How Newport is run
Who runs Newport, 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's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Newport
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Newport city staff
144 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (sworn) 45, Fire/EMS (firefighters and officers) 44. 2025-06-30. Full-time equivalent employees on June 30, 2025, from the audit's statistical section, up from 118 in 2022. City of Newport · Jan 22, 2026
The budget lists positions and wage totals by department. We found no published pay by job or by person. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Newport 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: $13.4M (2025-06-30). City of Newport · Jan 22, 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
- Licenses and permits (payroll, insurance premium and gross receipts license fees)$20.1M · 67%
- Property taxes$4.5M · 15%
- Charges for services$2M · 7%
- Intergovernmental$1.4M · 5%
- Uses of property$1.1M · 4%
- Interest earnings$425,000 · 1%
- Fines and forfeitures$395,600 · 1%
- Other (transfers, special events, other revenue)$80,290 · 0%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$9.2M · 31%
- Fire/EMS$8.4M · 28%
- Community services (public works, parks, pool)$3.5M · 12%
- City Manager's office$3M · 10%
- Debt service$2.5M · 8%
- Development services$1.4M · 5%
- Finance$1.4M · 5%
- Other (municipal complex building)$384,980 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
More than half of the property tax rate goes to the school district. The city's share is about 16 cents of each dollar. For 2026 the board set the city's real property rate at $2.31 per $1,000.
16¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Newport
- Newport Independent Schools7.68 · 56%
- City of Newport2.15 · 16%
- Campbell County1.65 · 12%
- Other local districts1.1 · 8%
- State of Kentucky1.09 · 8%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)13.67
FY2025 property tax rates for a home in the city of Newport (Campbell County). City of Newport · Jan 22, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Newport is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityNewport Police Department45 sworn officers.City of Newport · Jan 22, 2026
- FireThe cityNewport Fire/EMS DepartmentTwo stations.City of Newport
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityNewport Fire/EMS DepartmentCity of Newport
- StreetsThe cityNewport Public Works DivisionStreet maintenance, sweeping, leaf collection and snow removal.City of Newport
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Newport Community ServicesIncludes the Veterans Memorial Pool.City of Newport · Jan 22, 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 | NewportKY | BardstownKY | ShepherdsvilleKY | ShivelyKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 13,998 | 14,161 | 14,931 | 15,895 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,122 | $3,288 | $2,985 | $1,152 |
| Debt per resident | $2,666 | $1,476 | $3,076 | $8 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,230 | $1,658 | $1,554 | $1,155 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 10.3 | — | — | — |
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 publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 budget ordinance with fund and department totals is posted. The latest detailed budget book posted is for FY2026. City of Newport · Jun 23, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no contract or salary document for the City Manager on the city's ordinances page or in the budget. City of Newport
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineBoard minutes list each member's yes or no vote on roll calls. City of Newport · Jun 23, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no ordinance or budget line stating mayor or commissioner pay on the city's ordinances page or in its budget. City of Newport
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows position counts and wage totals by department, not pay by job or person. City of Newport · Jun 1, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- Licenses and permits, mostly payroll and insurance premium license fees, are budgeted at $20.1 million of $29.9 million of general fund revenue in FY2026-27. How would the budget change if payroll growth slows?
- The city has no written minimum fund balance target, with $13.4 million unassigned on June 30, 2025. Should the board adopt one?
- Bonds payable stood at $37.3 million on June 30, 2025, including bonds for the 4th Street Garage, and up to $12.5 million more is proposed. How will garage revenue cover its share of the payments?
- The city's net pension liability was $31.2 million on June 30, 2025, most of it for police and fire. What is the plan to pay it down?
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