How Inglewood is run
Who runs Inglewood, 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 Inglewood's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Inglewood
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
Inglewood city staff
757 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 280. FY2026-27. Authorized positions in the FY2026-27 budget, up from 751. The city's audited report counted 737 full-time equivalents in FY2025. City of Inglewood · Sep 22, 2026
The city posts a yearly salary ordinance with pay ranges for every job class, and its labor agreements. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Inglewood 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 plans $279.3 million in spending against $248.5 million in revenue, using $30.8 million of reserves. The city says Measure AT on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot could add $45 million to $50 million a year, and Measure BB could cut about $8 million. It expects revenue growth to narrow the gap over time. City of Inglewood · Sep 22, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $158M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund reserve of at least 25% of the current year's spending appropriations. If reserves fall below that, staff must present the council with options to fix it. City of Inglewood · Apr 3, 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
- Property taxes (about half is the city pension tax levy)$59M · 21%
- Motor vehicle in-lieu (state)$27.9M · 10%
- Sales tax$26.6M · 10%
- Admissions tax (stadium and arena tickets)$22.8M · 8%
- Public safety fees and charges$22.3M · 8%
- Utility users tax$21M · 8%
- Community development fees and charges$17.9M · 6%
- Other (business license, hotel, card club and other taxes, interest, permits)$51M · 18%
- From general fund reserves$30.8M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$139M · 50%
- Public works$26.9M · 10%
- Non-departmental (includes the county fire contract)$25.3M · 9%
- Parks, recreation and community services$20.4M · 7%
- Development services$12.7M · 5%
- Finance$10.9M · 4%
- Housing services and code compliance$10.7M · 4%
- Other (administration, library, city attorney, emergency management, HR, clerk, civic center debt, council, treasurer)$33.8M · 12%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
From the city's audited rate table for tax rate area 4569. The city gets about 14% of the 1% base levy. On top of that it levies its own pension tax rate, which funds about $30 million of the general fund's property tax revenue.
11¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Inglewood
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and others)1 · 75%
- City of Inglewood pension tax rate0.147 · 11%
- School district bonds0.1794 · 13%
- Special districts0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.3333
2025 rates (city fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025) for a home in Inglewood's main tax rate area (Los Angeles County). City of Inglewood · Apr 3, 2026
See what a Inglewood home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Inglewood is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityInglewood Police DepartmentCity of Inglewood
- FireThe countyLos Angeles County Fire Department (city contract)FY2026-27 contract about $25.9 million, up 18.2%City of Inglewood
- EMS / ambulanceThe countyLos Angeles County Fire DepartmentCity of Inglewood
- WaterThe cityCity of Inglewood Water UtilityCity of Inglewood
- SewerThe cityCity of Inglewood Sewer FundCity of Inglewood
- SchoolsSeparate districtInglewood Unified School District (most of the city)City of Inglewood
- LibraryThe cityInglewood Public LibraryCity of Inglewood
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Inglewood Parks, Recreation and Community ServicesCity of Inglewood
- City streetsThe cityCity of Inglewood Public WorksCity of Inglewood
- Parking citation processingThe cityCity of Inglewood (also serves other cities)City of Inglewood
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 | Jurupa ValleyCA | InglewoodCA | BurbankCA | RialtoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 105,349 | 105,986 | 106,229 | 106,809 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $290,082 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $359,195 |
| Council member pay | $7,200 | $60,660 | $25,137 | $25,357 |
| General fund per resident | $681 | $2,635 | $2,656 | $1,623 |
| Debt per resident | $89 | $2,513 | $2,197 | $1,930 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $0 | $2,165 | $3,450 | $1,660 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 1.0 | 7.1 | 14.8 | 4.9 |
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). Jurupa Valley and Inglewood pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Inglewood publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Inglewood
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe FY2026-27 salary ordinance lists monthly pay: $9,275.25 for the mayor and $5,055.01 for council members. City of Inglewood · Sep 30, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Inglewood
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund plans to use $30.8 million of reserves. If Measure AT fails on Nov. 3, 2026, how will the council close the gap in later years?
- City policy is to pay current spending from current revenue and keep reserves of at least 25% of appropriations. With $157.9 million unassigned on Sept. 30, 2025, how much of it will the council use?
- Police take $138.6 million of the $279.3 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How much of the cost of policing stadium and arena events do the venues repay?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The city manager presents the proposed budget in late August or September (Sept. 22, 2026 this year), and the council adopts it by resolution; the FY2026-27 budget was adopted Sept. 29, 2026 on a 4-0 vote. See who is running for council
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