How Downey is run
Who runs Downey, 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 Downey's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Downey
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
- A $10,000 yearly city contribution to his retirement plan
- A $300 monthly car allowance
- Six months' pay if fired without cause
- The council can end the contract with 30 days' notice
- Health, dental and life insurance, and long-term disability insurance
- Five-year contract, running through March 14, 2028
- Reimbursement of travel, lodging, meals and conference costs on city business
Downey city staff
470 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Downey · Jun 23, 2026
The city posts a comprehensive pay schedule with monthly pay ranges for every job class, and its website links to the State Controller's pay database. We did not pull pay bands from that database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Downey 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 FY2026-27 general fund budget is balanced: $122,141,978 in revenue against $122,068,714 in spending. The city's five-year forecast expects revenue to grow modestly while spending outpaces it, and says the city will look at updating its hotel tax. The budget notes the city has used fund balance and one-time money in recent years. City of Downey · Jun 23, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $113,380 (2025-06-30). City of Downey · Dec 19, 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$40.5M · 33%
- Sales tax$29.5M · 24%
- Licenses, permits and fees (including ambulance transport fees)$17.2M · 14%
- Utility users tax$9.1M · 7%
- Charges to other city funds and transfers in$7.1M · 6%
- Other revenue (interest, parking fines, rents)$6.7M · 5%
- Hotel, business license and other taxes$5.3M · 4%
- Other (franchise fees, state and county aid, service charges)$6.8M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$41.3M · 34%
- Fire and paramedics$29.2M · 24%
- Public works$12.5M · 10%
- Finance and information technology$9.2M · 8%
- Parks and recreation$7.1M · 6%
- Community development$6.8M · 6%
- City council, manager, clerk and attorney$6.4M · 5%
- Library$3.4M · 3%
- Other (human resources and costs not assigned to a department)$6.2M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Our sum from the city's audited rate table: the 1% base levy, split by who receives it in the city's main tax rate area, plus the voter-approved bond rates of Downey Unified, Cerritos College and the Metropolitan Water District. Homes in parts of Downey served by other school districts pay those districts' bond rates instead. About 12 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city.
12¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Downey
- Los Angeles County (general fund share of the 1% levy)0.3345 · 28%
- State school shift (ERAF) from the 1% levy0.2365 · 20%
- Downey Unified School District (share of the 1% levy)0.2154 · 18%
- City of Downey (share of the 1% levy)0.1397 · 12%
- Downey Unified School District bonds0.12561 · 10%
- Other shares of the 1% levy (Cerritos College, sanitation, flood control, county fire and others)0.0739 · 6%
- Cerritos Community College District bonds0.06489 · 5%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.1975
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Downey Unified and Cerritos College districts (Los Angeles County). City of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
See what a Downey house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Downey is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDowney Police DepartmentCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- FireThe cityDowney Fire DepartmentCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityDowney Fire Department (city paramedics and ambulances)City of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Downey water utilityCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- Sewer and storm drainsThe cityCity of Downey sewer and storm drain utilityCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorAthens Services (city franchise)City of Downey
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Downey Parks and RecreationCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- LibraryThe cityDowney City LibraryCity of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- Animal controlSeparate districtSoutheast Area Animal Control Authority (joint agency of nine cities)City of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- Golf courseThe cityCity of Downey (Rio Hondo Golf Club)City of Downey · Dec 19, 2025
- Space science centerThe cityCity of Downey (Columbia Memorial Space Center)City of Downey · Jun 23, 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 | DowneyCA | MurrietaCA | Santa MariaCA | TemeculaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 112,279 | 112,315 | 113,041 | 113,618 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $337,122 | $362,167 | $362,041 | $367,682 |
| Council member pay | No salary | $18,449 | $20,483 | $22,800 |
| General fund per resident | $1,087 | $716 | $952 | $1,147 |
| Debt per resident | $1,620 | $599 | $380 | $12 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,056 | $599 | $1,588 | $269 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.2 | 4.3 | 6.2 | 1.8 |
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). Temecula pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Downey publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 adopted budget book is posted on the city's ClearGov site, linked from the City Budgets page. City of Downey
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document The Downey Patriot · Mar 25, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts a comprehensive pay schedule with monthly pay ranges for every job class (Resolution 26-8377, adopted Aug. 11, 2026). City of Downey
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget is balanced at $122,068,714 in spending, but the city's forecast says spending will outpace revenue in later years. Which options, such as the hotel tax update, is the council weighing first?
- Downey's two CalPERS plans were $118.6 million short of full funding on June 30, 2025, and the city also repays pension obligation bonds. How do rising pension payments fit in the five-year forecast?
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