Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Redmond staff to revise municipal code to allow in‑house city attorney; item set for consent
Summary
City COO presented proposed amendments to Redmond Municipal Code chapter 2.36 to allow an in‑house city attorney, remove obsolete compensation sections, add gender‑neutral language and preserve ability to contract for outside legal expertise; committee approved placing the ordinance on next week’s consent agenda.
Council President Kritzker called the Redmond Finance, Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole to order Tuesday and introduced an item to revise Redmond Municipal Code chapter 2.36 to allow an in‑house city attorney.
COO Melissa Files told the committee that “council approved an in house city attorney during the last biennial budget” and that the existing chapter “is back from 1963 and has not been revised since that time.” Files said the code currently assumes a contract city attorney and that staff propose two main changes: eliminate compensation provisions that presume a contract attorney and update the code for gender neutrality. Files said the code would still allow the city to contract for specialized legal expertise when needed.
The move is part of preparing an Office of the City Attorney; Files said staff are drafting job descriptions and expect to recruit “certainly by June.” She told the committee she intends to forward the ordinance to the council consent agenda next week. Committee members raised no objections to placing the item on consent.
No formal vote was recorded; committee consensus was to place the ordinance on the April 15 business meeting consent agenda. Files did not present a draft ordinance text in the meeting and did not state whether any budgetary adjustments beyond the previously approved biennial budget are required.
The committee’s action is procedural (placing an item on next week’s consent agenda). If the council later adopts ordinance language, implementation details such as the exact sections to be repealed or amended and effective dates will appear in that ordinance.
