How Simi Valley is run
Who runs Simi Valley, 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 Simi Valley's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Simi Valley
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
- Contract runs through June 30, 2029, then renews one year at a time
- $500 a month car allowance
- CalPERS pension and the city's 457 and 401(k) plans, on the same terms as other executive managers
- Same health, disability and life insurance as other executive managers (life insurance currently $151,000)
- Written performance review by the council every year
- $400 a month mileage allowance
Simi Valley city staff
547 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (123 sworn) 178, Public Works 91, Sanitation 58, Environmental Services 49, Transit 45, Waterworks 42. FY2026-27. Authorized full-time equivalent positions, all city departments, including water, sanitation and transit. City of Simi Valley · Jun 8, 2026
The adopted budget lists hourly pay ranges for every job class. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Simi Valley 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's five-year forecast shows a small general fund surplus every year, from $284,863 in FY2026-27 to $111,053 in FY2030-31, and the city says it is structurally balanced. The forecast assumes personnel costs grow 4.5% in FY2027-28 and 4% a year after that. New employee pay agreements are expected to reduce the projected FY2025-26 surplus of about $7.6 million. City of Simi Valley · Jun 8, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $42.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a Prudent Reserve equal to 17% of budgeted general fund spending, set aside as committed funds for catastrophes such as earthquakes, fires and floods. At June 30, 2025 it held $17.0M, apart from the unassigned balance. Year-end surplus can be moved to pension and infrastructure funds only when the unassigned balance exceeds 30% of operating spending. City of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 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 taxes$45M · 45%
- Sales and use tax$25.2M · 25%
- Franchise taxes$6M · 6%
- Transfers in (mostly gas tax)$5M · 5%
- Interest and rents$4.2M · 4%
- Charges for services$3.7M · 4%
- Licenses and permits$3.5M · 3%
- Other (business tax, hotel tax, grants, fines, misc.)$8.3M · 8%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$44.3M · 43%
- Public works$20.4M · 20%
- Non-departmental$10M · 10%
- Environmental services (planning, building, code enforcement)$9.8M · 9%
- City administration$8.5M · 8%
- Administrative services$7.8M · 8%
- Other (city attorney, emergency services)$2.5M · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city has no voter-approved rate of its own; it gets a share of the 1% base levy, which this table does not break out. The rest of the bill pays for school and college bonds and the Metropolitan Water District.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Simi Valley
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and other agencies)1 · 91%
- Simi Valley Unified School District bondsTwo bond rates: 0.0422 and 0.03250.0747 · 7%
- Ventura County Community College District bonds0.0139 · 1%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0956
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Simi Valley (Ventura County), tax rate area 09006. County of Ventura Auditor-Controller
See what a Simi Valley house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Simi Valley is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySimi Valley Police DepartmentCity of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe citySimi Valley Police Department (Communications)City of Simi Valley · Jun 8, 2026
- EMS / paramedicsThe countyCounty of VenturaCity of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Simi Valley Sanitation DivisionCity of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorWaste Management (G.I. Industries), under an exclusive city franchiseCity of Simi Valley
- Parks and recreationSeparate districtRancho Simi Recreation and Park DistrictCity of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- Animal servicesThe countyCounty of VenturaCity of Simi Valley · Dec 15, 2025
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 | Thousand OaksCA | FairfieldCA | ConcordCA | Simi ValleyCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 121,286 | 121,389 | 122,494 | 123,842 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $362,985 | $304,138 | $346,931 | $328,140 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2008) | $15,600 | $22,800 | $14,433 |
| General fund per resident | $1,048 | $1,320 | $1,173 | $812 |
| Debt per resident | $47 | $927 | $821 | $451 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $512 | $1,980 | $2,056 | $1,170 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.0 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
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). Thousand Oaks and Concord pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Simi Valley publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Simi Valley
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Simi Valley
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's roll call vote, e.g. the FY2026-27 budget passed June 8, 2026 with all five members voting yes. City of Simi Valley
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city posts council agendas, minutes, staff reports and video archives online. City of Simi Valley
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted budget's salary table lists a biweekly stipend of $555.12 for council members, including the mayor. City of Simi Valley · Jun 8, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Simi Valley
Questions to ask your council
- The five-year forecast shows general fund surpluses shrinking from $284,863 in FY2026-27 to $111,053 in FY2030-31. What would the city change if costs grow faster than forecast?
- CalPERS reports the city's two pension plans were $144.9 million short at June 30, 2025. How much of each year's budget goes to paying down that shortfall?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $42.5 million on June 30, 2025. How does the council decide how much to keep and how much to spend?
- Police is $44.3 million of the $100.5 million general fund budget for FY2026-27. How will the new police pay agreements affect that in later years?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Departments prepare requests from November to March, the city manager proposes a budget in May (May 18, 2026 this year), the city held a public budget meeting May 21, and the council holds budget hearings in June; the FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 8, 2026. See who is running for council
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