Seattle City Clerk's Office - What's New? (2024)

ORDINANCES

Ordinances constitute the laws of the City. They must be passed by the City Council and signed by the Mayor, or passed by the Council over the Mayor's veto. Ordinances also are required to authorize certain actions, as designated in the City Charter.

Ordinance files include the text of legislation as well as information on legislative history. All ordinances up to the last two years are available for reference on microfiche. More recent ordinances are available in paper files. Since 1946, ordinances of a general, public or permanent nature have been published in an annual Compilation of City Ordinances. The ordinance files include the ordinances of the annexed municipalities, including West Seattle, Ballard, Columbia, Georgetown, South Park, and Southeast Seattle.

Ordinance Indexes

 Date Type Name Information 1882-1904 Book Index of Ordinances; Alphabetical and subject Index of Records of indexes with various subject the City Council vol. 1 arrangements. 1905-1992 Card Ordinance/Resolution Alphabetical subject index Card Index to ordinances. Cards contain both Council Bill numbers and Ordinance numbers. 1971-1992 Card Ordinance Amendments Citations to all subsequent Card Index legislative action which affects an ordinance, including amendment and repeal. 1869-present Database Clerks Online Council bill and ordinance Information number, title, date of introduction, sponsor, committee referral date of passage and filing, veto date, index terms. 

Ordinance Logs

 Date Type  Name Information  1869-1902 Book Record vols. 1 & 2 Ordinance number, title, date of approval. 1881-1890 Book Record of Ordinances Ordinance number, title, date of passage, date of publication, newspaper of publication. Covers numbers 238-1,386. 1898-1992 Book Council Bill Logbooks Council Bill number, ordinance number (when passed & signed). Title, date of passage and committee referrals. 1883-1992 Card Ordinance/Council Ordinance number, title, Bill Cross-Reference Council Bill number, Cards approval date. 

RESOLUTIONS

Resolutions from 1906 until two years before the present are available for reference on microfiche in the City Clerk's office. Prior and subsequent resolutions are available in paper copies.

Resolution Indexes

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1890-1906 Book Index of Council Subject and cross-reference Resolutions indexes. 1905-1992 Card Ordinance/Resolution Alphabetical subject index Card Index to ordinances. Cards contain both Council Bill numbers and Ordinance numbers. 1906-present Database Clerk's Online Resolution number, title, Information sponsor, committee referral, dates of filing, introduction and approval, index terms. 

Resolution Logs

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1907-1958 Card Resolution Card File Resolution number, brief description, reference to Council Minutes citation. 1958-1992 Book Resolution Register Resolution number, title, committee referral, disposition. 

COMPTROLLER FILES / CLERK FILES

A Comptroller or Clerk file can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed "on file" with the City Clerk as an official file of the City. Examples include affidavits, agreements, audits, applications, appointments, approvals, Council reviews, contracts, certifications, charters, claims (some very old), community development block grant deeds of trust, correspondence, Mayor's messages, vetoes, petitions, policies, proposals, City publications, reports, rulings, rules, recommendations and requests. The name of this record series was changed to "Clerk files" in 1993 when the office of Comptroller was abolished by a City Charter amendment.

Comptroller or Clerk files are retained by the City Clerk as required by the City Charter. They are primarily permanent records, but also include some routine material which is periodically purged. The current series of files begins with number 1 from 1895, and continues to date. A separate and partially overlapping series of "General Files" exists for the period from the 1870s through 1905. These records primarily document City Council's interaction with its citizens and other City agencies. These records are searchable in a separate General Files Index.

CF Indexes

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1904-1910 Book Index to General Index term, CF number, short Files No. 1 description. 1910-1946 Book General Index, vols. Index term, CF number, short 1-3 description. Organized according to various subject arrangements. 1947-1992 Card CF Card Index Index term, CF number, short description. 1911-present Database Clerk's Online CF number, title, sponsor, Information introduction, referral and filing dates, committee referral, subject terms. 

CF Logs

Date Type Name Information Provided 1907-1992 Book Comptroller Files CF number, brief Logbooks description, reference to Council Minutes citation. 

