How Riverside is run
Who runs Riverside, 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 Riverside's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Riverside
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. Seven council members, elected by ward to four-year terms, pass ordinances and adopt the budget. The mayor is elected citywide, presides over meetings and votes only to break a tie. The council also hires the city attorney and city clerk.
What they are paid
- Paid $195.05 an hour, the city manager salary on the city's public pay schedule
- Limited to 960 hours a fiscal year as a CalPERS retiree; cost up to about $187,245
- No health, life or disability insurance, deferred compensation, phone stipend or vehicle allowance
- No paid vacation, sick leave or holidays
- The city can end the agreement at any time, owing only pay earned; it ends when a permanent manager starts
- City health, dental and vision plans, or a $2,000 yearly stipend for opting out
- City-paid life insurance of twice the yearly salary
Riverside city staff
2,742 full-time-equivalent positions, including General fund 1,578, Electric utility 468, Measure Z sales tax fund 173, Water utility 165, Sewer 122. FY2026-27. Up from 2,735.24 counted in the audited report for FY2024-25. City of Riverside · Jun 23, 2026
Pay ranges for each job are in the city's Fringe Benefits and Salary Plan. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Riverside 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 city says it has come through years of structural deficits and closes the projected gap using both the general fund and Measure Z. The plan counts $8.0M of cost cuts and personnel savings in FY2026-27 and $10.7M in FY2027-28. It draws $7.9M from a pension set-aside in FY2026-27, then $12.0M to $15.3M a year from the Section 115 pension trust from FY2027-28. Water utility transfers of $54.8M over five years are held back pending litigation. The city says keeping reserves at 20% remains a challenge. City of Riverside · Jun 23, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $45.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund reserves equal to 20% of the next year's adopted budget: a 15% emergency reserve (10% minimum) and a 5% economic contingency reserve. The city holds this money as committed fund balance, $76.4M at June 30, 2025, separate from the unassigned balance. City of Riverside · 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
- Property tax$102M · 27%
- Sales and use tax$98.4M · 26%
- Transfer from the city electric utility$50.6M · 13%
- Utility users tax$37.3M · 10%
- Transfer from Measure Z sales tax fund$18.3M · 5%
- Charges for services (non-development)$12.8M · 3%
- Licenses and permits$11.2M · 3%
- Other (water utility transfer held in escrow, pension set-aside, hotel tax, franchise fees, development fees, other)$53M · 14%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$135M · 35%
- Fire$79.3M · 21%
- Parks, recreation and community services$35.4M · 9%
- Public works$24.6M · 6%
- Non-departmental (citywide costs)$20.4M · 5%
- Community and economic development$18.5M · 5%
- Innovation and technology$16.6M · 4%
- Other (city attorney, finance, library, museum, city manager, council, mayor, other offices), net of $19.6M charged to other funds$53.6M · 14%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Riverside is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRiverside Police DepartmentCity of Riverside
- FireThe cityRiverside Fire DepartmentCity of Riverside
- ElectricityThe cityRiverside Public Utilities (city-owned)City of Riverside
- WaterThe cityRiverside Public Utilities (city-owned)City of Riverside
- SewerThe cityCity of RiversideCity of Riverside
- StreetsThe cityCity of RiversideCity of Riverside
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of RiversideCity of Riverside
- AirportThe cityRiverside Municipal Airport (city)City of Riverside
- Senior and disabled transitThe cityCity of RiversideCity of Riverside
- LibraryThe cityRiverside Public Library (city department)City of Riverside
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 | Santa AnaCA | IrvineCA | RiversideCA | StocktonCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 312,808 | 317,744 | 321,884 | 322,436 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $340,200 | $434,242 | $405,696 | $390,277 |
| Council member pay | $12,000 | $10,560 | $45,732 | $30,833 |
| General fund per resident | $1,391 | $982 | $1,191 | $1,068 |
| Debt per resident | $1,677 | $1,048 | $5,627 | $1,377 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,118 | $533 | $1,209 | $2,061 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.6 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 5.6 |
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). Santa Ana and Irvine pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Riverside publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-2028 adopted biennial budget, adopted June 23, 2026, is posted as a PDF on the city's website. City of Riverside · Jun 23, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Riverside · Jul 28, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe January 2025 salary ordinances set monthly pay for the mayor, council members and mayor pro tem. City of Riverside · Jan 28, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Riverside · Jan 28, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget draws $7.9 million from a pension set-aside, and the plan takes $12.0 million to $15.3 million a year from the Section 115 trust from FY2027-28. What happens when those funds run low?
- About $54.8 million of water utility transfers over five years are held back pending litigation. What would the general fund cut if the city loses?
- CalPERS showed $389.0 million unfunded on June 30, 2025, on top of $389.9 million of pension bonds. Can the budget absorb payments rising from $45.7 million to $53.4 million by FY2031-32?
- The interim city manager may work at most 960 hours a fiscal year. When does the council expect to hire a permanent manager?
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