Published November 5, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | CITY HALL WATCH | NOVEMBER 5, 2026
Ever called City Hall, waited for an answer, or tried figuring out which department handles a permit?
Newport Beach proposed spending up to $500,000 on customer-service and leadership training for city employees. The plan appeared on the October 27 City Council agenda and involves two companies.
The San Diego Centre for Organizational Effectiveness would receive a three-year agreement capped at $250,000 for customer-service training. Jacob Green & Associates would receive another three-year agreement, also capped at $250,000, to train managers and supervisors.
So it’s not quite half a million dollars for lessons in smiling at the counter. Some of it is for management training, too.
The city says it already began training full-time employees earlier this year. The expanded customer-service program would cover part-time, seasonal and sworn employees.
According to the staff report, Newport sought proposals in May and received 14 responses for the customer-service component. Four finalists were interviewed. The city says it selected the firms based on qualifications and value.
Fair enough. But here’s the part residents should care about: how will City Hall measure whether the training works?
Will permit questions get answered faster? Will residents spend less time being transferred between departments? Will complaints decrease?
Spending $500,000 to improve customer service is one thing. Spending it without showing improvement would be a spectacularly expensive way to learn how to say, ‘Let me transfer you.’
The city says the money is already available in its budget. The $500,000 figure is a spending ceiling, not an amount already paid. Public meeting records should also establish which contracts were ultimately executed.
Before celebrating the new and improved City Hall, residents deserve to know what success is supposed to look like.
Sources: City Council customer-service training item · Full city staff report
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