🏛️ MVM Civics 101 — City Manager

What Does the City Manager Do?

The short answer

The City Council sets City policy. The City Manager runs the City’s daily operations and makes sure Council decisions are carried out.

The City Manager is not elected. The City Council hires and formally appoints the City Manager.

The City Manager answers to the full City Council—not to the Mayor or one Councilmember acting alone.

How is Moreno Valley’s government organized?

Moreno Valley uses a council-manager form of government.

Under this system:

Residents elect the Mayor and four district Councilmembers.
The City Council sets policy and makes major decisions.
The Council hires and appoints a professional City Manager.
The City Manager runs daily City operations.

City Council sets policy → City Manager runs City operations

Moreno Valley does not have a “strong mayor” form of government. The Mayor does not personally run City departments.

What does the City Manager do?

The City Manager:

Oversees the City’s daily operations
Gives direction to City departments
Oversees department directors and City staff
Carries out policies approved by the City Council
Prepares a proposed budget for the Council to review
Manages the budget after the Council approves it
Helps carry out City contracts and programs
Coordinates work involving several departments
Provides information and recommendations to the Council
Keeps the Council informed about City operations and finances
Oversees the City’s police and fire service contracts
Responds to problems with City operations and services

Assistant City Managers, department directors and other City employees help the City Manager perform this work.

Is the City Manager elected?

No.

The City Manager is a professional administrator hired and formally appointed by the City Council.

Residents elect the Mayor and Councilmembers. Those five elected officials select and evaluate the City Manager.

The City Manager answers to the Council as a whole—not to the Mayor or one Councilmember acting alone.

Does the Mayor supervise the City Manager?

Not alone.

The Mayor helps review the City Manager’s work as one member of the City Council. However, the Mayor cannot independently hire, supervise or remove the City Manager.

Those decisions belong to the City Council acting as a group.

A Mayor or Councilmember may raise a concern or ask for information. But one elected official is not the City Manager’s boss.

Does the City Manager supervise City employees?

The City Manager oversees City departments through department directors and other supervisors.

That does not mean the City Manager gives each employee their daily assignments. Each department has directors, managers and supervisors who handle its work.

The City Attorney and City Clerk are also appointed by the City Council. They have separate duties set by law and City policy.

Can the Mayor or a Councilmember give orders directly to City employees?

Generally, no.

Elected officials usually work through the City Manager instead of giving orders directly to individual employees.

For example, a Councilmember may ask why a City service has been delayed or request information about a neighborhood problem. The City Manager can then ask the proper department to review the matter and respond.

This system helps prevent five elected officials from giving City employees different instructions.

It also creates a clear line of responsibility:

The Council sets policy and priorities.
The City Manager directs City operations.
Department directors manage their departments.
City employees perform the work.

Does the City Manager make City policy?

The City Manager may suggest policies, programs or changes to the Council.

The City Manager may also explain how each choice could affect City services, the budget or legal duties.

However, the City Manager does not vote on Council matters and cannot set City policy alone.

The elected City Council makes the final policy decision.

Who prepares the City budget?

The City Manager and City staff prepare a proposed budget.

They consider:

How much money the City expects to receive
Bills and other costs the City must pay
The services the community needs
Priorities set by the City Council

The proposed budget goes to the City Council for review. The Council may ask questions and request changes. The Council then decides whether to approve the budget.

After approval, the City Manager and staff carry it out.

Staff prepares and recommends → Council reviews and approves → Staff carries it out

Does the City Manager decide how every dollar is spent?

No.

The Council approves the overall budget and sets rules for how City money may be used.

Within that approved budget, the City Manager and other City staff handle many routine purchases and agreements.

Larger contracts, major purchases or spending that has not already been approved may need to return to the City Council. The rules depend on the amount and type of expense.

Does the City Manager approve development projects?

Sometimes City staff has the power to approve an application that follows all the rules. Other applications must go to the Planning Commission or City Council.

The City Manager does not choose what private property owners or developers propose.

Property owner or developer prepares a proposal → Applicant submits it to the City → City staff reviews it → The proper City official, Planning Commission or City Council takes action

Who makes the decision depends on the type of application and the City rules that apply.

Is a staff recommendation the same as a Council decision?

No.

City staff often prepares a report and recommends what the Council should do. The City Manager may approve the recommendation before the report goes to the Council.

The recommendation gives the Council information and professional advice. The Council does not have to follow it.

The Council may:

Accept the recommendation
Change it
Choose another available option
Ask for more information
Reject it

The staff report shows what City staff recommends. The voting record shows what the Council decided.

Who is responsible when something goes wrong?

It depends on the type of decision.

If the problem involves a policy, budget priority or Council vote, responsibility may belong to the City Council.

If the problem involves how a policy was carried out or how a department did its work, responsibility may belong to the City Manager and staff.

Sometimes responsibility is shared.

The important questions are:

Who had the power to make the decision?
Who made the recommendation?
Who approved it?
Who was responsible for carrying it out?

Does the City Manager have political influence?

The City Manager can have a great deal of influence.

The City Manager provides information and professional recommendations to the Council. The City Manager also oversees City operations and helps the Council understand how different choices may affect the City.

But influence is not the same as having the final say on City policy.

The City Manager does not have a Council vote. The Council may accept, change or reject the City Manager’s recommendation.

Is the City Manager a part-time position?

No.

The City Manager is a full-time professional City employee.

This is different from Moreno Valley’s Mayor and Councilmembers, who hold paid, part-time elected positions.

The key point

The City Manager runs City operations under the policies, priorities and budgets approved by the City Council. The City Manager does not replace the Council, and the Council does not personally manage City employees.

Understanding this difference can help residents decide whether a question belongs with an elected official, the City Manager’s Office or a particular City department.

Next in MVM Civics 101

The City Manager oversees the departments that provide City programs and services.

Next, we’ll look at Moreno Valley’s Economic Development Department—what it does to attract and assist businesses and what it does not control when a private property owner proposes a project.

Official sources

About MVM Civics 101

MVM Civics 101 explains how Moreno Valley local government works in plain language. It is intended to explain governmental roles and processes—not to support or oppose any candidate, official, project or political position.

This article provides general educational information based on official records and authoritative sources. It is not legal advice. Moreno Valley Matters® is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Moreno Valley.

If you identify a possible factual error, please send us the specific statement and an authoritative source supporting the correction. Documented errors will be corrected transparently.

Last reviewed: August 31, 2026