How Redding is run
Who runs Redding, 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 Redding's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Redding
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day, hires city staff and prepares the budget. The council of five, elected citywide, sets policy and adopts ordinances and the budget.
What they are paid
Redding city staff
956 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 161, Fire 101. FY2026-27. City of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
The city posts salary schedules by bargaining unit, including a master salary schedule. We did not find a city list of pay by employee. Named pay here is only for the city manager. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Redding 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
General fund cash ended FY2025-26 at about $4.85M, against $11.6M expected when the budget was adopted. Staff's baseline ten-year plan shows a $4.97M deficit in FY2026-27 and negative cash through FY2036. A proposed transition plan, including closing Fire Station 3 and cutting sworn police from 114 to 105, would reach the 10% cash reserve target in FY2031. City of Redding · Oct 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $6.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council Policy 412 requires each major fund, except the electric utility, to keep cash reserves of at least 10% of expenditures in every year of its ten-year plan. City of Redding · Jan 15, 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
- Sales tax$32M · 28%
- Property taxes$31.5M · 28%
- Payments and transfers from other city funds (including the electric utility's in-lieu payment)$22.1M · 20%
- Hotel tax$7.9M · 7%
- Charges for services$5.3M · 5%
- Other taxes (cannabis, franchise, business license, property transfer)$4.8M · 4%
- Licenses and permits$2.8M · 3%
- Other (grants and other agencies, late fees and misc., fines, interest and rent)$6.3M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$45.6M · 40%
- Fire$29.6M · 26%
- Public works (transportation and engineering)$13.3M · 12%
- Community services (parks and recreation)$8.8M · 8%
- Administration (council, manager, clerk, attorney, personnel, finance)$7.1M · 6%
- Development services$6.8M · 6%
- Non-departmental (debt service, animal regulation, events)$3.7M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% general levy, which Shasta County splits among local agencies. The rest repays voter-approved school and college bonds. Homes in other school districts inside the city pay different bond rates.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Redding
- 1% general levy (shared by Shasta County, the city, schools and special districts)1 · 96%
- Shasta Union High School District bonds0.0229 · 2%
- Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Community College District bonds0.0139 · 1%
- Redding Elementary School District bonds0.0001 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0369
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Redding in the Redding Elementary and Shasta Union High school districts (Shasta County). Shasta County
See what a Redding house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Redding is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRedding Police DepartmentCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- FireThe cityRedding Fire Department (8 stations)Also covers the Buckeye Fire Protection DistrictCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- Emergency medical responseThe cityRedding Fire DepartmentCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- ElectricityThe cityRedding Electric Utility (city-owned)City of Redding · Jan 15, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Redding Water UtilityCity of Redding · Jan 15, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Redding Wastewater UtilityCity of Redding · Jan 15, 2026
- Storm drainsThe cityCity of Redding Storm Drain UtilityCity of Redding · Jan 15, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Redding Solid Waste UtilityCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Redding Public Works, Streets DivisionCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Redding Community ServicesCity of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- AirportsThe cityCity of Redding (Redding Regional Airport and Benton Field)City of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- Bus serviceAnother agencyRedding Area Bus Authority (RABA)City of Redding · Jan 15, 2026
- Animal controlContractorHaven HumaneCity of Redding
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 | South GateCA | ComptonCA | Santa MonicaCA | ReddingCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 93,467 | 93,937 | 94,237 | 94,294 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $301,600 | Not confirmed | $410,604 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $22,800 | $7,200 | $18,384 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $802 | $914 | $5,573 | $1,218 |
| Debt per resident | $311 | $1,205 | $3,282 | $2,053 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,099 | $1,726 | $4,467 | $3,777 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.3 | — | 24.3 | 10.1 |
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). Compton pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Redding publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 biennial budget and a Budget in Brief are posted on the city's budget page. City of Redding
- Partly: City manager's contract findable online City of Redding · Jan 6, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Redding · Jul 21, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Redding
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows only the council's total personnel cost. We found no readable ordinance or schedule stating each member's pay. City of Redding · Jun 17, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Redding
Questions to ask your council
- General fund cash ended FY2025-26 at about $4.85 million, against $11.6 million expected when the budget was adopted. What caused the gap, and what will change in how the city tracks cash?
- Staff's proposed transition plan would close Fire Station 3 and cut sworn police from 114 to 105. How would response times change, and what other options did the council weigh?
- CalPERS reported the city's two pension plans $356.1 million short at June 30, 2025, 65% to 68% funded. How much will the general fund pay toward that gap each year?
- General fund unassigned balance was $6.6 million on June 30, 2025, after the fund balance fell $6.7 million that year. When does the city expect to meet its 10% reserve rule again?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Redding adopts a two-year budget in odd-numbered years: council budget workshops in the spring, the city manager presents the proposed budget in June, and the council adopted the FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 budget on June 17, 2025. A mid-cycle review of the second year is on the Oct. 12, 2026 council agenda. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Redding next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.