The Community
Centrally located and serving as the eastern anchor of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, the City of Fremont prides itself on being a vibrant and strategically urban community. Fremont is an ethnically and culturally diverse city of approximately 235,439 people with an area of 92 square miles, making it the fourth most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the 15th largest City in California.
Originally an agricultural area comprised of five small towns, Fremont has developed into a technological and advanced manufacturing power base that captures metropolitan living at its best. Fremont boasts over 42 million square feet of office, R&D, manufacturing, and warehouse building space. It is home to over 1,200 innovative high tech, life science, and clean technology firms including Tesla Motors, Lam Research, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Facebook, among many others. The City’s Innovation District is known as the hottest new address for start-ups. Over the last two years, companies in Fremont received more than $400 million in venture funding according to PitchBook Data.
Fremont residents enjoy a moderate climate, high rates of home ownership and educational achievement, a nationally recognized and highly rated public school system, and low crime and unemployment rates. With so much to offer, it’s no surprise that Fremont is frequently recognized as an ideal place to live and work.
The Organization
The City of Fremont is a full-service general law city operating under a Council-Manager form of government that combines the civic leadership of elected officials with the managerial experience of an appointed City Manager. Policy-making and legislative authority are vested in a seven-member city council. Six Councilmembers are elected on a by-district basis, with the Mayor separately elected to a four-year term by a citywide vote.
The City Council appoints the City Manager and City Attorney. The City Manager is responsible for implementing City Council policy and administering the day-to-day operations and affairs of the City in a businesslike and prudent manner. The City Attorney serves as chief legal advisor to the City, providing transactional and litigation services to the City, as represented by the City Council, City advisory bodies, and City departments.
The City of Fremont is an organization of approximately 995 full-time dedicated employees and supported by a FY 2022-23 General Fund budget of $249.3 million. City operations are organized into the following departments: City Manager’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, Community Development, Community Services, Economic Development, Finance, Fire, Human Resources, Human Services, Information Technology Services, Police, and Public Works.