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Subjects › Management › Forms of Government › Creating the City Administrator Position
Updated 02/2012

Creating the City Administrator Position

The authority for an Optional Municipal Code City to establish a city administrator position is expressly stated in RCW 35A.12.100 - Duties and authority of the mayor -

"The mayor may appoint and remove a chief administrative officer or assistant administrative officer, if so provided by ordinance or charter."

A significant number of Washington's mayor-council cities have added a professional position of city administrator or some other similarly titled position in the mayor's office. City administrators serve under the mayor, usually on a full-time basis, assisting them with their administrative and policy-related responsibilities. This position is typically responsible for budget preparation, personnel administration, and the daily supervision of departments. Thus freeing the mayor from the need to attend to administrative details and allowing them to focus greater attention on policy development and political leadership or to attend to their own private employment apart from city government.

This form  borrows some of the characteristics of the council-manager and mayor-council forms with a single elected executive to represent the community and provide political leadership--assisted by a professional manager.

In Washington, this variation on the mayor-council plan has been growing in popularity particularly among cities and towns under 10,000 population. The 2009 Association of Washington Cities Salary Survey reported 75 mayor-council cities and towns that had established a position of city or town administrator, or other similar position.

While there continues to be a wide variation in levels of responsibility among city administrators in mayor-council cities, their numbers are significant and represent an important trend toward the further integration of professional management into Washington local government.

City Ordinance Provisions

  • Camas Municipal Code Ch. 2.06 - City Administrator
  • Chewelah Municipal Code Ch. 2.04 - City Administrator
  • Clyde Hill Municipal Code Ch. 2.07 (Adobe Acrobat Document) - City Administrator
  • Enumclaw Municipal Code Ch. 2.08 - City Administrator
  • Issaquah Municipal Code Sec. 2.08.030 - Appointive Offices - City Administrator
  • Kent Municipal Code Ch. 2.06 - Chief Administrative Officer
  • Pullman Municipal Code Ch. 1.28 (Adobe Acrobat Document) - City Supervisor

Related MRSC Resources