BOND FILES

Bonds held by the City Clerk's office include franchise bonds, official bonds, indemnity bonds, contract bonds, licensing bonds, etc. Bonds are retained for six years after their expiration date. Bonds for underground fuel tanks and public place occupancy agreements have been selectively retained. Indexes and logs for bond files are kept permanently. Prior to 1933, bonds were filed as Comptroller files.

Indexes

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1896 Book Bond and Contract Principals, file number. Index 1910-1911 Cards Ordinance/Resolution Date filed, Comptroller File Card Index number, date of bond, principal's name, surety, amount of bond. 1933-1946 Book Comptroller Files Principals, Comptroller File Index number. 1947-1969 Card Comptroller File Card Bond type, principal, Index Comptroller File number. 1970-1992 Card Bonds card index Bond type, principal name, number. 1993-present Internal Database File number, principal, bond type, expiration date, date cancelled, renew date, date filed 

Logs

   Type  Name  Information Provided 1933-1993 Book Bond File Log Bond number, principal, date filed, bond type, surety company. 

CLAIM FILES

Upon receipt, claims are assigned numbers and are logged and indexed. One copy is retained by the City Clerk as the official copy, and the remaining copies are forwarded to the City's Risk Management Office. Documents are retained for six years after disposition of the claim. All indexes and logs have been retained. Prior to 1953, claims were filed as Comptroller files.

Indexes

 Date Type  Name  Information Provided 1910-1950 Card Card Index Claim type, date, volume and page number references to Council minutes. Arranged by type of claim. 1947-1969 Card Card Index Claimant, Comptroller File number (prior to 1953), Claim number (1953 -1969). 1970-1993 Card Card Index Claimant, date of claim, claim number. 1991-present Database (not on Internet) Claim type, claim number, claimant, committee referral, date of referral, date of filing, date of disposition, department, action taken 

Logs

 Date Type  Name  Information Provided 1953-1959 Book File book/Claims Claim number, claimant, description of claim, date of filing and date of disposition. 1959-1982 Book Claims logbook As above 1982-1993 Book Claims logbook As above 1991-present Database (not on Internet) Claim type, claim number, claimant, committee referral, date of referral, date of filing, date of disposition, department, action taken. 

CONSULTANT CONTRACT FILES

Consultant contract files include the original contract, amendments, related documents such as insurance forms, and performance reviews. Consultant contract files are retained for 6 years after termination of the contract.

Indexes

 Date Type  Name  Information Provided 1980-1992 Card Consultant Contract Contracting department, Card Index contractor, file number, date. Arranged by department. 1991-present Database (not on Internet) File number, department, contract date, amount,contrator name and firm. 

Logs

 Date Type  Name  Information Provided 1953-1959 Book File book/Claims Claim number, claimant, description of claim, date of filing and date of disposition. 

DEED AND EAsem*nT FILES

Microfilm reference copies or paper original documents are available for all deeds and for utility easem*nts.

Indexes

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1884-1970 Book Record of Deeds and Deeds entered alphabetically Easem*nts by plat name or township/range coordinate. Lists file number, grantor, instrument type, property description, ordinance number, and date recorded at county. 1970-1992 Card Deed index cards Entries arranged by plat name or township/range coordinates. Lists file number, grantor, property description, King County recording number, authorizing ordinance number and date filed. 1884-present Database (not on Internet) File number, authorizing ordinance number, grantor, King County recording number, property description. 

LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FILES

Local improvement district files typically contain the following documents: a Comptroller or Clerk file consisting of the petition for the LID and related documents, a resolution of the intention to order the improvement, an ordinance providing for the improvement, a resolution setting the date of the hearing on the assessment roll, an ordinance approving and confirming the assessment roll, and an LID file containing administrative records on the LID assessment and collection process. LID files older than ten years have been transferred to the Seattle Municipal Archives.

Indexes

Logs

 Date Type Name Information Provided 1891-1966 Book Local Improvement LID number, street improved, Register approving ordinance and resolution number. 1891-1966 Card LID File Cards LID number, council bill number, ordinance number, comptroller file number. 1966-present Card LID Tracking Cards LID number, reolution number, ordinance number, comptroller file number, date of filing of assessment roll.