Newport Beach is a charter city governed by an elected, seven-member City Council. The City operates under a council-manager form of government.
The City Council appoints a City Manager whose responsibilities include carrying out the policies and ordinances of the City Council, preparing the annual budget, conducting long-range planning, appointing heads of departments, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city. The Council also appoints a City Attorney to handle the City's legal affairs and a City Clerk who is responsible for all documentation of Council action, preservation of official records, and serves as the City's election official.
The City of Newport Beach is a full-service city and provides its residents with nearly all public services including police, fire, water, sewer service, trash collection, libraries, street maintenance, traffic management, parks, and marine safety. All building and construction activities within the city are managed by the Building and Planning Departments.
The City government is organized into 14 departments. It has approximately 800 full-time employees. With part-time and seasonal employees, the total number of employees is 1,319.