Department Overview

Authority and Function

The language in the Sacramento City Charter relating to the City Attorney is set forth in Section 72, and reads as follows:

The City Council shall appoint a City Attorney and shall prescribe the qualifications, duties and compensation of such officer. The City Attorney shall serve as legal counsel to the city government and all officers, departments, boards, commissions and agencies thereof and shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by state law and by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. In situations where the City Attorney determines there is a conflict in representation by that office, the City Council may authorize the retention of other legal counsel to represent one of the conflicting parties. The City Attorney shall appoint all other members of the City Attorney's office.

Mission

The mission of the Sacramento City Attorney's Office is to provide the highest quality legal services to the City of Sacramento.

Values

(not in priority order)

Professionalism
Honesty and integrity
Teamwork
Respectfulness
Ethical conduct
Excellent client services

Three-Year Goals

(not in priority order)

Increase intra-office communication, cooperation, fairness and respect
Attact, develop and retain staff
Implement electronic document-storage-and-retrieval systems
Increase organization effectiveness and efficiency
Improve client confidence in our office

Client Relationship

The City Attorney's client and the nature of the City Attorney's work is not well understood by the community at-large.

Many Citizens believe that the City Attorney serves as the attorney for the community rather than for a Municipal Corporation. The City Attorney is the attorney for the City of Sacramento, as an entity. Because of the nature of the City Attorney's role, we cannot represent or provide legal advice to individual citizens, groups or other entities. We are therefore unable to respond to individual requests for legal advice or representation.

Legal Resources

Private citizens requiring legal services may contact these resources for assistance:

Sacramento City Attorney's Office Organization Chart

You can find the organization chart here.