The City Attorney’s Office provides representation, support and legal advice to the Mayor and City Council, department heads and staff members of the various City departments. Staff functions require timely legal advice to City boards, commissions and committees, research and information on legal issues, preparation and processing of legal documents, including ordinances, resolutions and contracts; and review and amendments to the City Charter and Bakersfield Municipal Code to maintain consistency with current state and federal laws.
The City Attorney’s Office has a staffing allocation as shown below:
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1 City Attorney;
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1 Assistant City Attorney;
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4 Deputy City Attorney I/II positions; and
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3 Legal Secretary positions.
The legal secretary classification provides a high-level of detailed and confidential administrative support to all department staff. With supervisory and management staff fully allocated to legal services, one of the three legal secretary positions historically assumed a primary role in support of the City Attorney and overall lead functions of administrative workflow within the office.
Due to staff changes following the 2018 retirement of the historical “lead” legal secretary the designation of a senior level in the career series has been created to recognize the skills and scope of advanced duties.The difference in the two positions lies primarily in the clarity that this individual is the primary contact for the City Attorney and assumes all responsibilities connected with that function. This includes all of the duties of a legal secretary and an advanced-level of experience in order to address complex and sensitive matters, exercising a higher degree of judgment and independence, which one would expect as the secretary for the City Attorney. In addition, it is anticipated and expected that this position will provide general direction for administrative staff.The new job specification was presented and approved by the Miscellaneous Civil Service Board at their June 16, 2020 meeting. The position change has been incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Proposed Budget being considered for adoption later on this agenda.