Responsibilities of the City Clerk
The City Clerk, as well as her staff, is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of City Council. The duties of the City Clerk are much like the Secretary of State. The City Clerk is a Department Head, responsible for the legislative operations of the City and directly accountable to the City Council. The City Clerk has direct signature authority and her signature is required on all Ordinances, Resolutions, and other official documents of the City. The City Clerk's office is the official records management office for City Council. Every municipality in the United States has a City Clerk or someone who functions as one. The City Clerk handles a myriad of duties relating to the official business of City Council and its committees. It is incumbent on the City Clerk to be informed and to keep the City Council members informed.
Legislative Process
All proposed Ordinances and Resolutions are submitted to the City Clerk's Office for processing. The Clerk's Office is responsible for making sure that all proposed legislation is introduced by Council, assigned a bill number, place in proper committee, discussed in Committee Meeting, and placed before Council for final action deemed by Council. All legislation receiving final approval is then signed by the Council President and City Clerk and forwarded to the Mayor for signature of approval. The Mayor has ten (10) days to act on the legislation. Once the Mayor approves the legislation, it is returned to the City Clerk's Office for final processing.
