Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for City Clerk

💰 $ - $

GovernmentAdministrativeClericalPublic Service

🎯 Role Definition

The City Clerk is the municipal officer responsible for preserving and maintaining official city records, administering local elections and candidate filings, preparing agendas and minutes for legislative bodies, ensuring compliance with open meetings and public records laws, coordinating licensing and permits, and serving as a public-facing source of information and administrative support for the mayor, council and city departments. This role requires a high degree of accuracy, legal awareness, customer service orientation, and the ability to manage confidential documents and complex processes under statutory timelines.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant (City/County)
  • Records Technician / Records Specialist
  • Elections Clerk or Voting Services Assistant

Advancement To:

  • Deputy/Assistant City Clerk
  • City Clerk (if starting in a deputy role)
  • Director of Administrative Services / City Administrator
  • Assistant or Deputy City Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Records Manager / Archivist
  • Elections Administrator / Voting Services Manager
  • Licensing & Permits Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Prepare, assemble and distribute agendas, packets and supporting materials for city council, advisory boards and commissions in accordance with municipal policies and state open meetings laws; ensure timely posting and public notice across required channels (website, bulletin boards, official newspapers).
  • Accurately record, transcribe and prepare official minutes, motions and resolutions for all legislative meetings; maintain an organized, searchable archive of minutes and official actions for legal review and public access.
  • Manage the official municipal records program: classify, index, retain, dispose of and archive records in compliance with state records retention schedules, ensuring secure storage and legal disposition of historical documents.
  • Administer municipal elections and special ballots in coordination with county and state election authorities: process candidate filings and nominating petitions, prepare ballots, coordinate polling locations, oversee election staff and ensure chain-of-custody and ballot security.
  • Serve as the statutory custodian of public records and legal documents, including ordinances, resolutions, contracts, proclamations and bonds; authenticate documents, provide certified copies, and manage oath/affirmation processes.
  • Respond to public records requests (FOIA/PRA or state equivalent) within statutory timeframes: locate, redact when required, track requests and fees, and coordinate records release for transparency and legal compliance.
  • Ensure municipal compliance with open meetings (Sunshine/Open Meetings) laws: provide guidance to elected officials and staff on meeting notice, quorum rules, executive session authority and public comment protocols.
  • Maintain and update the municipal code/codification process: draft ordinance language for adoption clerical review, coordinate with codification vendors, and publish ordinance updates and amendments online for public access.
  • Manage public notices, legal advertisements and publication of ordinances, bids, public hearings and other statutory notices, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and proof of publication.
  • Administer licensing and permit programs where applicable (business licenses, special event permits, pet licenses), including application intake, fee processing, renewals and maintaining licensing databases.
  • Process, record and manage official filings such as business registrations, liens, bonds, annexations, easements and other land-use documents with accurate indexing and legal recording references.
  • Maintain and publish an up-to-date official calendar of city meetings, public hearings and filing deadlines; coordinate scheduling logistics and provide advance materials and follow-up actions to councilmembers and commissioners.
  • Oversee customer-service functions of the clerk’s counter and phone lines: provide information to residents, respond to inquiries, accept payments, and facilitate access to public records and municipal services.
  • Supervise, hire, train and evaluate clerk’s office staff, volunteers and seasonal employees; develop training plans for minute-takers, election workers and board liaisons, and ensure cross-training and continuity of operations.
  • Coordinate the recruitment, training and scheduling of election poll workers/judges and volunteers, including compliance with training requirements, conflict-of-interest rules, and emergency procedures.
  • Manage the municipal seals, certifications and attestations for official city documents; provide certified copies of records and notarize or administer oaths when authorized.
  • Oversee the clerk office budget, purchasing and vendor relationships: prepare budget requests, monitor expenditures, solicit quotes for services (codification, records storage, election supplies) and manage grants or reimbursements related to elections or records projects.
  • Lead or contribute to large-scale records projects such as digitization, indexing, migration to electronic records management systems (RMS/EDRMS), and data integrity initiatives to improve searchability and public access.
  • Provide guidance and serve as liaison to boards, commissions and advisory committees: distribute orientation materials, track terms of appointment, manage reappointments and ensure compliance with ethics and disclosure requirements.
  • Coordinate preparation, distribution and archiving of resolutions, proclamations and ceremonial documents, balancing legal content with public-facing communications and historical preservation.
  • Monitor legislative changes and case law affecting municipal records, election procedures and open meetings/public records requirements; implement policy updates and staff training to maintain compliance.
  • Handle complex public inquiries, complaints and records disputes with diplomacy: escalate legal questions to city attorney as needed, document interactions and preserve transparency while protecting confidential information.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain and continuously update the municipal records management system and public-facing records portal to improve accessibility and search performance.
  • Support cross-departmental initiatives requiring certified records, ordinance verifications, or documented approvals; provide clerk-level sign-offs for administrative procedures.
  • Assist with coordination of municipal bond issuances, claim filings, and formal recordation requirements in partnership with finance and legal staff.
  • Manage special projects such as historical archiving, records remediation, emergency records recovery planning and continuity of government documentation.
  • Create and maintain template forms, checklists and standard operating procedures for routine clerk operations, candidate filings and public records processing.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Elections administration: candidate filing procedures, ballot preparation, chain-of-custody, poll worker management and coordination with county/state election officials.
  • Public records law and FOIA/PRA compliance: redaction, legal exemptions, request tracking and fee assessment.
  • Open meetings (Sunshine Act) compliance and advisory: meeting notices, public hearing procedures and executive session protocols.
  • Records management and retention: classification, indexing, retention scheduling, destruction authorizations and archival best practices.
  • Minute-taking and official documentation: verbatim or action-minute transcription, resolution formatting and certified minute preparation.
  • Municipal code maintenance and codification workflow: ordinance drafting support, code publisher coordination and online updates.
  • Document management systems and digitization tools: EDRMS, imaging software, database indexing and metadata tagging.
  • Office productivity software: advanced Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and PDF management/Redaction tools.
  • Financial and budget familiarity: managing small office budgets, processing invoices, fee reconciliation and accepting payments.
  • Notary and oath administration (where authorized) and certification of official documents.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and high level of accuracy when handling legal documents and statutory deadlines.
  • Clear, professional verbal and written communication skills for interacting with elected officials, staff, and the public.
  • Strong customer service orientation with the ability to de-escalate, explain complex rules and maintain public trust.
  • Discretion and ethical handling of confidential or sensitive information.
  • Organizational and multi-tasking ability to manage concurrent deadlines (elections, meetings, records requests).
  • Leadership and people management skills for supervising staff, training volunteers and building cross-functional relationships.
  • Problem-solving and critical-thinking to interpret statutes, draft compliant procedures and recommend process improvements.
  • Time management and prioritization under pressure, especially during election cycles and budget periods.
  • Adaptability and technology orientation to implement electronic records systems and remote meeting technologies.
  • Collaborative mindset and political neutrality in serving elected bodies and diverse community stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; demonstrated experience in municipal administration, records, or election work.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Business Administration, Legal Studies, Records Management, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Public Administration
  • Political Science
  • Records/Information Management
  • Business Administration
  • Legal Studies / Paralegal

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressively responsible experience in municipal government, county clerk’s office, or related public sector administrative roles.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of municipal clerk experience or demonstrated leadership in elections administration, records management or municipal code maintenance; supervisory experience and familiarity with state/local statutes governing records and open meetings.
Explore More Careers