How Fontana is run
Who runs Fontana, 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 Fontana's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Fontana
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
- Severance of 12 months' salary and benefits if fired without cause (less if under 12 months remain on the contract)
- Contract runs to April 17, 2030; it extends a year unless the council gives six months' notice
- $5,000 a year into a retiree health savings plan, and the city pays his share of Medicare
- $125 a month cell phone allowance, an iPad or laptop, and a yearly executive physical
- 80 hours of administrative leave a year, cashed out each June 30
Fontana city staff
704 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 323, Public works and engineering 149. FY2026-27. City of Fontana · Jun 9, 2026
The city adopts salary ranges for each job class by council resolution and posts them in its Legistar agenda system. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fontana 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $35.7M (2025-06-30). City of Fontana · Dec 23, 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 tax$55.1M · 25%
- Property taxes$51.3M · 23%
- Transactional use tax (local one-cent sales tax)$48.1M · 22%
- Business-related revenue$11.8M · 5%
- From other agencies (incl. fire district reimbursements)$11.4M · 5%
- Franchise fees$11.2M · 5%
- Development-related fees$9.6M · 4%
- Transfers in from other funds$9.3M · 4%
- Other (interest and rentals, recreation, reimbursements, misc.)$15.4M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$94.8M · 43%
- Transfers to other funds (technology, building maintenance, capital, fire station lease)$55.2M · 25%
- Public works and engineering (incl. parks and landscape)$19.6M · 9%
- Community services (recreation, events, seniors, youth)$16.7M · 8%
- Development services, building and safety, planning$14.3M · 6%
- Finance$6.5M · 3%
- Innovation and technology$5.7M · 3%
- Other (city administration, elected officials, HR, city clerk, administrative services)$9.7M · 4%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each dollar of the 1% base tax, the city's general fund gets about 3 cents and the city-run fire district about 19 cents, about 22 cents in all. Voter-approved bond rates for schools and water are added on top and vary by location, so not all of them apply to every property.
22¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fontana
- Fontana Unified School District0.273 · 27%
- Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (state shift to schools)0.222 · 22%
- Fontana Fire Protection District (governed by the city council)0.186 · 19%
- County of San Bernardino0.147 · 15%
- Chaffey Community College0.043 · 4%
- Other agencies0.043 · 4%
- City of Fontana0.032 · 3%
- Inland Empire Utilities Agency0.029 · 3%
- Flood control0.026 · 3%
- Total (% of assessed value)1
FY2024-25 split of the 1% base property tax for a property in the city of Fontana (San Bernardino County). City of Fontana · Dec 23, 2025
See what a Fontana house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fontana is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFontana Police DepartmentCity of Fontana · Jun 10, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Fontana (sewer lines and billing); Inland Empire Utilities Agency treats wastewaterThe city owns 437 miles of sewer lines; part of the city's wastewater is treated by the City of Rialto.City of Fontana
- Trash and recyclingContractorBurrtec Waste IndustriesCity of Fontana
- LibraryThe countySan Bernardino County Library (Fontana Lewis Library and Technology Center)San Bernardino County Library
- ParksThe cityCity of Fontana Public Works (parks and landscape) and Community ServicesCity of Fontana
- City streetsThe cityCity of Fontana Public WorksCity of Fontana
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 | Moreno ValleyCA | FontanaCA | ModestoCA | Santa ClaritaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 211,365 | 219,774 | 220,048 | 232,883 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $344,677 | $383,321 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $21,144 | $25,272 | $31,860 | $29,336 |
| General fund per resident | $1,010 | $1,012 | $980 | $676 |
| Debt per resident | $399 | $263 | $1,237 | $384 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $400 | $849 | $1,842 | $142 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 3.2 | 6.6 | 2.2 |
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). Moreno Valley and Santa Clarita pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Fontana publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe two-year adopted budget, the FY2026-27 supplemental budget and quarterly budget status reports are posted on the city's Budget page. City of Fontana
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Fontana
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineLegistar records each member's vote, and adopted resolutions list ayes and absences, e.g. the June 9, 2026 budget-year resolutions. City of Fontana
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe council page links to agendas, minutes and meeting videos; meetings are also televised on FXN TV. City of Fontana
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Fontana
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Fontana
Questions to ask your council
- City debt was $57.8 million in June 2025, before the city's financing authority issued new lease revenue bonds in November 2025. How much will yearly payments on the new bonds cost the general fund?
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