How Newport Beach is run
Who runs Newport Beach, 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 Newport Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Newport Beach
A City Manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. The seven council members, each living in one of seven districts but elected by all city voters to four-year terms, set policy, pass ordinances and adopt the budget.
What they are paid
- Term runs from Dec. 27, 2025 to Dec. 30, 2030
- If fired without cause: up to 12 months' base salary plus up to 6 months of his cafeteria benefits allowance
- Yearly bonus of 2.5% of base salary, not paid in a year with an unsatisfactory performance review
- The city puts $51,000 a year into his 401(a) retirement account, rising by $5,000 each year starting in 2027
- Car allowance of $750 a month
- FY2026-27 budget: $120,176 in benefits for the six council members and $21,239 for the mayor
Newport Beach city staff
936 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (full-time) 239, Fire (full-time, incl. lifeguards) 156. FY2026-27. 786 full-time positions and 149.8 full-time-equivalent part-time positions in the adopted FY2026-27 budget, a net increase of 8.35. City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
The council adopts a citywide salary schedule with the pay range for every job, and the budget lists budgeted pay by position. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's Government Compensation in California data. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Newport Beach 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 long-range forecast projects a general fund surplus every year through FY2044-45, $13.5M in FY2026-27 and $17.3M in FY2031-32, assuming a $40 million citywide pension paydown payment each year through 2033. The FY2026-27 budget has a $2.3M structural surplus and does not use one-time revenue or reserves to balance. City of Newport Beach · Jun 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $98.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund contingency reserve equal to 25% of the adopted general fund operating budget, not counting capital projects, transfers out and extra pension payments. It is a safety net for emergencies. The FY2026-27 budget puts it at about $75 million. The city meets this target. City of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 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$171M · 49%
- Sales tax$49.7M · 14%
- Hotel tax (net of Visit Newport Beach share)$33.5M · 10%
- Charges for services$27.6M · 8%
- Transfers in (mostly from the Tidelands fund)$21.7M · 6%
- Other taxes$10.6M · 3%
- Property income (leases, rents)$9.6M · 3%
- Parking$9.5M · 3%
- Other (permits, other agencies, fines, interest, misc.)$16.5M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (police, fire, EMS, lifeguards)$163M · 47%
- Transfers to other funds (debt service, facilities, capital projects)$44.8M · 13%
- Municipal operations (parks, trees, trash, streets, facilities)$41.9M · 12%
- Community services (libraries, recreation, seniors)$31M · 9%
- General government (council, manager, attorney, clerk, finance, HR)$27.8M · 8%
- Public works$21.8M · 6%
- Community development$16.4M · 5%
- Other (non-departmental)$2.3M · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Proposition 13 sets the base levy at 1% of assessed value, shared among all the agencies serving a property. Voter-approved school and water district debt adds about 0.2%. Rates differ somewhat by school district within the city.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Newport Beach
- 1% base levy (shared by the city, county, schools and special districts)1 · 82%
- School district bonds0.16 · 13%
- Water districts0.055 · 5%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.214
FY2024-25 rates for property in Newport Beach (Orange County), as listed in the city's audited report. City of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
See what a Newport Beach home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Newport Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityNewport Beach Police DepartmentCity of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- FireThe cityNewport Beach Fire DepartmentCity of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- Ocean lifeguardsThe cityNewport Beach Fire Department lifeguardsCity of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- Police 911 dispatchThe cityNewport Beach Police Department Communication SectionCity of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Newport Beach utilitiesServes most areas within city limits.City of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- Sewer (wastewater)The cityCity of Newport Beach utilitiesServes most areas within city limits.City of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- LibraryThe cityNewport Beach Public Library (city)City of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- Parks and beachesThe cityCity of Newport BeachCity of Newport Beach · Jan 28, 2026
- HarborThe cityCity of Newport Beach Harbor DepartmentManages the city's mooring fields and the Balboa Yacht Basin marina.City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 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 | Redwood CityCA | MilpitasCA | Newport BeachCA | AlhambraCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 81,809 | 82,107 | 82,306 | 82,544 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $390,000 | $350,000 | $363,071 | $347,169 |
| Council member pay | $9,000 | $10,852 | $21,374 | $13,253 |
| General fund per resident | $2,519 | $1,852 | $4,235 | $1,251 |
| Debt per resident | $1,110 | $857 | $1,094 | $145 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,368 | $3,071 | $2,956 | $1,664 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 5.5 | 11.4 | 5.9 |
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).
What Newport Beach publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe full adopted FY2026-27 budget book is posted on the city website, and Resolution 2026-40 with fund totals is in Legistar. City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe July 22, 2025 employment agreement with Seimone Jurjis is posted on the city website. City of Newport Beach · Jul 22, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe citywide salary schedule adopted with the budget lists council member pay of $21,374 and mayor pay of $30,328 a year. City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Newport Beach · Jun 9, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city pays a level $40 million a year toward its pension shortfall and expects to pay it off by FY2032-33. What happens to the plan if CalPERS investment returns fall short?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $98.4 million on June 30, 2025, above the roughly $75 million contingency reserve the policy calls for. How does the council decide what to do with the rest?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget sends $44.8 million to other funds for debt, facilities and capital projects. How are those amounts set each year?
- The city manager's contract sets base pay at $363,071, while the FY2026-27 budget lists $390,054 for the position. What raises explain the difference?
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