How Diamond Bar is run
Who runs Diamond Bar, 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 Diamond Bar's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Diamond Bar
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
- Nine months' salary and benefits as severance if fired without cause
- $750 a month car allowance
- Same health, disability and life insurance as the city's executive managers
- At-will: the contract runs until he or the council ends it
- $300 a month car allowance
- $50 a month cell phone allowance
- CalPERS retirement
- Council conference budget of $31,500 for FY2026-27
Diamond Bar city staff
125 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2024-25. Includes part-time and seasonal staff counted as full-time equivalents, 56 of them in parks and recreation. Police and fire services are contracted. City of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
The city posts a salary and benefits schedule with pay ranges for every job. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Diamond Bar 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: $23.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The council keeps a separate committed contingency reserve of at least 25% of general fund spending, including transfers: $8,541,289 for FY2026-27. On June 30, 2025 that reserve held $8,071,538, on top of the unassigned balance. City of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 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
- Other taxes and fees (sales tax, hotel tax, franchise fees, property transfer tax)$9.6M · 28%
- State revenue (mainly property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees)$8.5M · 25%
- Property taxes$7M · 21%
- Service charges (development fees, recreation)$4.7M · 14%
- Use of money and property (interest, rents)$2.1M · 6%
- Transfers in (mainly gas tax for road maintenance)$1.6M · 5%
- Other (fines, cost reimbursements)$546,230 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (mainly the Sheriff's contract)$10.1M · 29%
- Public works$6.6M · 19%
- Parks and recreation$4.6M · 13%
- Administration and support$4.4M · 13%
- Community development$3.3M · 10%
- City administration (council, manager, clerk, attorney)$3M · 9%
- Transfers out$2.3M · 7%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar, about 4.5 cents goes to the city, its share of the 1% base levy. The city has no voter-approved tax rate of its own. Homes in the Pomona Unified area pay that district's bond rate (0.139) instead.
4¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Diamond Bar
- Other agencies' share of the 1% base levy (county, schools, special districts)0.9481 · 82%
- City of Diamond Bar (share of the 1% base levy)0.0519 · 4%
- Walnut Valley Unified School District (bonds)0.107 · 9%
- Mt. San Antonio College (bonds)0.041 · 4%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.155
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the Walnut Valley Unified School District area (Los Angeles County). City of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
See what a Diamond Bar house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Diamond Bar is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department (contract)City of Diamond Bar · Jun 2, 2026
- FireThe countyLos Angeles County Fire DistrictCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- LibrarySeparate districtLos Angeles County library districtCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- SewerSeparate districtLos Angeles County Sanitation DistrictCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtWalnut Valley Water DistrictCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- Trash collectionPrivate companyPrivate waste collection companiesCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtWalnut Valley Unified and Pomona Unified School DistrictsCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- Animal controlContractorInland Valley Humane Society (contract)City of Diamond Bar · Jun 2, 2026
- Street maintenanceContractorContractors managed by city Public WorksCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- Building and safetyContractorContract servicesCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Diamond Bar Parks & RecreationPark maintenance is contractedCity of Diamond Bar · Jan 28, 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 | ColtonCA | Huntington ParkCA | Diamond BarCA | PlacentiaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 52,844 | 52,961 | 53,538 | 53,613 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $336,000 | $270,000 | $289,806 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $5,280 | $27,276 | $8,952 | $1,800 |
| General fund per resident | $1,438 | $827 | $638 | $1,005 |
| Debt per resident | $1,142 | $73 | $106 | $1,175 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,447 | $1,372 | $159 | $154 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 3.5 |
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). Huntington Park and Diamond Bar pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Diamond Bar publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2027 budget book, adopted June 2, 2026, is linked from the Annual Budget page, with archives back to 1989. City of Diamond Bar
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe new city manager's employment agreement is attached to item 8.1 of the June 16, 2026 council agenda packet. City of Diamond Bar · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list ayes, noes and absences by name, e.g. the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on June 2, 2026. City of Diamond Bar · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city links council agendas, minutes and meeting videos from its transparency page; meetings stream live and can be viewed on YouTube. City of Diamond Bar
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe council compensation page states $746 a month ($8,952 a year) plus allowances. City of Diamond Bar
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts its FY2026-27 compensation plan with pay ranges by position, approved by the council June 2, 2026. City of Diamond Bar · Jun 2, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Public safety, mostly the Sheriff's contract, is the largest FY2026-27 general fund line at $10.1 million. How does the council review what the contract delivers?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $23.1 million on June 30, 2025, plus an $8.1 million contingency reserve. How much should the city draw on them while the structural deficit lasts?
- The CalPERS plan was 82% funded, $8.5 million short, on June 30, 2025. Does the city plan extra payments to reduce the shortfall?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council held community budget workshops on March 3 and April 14, 2026. It adopted the FY2026-27 budget on June 2, 2026 (Resolution No. 2026-15). See who is running for council
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