How Wildomar is run
Who runs Wildomar, 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 Wildomar's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Wildomar
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day. The five-member council, elected by district, adopts the budget and local laws and appoints the city manager and city attorney. The city contracts with Riverside County for police (Sheriff) and fire (CAL FIRE).
What they are paid
- Severance of up to 12 months' base salary plus health coverage if fired without cause
- City puts the yearly maximum into his 457 deferred compensation account
- City pays 100% of family medical, dental and vision premiums
- $500 a month car allowance and $120 a month phone and internet allowance
- Contract runs to September 30, 2029
- Council medical, dental and vision insurance budget: $107,100 a year (FY2026-27)
Wildomar city staff
60 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Authorized positions, not counting the council. The audited report counts 41 full-time employees as of June 30, 2025. City of Wildomar · Jun 11, 2025
The budget lists budgeted salary cost for every position. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Wildomar 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.7M (2025-06-30). City of Wildomar · Mar 17, 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$6.8M · 32%
- Vehicle license fee swap (SB130)$4.1M · 20%
- Sales tax$2.8M · 13%
- Building and safety fees$2.6M · 12%
- Other license and permit fees$1.7M · 8%
- Franchise fees$1.5M · 7%
- Cannabis revenue$603,200 · 3%
- Interest and investments$580,000 · 3%
- Other (fines, other state funds, service charges, misc.)$403,800 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Sheriff contract)$6.3M · 31%
- Fire (CAL FIRE contract)$3.3M · 16%
- Building and safety$1.2M · 6%
- Administrative services (finance)$1.1M · 6%
- Planning$754,600 · 4%
- Public works and engineering$745,200 · 4%
- Private development engineering$702,900 · 3%
- Risk management$685,300 · 3%
- Other (council, manager, clerk, attorney, IT, animal control, code enforcement, other)$5.8M · 28%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Wildomar is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyRiverside County Sheriff's DepartmentCity of Wildomar · Mar 17, 2026
- FireThe countyRiverside County Fire Department (CAL FIRE)City of Wildomar · Mar 17, 2026
- EMSThe countyRiverside County Fire Department (CAL FIRE)City of Wildomar · Jun 11, 2025
- Water and sewerSeparate districtElsinore Valley Municipal Water DistrictCity of Wildomar
- Trash and recyclingContractorCR&R Environmental ServicesCity of Wildomar
- Animal control and shelterContractorAnimal Friends of the ValleysCity of Wildomar · Jun 10, 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 | MontclairCA | Bell GardensCA | WildomarCA | MonroviaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 38,378 | 38,484 | 38,841 | 39,094 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $304,512 | Not confirmed | $281,000 | $280,716 |
| Council member pay | $17,256 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $15,300 |
| General fund per resident | $1,085 | $1,370 | $529 | $1,668 |
| Debt per resident | $3,428 | $104 | $29 | $3,753 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $794 | $1,328 | $22 | $971 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 6.1 |
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). Wildomar pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Wildomar publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Wildomar
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe September 2025 employment agreement with Chris Mann is posted on the city's website. City of Wildomar · Sep 26, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Wildomar · Jun 10, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineAgendas, minutes and videos of council meetings are posted on the city's Granicus page. City of Wildomar
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists $76,500 in stipends for five council members but not each member's monthly pay. City of Wildomar · Jun 11, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The unassigned general fund balance was $11,717,417 on June 30, 2025. What does the council plan to do with the amount above its reserve policy?
- Police is the largest general fund cost at $6,305,500. How does the council review the value of the Sheriff contract each year?
- The audited report for the year ended June 30, 2025 was signed March 17, 2026. What would it take to finish the audit sooner?
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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?
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