How Richmond is run
Who runs Richmond, 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 Richmond's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Richmond
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
- Paid $182.74 an hour, with no other benefits, incentives or pay
- Limited to 960 hours of work a fiscal year as a CalPERS retired annuitant
- Serves at the pleasure of the council and reports directly to it
- Appointment ends when a permanent City Manager starts, and no later than April 3, 2027
Richmond city staff
812 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time equivalent positions citywide. The budget assumes about 12 percent of positions stay vacant, saving about $16.4M; 680 positions were filled on May 31, 2026. City of Richmond · Jun 23, 2026
The city posts a public salary schedule; the interim City Manager's hourly rate is capped by it. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Richmond 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: $62.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a year-end contingency reserve of at least 21% of the next year's budgeted general fund spending, including transfers out: $54.6M for FY2025-26. The reserve is part of the unassigned balance, which equaled 24.2% on June 30, 2025. The city meets this target. City of Richmond · Feb 9, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $62.8M. Line: the amount the city's target calls for.
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
- Utility users tax$70.5M · 26%
- Sales and use tax$63.4M · 23%
- Property taxes$60.1M · 22%
- Other taxes$28.4M · 10%
- Transfers in (mostly from the pension tax override fund)$23.3M · 8%
- Licenses, permits and fees$18.4M · 7%
- Other (fees, interest, charges for services, rents, grants)$10.6M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries and wages$102M · 37%
- Fringe benefits (including pensions)$83.6M · 30%
- Professional and administrative$28.7M · 10%
- Transfers out to other funds$21.9M · 8%
- Internal cost pool charges$18.6M · 7%
- Other operating$8.7M · 3%
- Other (utilities, equipment, capital outlay, debt service, less cost reimbursements)$12.9M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% base levy that Proposition 13 caps; the county splits it among the city, the county, schools and districts. The city's share of the base levy is about 0.29%. On top of that, Richmond property owners pay a 0.14% city rate for pension costs and voter-approved rates for school, college, BART and park district debt. Not every rate applies to every property.
10¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Richmond
- 1% base levy (shared by the city, county, schools and districts)1 · 70%
- West Contra Costa Unified School District bonds0.2489 · 18%
- City of Richmond pension tax (voter-approved)0.14 · 10%
- BART0.0148 · 1%
- Contra Costa Community College bonds0.0142 · 1%
- East Bay Regional Park District0.0013 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.4192
FY2024-25 rates for a property in Richmond (Contra Costa County). City of Richmond · Feb 9, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Richmond is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRichmond Police DepartmentCity of Richmond · Feb 9, 2026
- Fire and emergency medical servicesThe cityRichmond Fire DepartmentCity of Richmond · Jun 23, 2026
- LibraryThe cityRichmond Public LibraryCity of Richmond · Feb 9, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of RichmondCity of Richmond · Jun 23, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Richmond Public WorksCity of Richmond · Jun 23, 2026
- PortThe cityPort of RichmondCity of Richmond · Feb 9, 2026
- Planning and community developmentThe cityCity of RichmondCity of Richmond · Feb 9, 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 | MurrietaCA | Santa MariaCA | TemeculaCA | RichmondCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 112,315 | 113,041 | 113,618 | 113,695 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $362,167 | $362,041 | $367,682 | $380,089 |
| Council member pay | $18,449 | $20,483 | $22,800 | $30,294 |
| General fund per resident | $716 | $952 | $1,147 | $2,429 |
| Debt per resident | $599 | $380 | $12 | $3,661 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $599 | $1,588 | $269 | $3,108 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 7.1 |
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). Temecula pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Richmond 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 operating budget, adopted June 23, 2026, is posted as a PDF and an online budget book. City of Richmond
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Richmond · Sep 22, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes name each member voting aye, no or abstaining on motions. City of Richmond · Jan 21, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Richmond
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Richmond · Jan 21, 2025
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city keeps a public salary schedule; the City Manager range tops out at $31,674.08 a month. City of Richmond · Sep 22, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget assumes about 12 percent of positions stay vacant to save about $16.4 million, and leaves out raises for three police and fire unions. How will new labor agreements be paid for?
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $353.4 million short on June 30, 2025, and the city also owes $154.1 million on pension obligation bonds. What is the plan to pay these down?
- The auditor gave no opinion on the Housing Authority for FY2024-25 because its statements were not audited. When will those statements be audited?
The fiscal year starts July 1. For FY2026-27, the City Manager presented the draft budget on May 5, 2026. The council held study sessions on May 26 and June 9, reviewed the budget on June 16, and adopted it on June 23, 2026. Staff then present a first-quarter budget review. See who is running for council
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