3, 2026
- StreetsThe cityTown of DanvilleTown of Danville · Dec 9, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityTown of DanvilleTown of Danville · Dec 9, 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 | LompocCA | DanvilleCA | CampbellCA | Palm SpringsCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 43,073 | 43,190 | 43,195 | 43,893 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $279,804 | $305,000 | $358,883 | $325,000 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2023) | $16,644 | $15,300 | $41,604 |
| General fund per resident | $1,378 | $788 | $1,713 | $4,004 |
| Debt per resident | $1,205 | $81 | $1,175 | $3,386 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,450 | $0 | $1,677 | $3,906 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 15.0 |
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). Danville and Campbell pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Danville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026-27 Operating Budget and CIP is posted on the town's Budget page, with budgets back to FY2014-15. Town of Danville
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe town's Granicus meeting portal posts agendas, staff reports, summaries of actions and video of council meetings. Town of Danville
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe town's pay page states council members receive $1,387 a month under Ordinance No. 2023-10. Town of Danville
- Partly: Employee pay published Town of Danville
Questions to ask your council
- Repayments from the former redevelopment agency, about $1.1 million a year, ended in FY2025-26. How will the general fund make up that money in the ten-year forecast?
- The ten-year forecast has town operating spending rising 21.54% while general fund revenue rises 13.0%. Which costs is the council watching most closely?
- The lighting and landscape assessment zones are forecast to exhaust their reserves by FY2035-36, and the general fund will transfer $1,100,000 to them in FY2026-27. What is the plan for those zones?
- General fund police costs under the Sheriff's Office contract are $13,078,140 in FY2026-27. How does the council review that contract's cost and staffing?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The town posted the draft FY2026-27 budget on April 30, 2026, the council held budget study sessions on May 5 and May 12, and it adopted the budget 5-0 on June 3, 2026. See who is running for council
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