The City of Alameda, California is a unique island community of approximately 76,000 residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. With connections to the East Bay mainland by four bridges, two underwater tubes, and highly-desirable ferry service to San Francisco, we are within minutes of numerous cultural activities in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. People are drawn to Alameda for our safe and inviting residential communities with distinguished neighborhood schools, boutique shopping, and a broad mix of destination restaurants. Alameda takes pride in being a vibrant community with a rich maritime history and small-town charm. We offer a diverse mix of housing, including multi-family units and historic Victorian homes along tree-lined streets. According to Money Magazine, the City of Alameda compares favorably to the “best places to live” in America. Alameda was incorporated in 1854 and became a charter city in 1916 with a Council-Manager form of government. The five-member Mayor/Council serves four-year terms, staggered at even numbered years. The City is a full-service organization providing residents with a range of municipal services including police and fire protection; construction and maintenance of streets, storm drains, and other infrastructure; a state-of-the-art library system; economic development; an active planning and building permit center; and over 400 acres of parks and recreational facilities including multi-use athletic fields, picnic sites, a skate park, a swim center, and a full service senior center. The city employs approximately 500 full-time employees in the departments of the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Fire, Police, Community Development, Base Reuse, Public Works, Recreation & Parks, Library, and Alameda Municipal Power.