How West Covina is run
Who runs West Covina, 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 West Covina's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs West Covina
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. The five council members, elected by district, pass ordinances, adopt the budget, and hire the city manager and city attorney. The city clerk and city treasurer are elected.
What they are paid
- No severance pay if the council ends the contract
- CalPERS pension: the city pays the employer share and he pays the full member share
- Same health, dental, vision and life insurance as other department heads
- Same deferred compensation and car allowance as other department heads
- One-year term from June 3, 2026, then month to month
- $300 a month car allowance
- $5,000 yearly allowance for conferences, community events and city travel; unused balances roll over
West Covina city staff
434 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 177, Fire 76. FY2026-27. Budgeted full- and part-time positions, up from 421 in the FY2025-26 budget. City of West Covina · Jun 16, 2026
The city posts its labor contracts and a department head salary schedule, and links to the State Controller's pay database. We did not pull pay bands from that database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is West Covina 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 budget is balanced, with a projected surplus of $107,896. The city's May 2026 five-year forecast projects deficits of about $2.9 million in FY2027-28 and $2.2 million in FY2028-29, and says spending is rising faster than revenue. City of West Covina · Jun 16, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $21M (2025-06-30). City of West Covina · Jun 25, 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$39.2M · 39%
- Sales tax$27.4M · 27%
- Other taxes (franchise, business license, hotel)$10.8M · 11%
- Charges for services (including ambulance fees)$10.3M · 10%
- Licenses and permits$3.5M · 3%
- From other agencies$2.9M · 3%
- Other (interest and rents, miscellaneous, overhead charges, fines, transfer in)$5.8M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$38.4M · 38%
- Fire and paramedics$26.1M · 26%
- Transfer to debt service fund (bond payments)$12.2M · 12%
- Public works$5.4M · 5%
- Finance$4.3M · 4%
- Community development$2.7M · 3%
- Community services$2.6M · 3%
- Other (council, manager, clerk, human resources, code enforcement, other transfers)$8M · 8%
Who provides your services
Not everything in West Covina is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityWest Covina Police DepartmentCity of West Covina · Jun 25, 2026
- FireThe cityWest Covina Fire Department (five stations)City of West Covina · Jun 16, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityWest Covina Fire Department (three paramedic ambulances)City of West Covina · Jun 16, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of West Covina (sewer maintenance fund)City of West Covina · Jun 16, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of West Covina Public WorksCity of West Covina · Jun 25, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of West Covina (16 parks, 4 community centers, a sports complex)City of West Covina · Jun 25, 2026
- Local transitThe cityCity of West Covina (West Covina Shuttle and Dial-A-Ride)City of West Covina · Jun 16, 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 | ChicoCA | El MonteCA | West CovinaCA | Costa MesaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 108,113 | 108,192 | 108,937 | 109,436 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $285,000 | $389,953 | $249,562 | $320,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $8,800 | $24,324 | $17,907 |
| General fund per resident | $997 | $1,078 | $915 | $1,827 |
| Debt per resident | $132 | $1,480 | $2,118 | $209 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,470 | $566 | $297 | $3,022 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 6.5 |
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). El Monte pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What West Covina 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 adopted budget book is posted in the city's Archive Center under Annual Budgets. City of West Covina
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of West Covina
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each motion's maker and the yes and no votes by name, e.g. the June 16, 2026 meeting. City of West Covina
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of West Covina
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance No. 2518 sets council pay at $2,027 a month; Resolution 2023-105 lists council benefits. City of West Covina
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city posts labor contracts and a department head salary schedule, and links to the State Controller's pay database. City of West Covina
Questions to ask your council
- The city's May 2026 forecast projects general fund deficits of about $2.9 million in FY2027-28 and $2.2 million in FY2028-29. Which steps is the council weighing to close them?
- The general fund sends $12.2 million a year to the debt service fund, and $187.8 million of the 2020 pension bonds was still owed on June 30, 2025. How will those payments fit with a new $4.9 million CalPERS payment in FY2026-27?
The fiscal year starts July 1. A budget survey runs from January to April, community budget workshops follow (April 20, 22 and 23, 2026), the proposed budget and long-range forecast go to the council in May (May 5, 2026), and the council adopts the budget in June; the FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 16, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about West Covina 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.