Legal Department

The City Attorney’s Office provides legal advice, litigation support, and clerking services to the City Council, City Manager, and all City departments. Our goal is to help the City operate in a transparent, accountable, and responsive manner while reducing legal risk.

About the City Attorney’s Role

The City Attorney advises the City on a broad range of municipal issues, including land use, public safety, contracts, ethics, finance, public works and construction, public records, and open public meetings. The office represents the City in civil legal matters and partners with outside organizations to manage risk and coordinate legal services, including the Washington Cities Insurance Authority and contracted service providers such as the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Please contact the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s office for questions about criminal cases at (360) 385-9180.  

Because of professional ethics rules, the City Attorney is not permitted to provide legal advice to individual residents.

City Clerk's Office

The City Attorney’s Office is also home to the City Clerk, who serves as the official recordkeeper of the City. The Clerk maintains ordinances, resolutions, and meeting minutes of the City Council and its committees / advisory boards. The Clerk supports the smooth operation of City meetings, ensures compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, and provides technical assistance to ensure residents can access meetings online.

The City Attorney and City Clerk are supported by a dedicated Legal Assistant/Deputy Clerk, who helps ensure the office functions efficiently and remains responsive to the community.

City Records
The City has a responsibility to maintain and preserve all City records, as well as provide access these records to the public.

The City’s Public Records Officer is responsible for managing City records, keeping the City in compliance with the Washington State Archives' records retention schedules, and responding to public records requests in accordance with the Public Records Act. The Public Records Officer and Assistant are positions of the Finance Department.

Legal Resources
The Legal Resources page provides links to various resources and organizations that can assist with legal questions and concerns, including domestic violence victims assistance, landlord-tenant disputes, and consumer protection. 

Please Note: The City Attorney and staff do our best to help, but we cannot give legal advice to individual citizens because of our professional ethics rules. The Legal Resources page provides general information. The information contained on this page, any City of Port Townsend website, or at any site linked from this or any City website, has not been reviewed for accuracy or legal sufficiency. The links and information displayed are for reference purposes only. The City does not guarantee their completeness, accuracy, or currency.