What does a city clerk do?
The City Clerk is the person who will provide all the information about a city's policies, regulations, previous legislation, and history. This position serves as a secretary for an entire municipality and is expected to provide public municipal documents when requested. The person in this position is often expected to know the public policy and have good organizational skills. The city records and all public documents are all under the direct care of the City Clerk.
City clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real city clerk resumes:
- Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
- Prepare grant applications for water, sewer, EDA and CBDG.
- Collect, analyze, submit to NYS town relate data.
- Record information into QuickBooks for payment of bills and to issue checks.
- Prepare and submit various government reports, prepare various city contracts and act as notary public.
- Process summons, court files, subpoenas, warrants, bonds, attorney correspondence and background checks.
- Receive petitions relating to initiative, referendum or recall, maintain custody of city seal, attest to subpoenas.
- Transcribe minutes for Committee/Commission meetings, prepare payroll and payroll tax reports, issue payroll checks and A/P checks.
- Provide certify notary public service.
- Handle cash transactions for licenses/billings and enter data into QuickBooks.
- Perform all aspects of accounting including water billings and audit preparation.
- Create and edit work schedules and generate workforce management reports with PeopleSoft.
- Maintain payroll records by entering changes in exemptions, insurance coverage and voluntary and involuntary deductions.
- Maintain cleanliness of the company warehouse, operate warehouse machinery and organize the warehouse to ensure proper product placement.
- Pre-Bil to ensure accuracy thus billing for water/sewer usage bi-monthly.
City clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of City Clerks are proficient in Meeting Agendas, City Ordinances, and Payroll Taxes. They’re also known for soft skills such as Integrity, Interpersonal skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of City Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Meeting Agendas, 13%
Prepared meeting agendas, processed legislation and agreements for signature by appropriate officials and provided executive support to the Council.
- City Ordinances, 10%
Compiled and implemented city ordinances, resolutions and executive orders.
- Payroll Taxes, 9%
Monitored and ensured timely payments of all mandated state and federal payroll taxes.
- Meeting Minutes, 7%
Handle water bills, deposits, all the Cities bills, answer phones, take and type up council meeting minutes.
- Utility Billing, 6%
Completed monthly utility billing and collections.
- Office Equipment, 5%
Manage Office equipment, like Xerox machines and loading all the papers trays for the day.
Common skills that a city clerk uses to do their job include "meeting agendas," "city ordinances," and "payroll taxes." You can find details on the most important city clerk responsibilities below.
Integrity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a city clerk to have is integrity. Their role and responsibilities require that "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." City clerks often use integrity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "drafted, organized, and reviewed transactional documents which included board of trustee meeting minutes and ordinanaces. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform city clerk duties is interpersonal skills. City clerks responsibilities require that "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." City clerks also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "utilized interpersonal communication skills to assist customers and resolve customer complaints. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of city clerks is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday city clerk duties, as "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "developed great communication and customer service skills having to deal with advertising companies, employees, and customers. "
Organizational skills. city clerk responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." This resume example shows what city clerks do with organizational skills on a typical day: "used outstanding organizational skills and strategic thinking capabilities to assist in creating annual city budgets. "
The three companies that hire the most city clerks are:
- Bashas'16 city clerks jobs
- City of Greeley2 city clerks jobs
- UTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS1 city clerks jobs
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Compare different city clerks
City clerk vs. Recorder
A payroll clerk is responsible for managing the payroll process by collecting the necessary information needed to release payments. Payroll clerks' duties include verifying timesheets, calculating necessary deductions, issuing paychecks timely, managing payment discrepancies and disputes, updating employee's payment information in the database, and creating payroll reports. A payroll clerk must have strong analytical and organization skills, as well as a clear understanding of the organization's payroll policies, ensuring that the process follows regulatory procedures.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, city clerk responsibilities require skills like "meeting agendas," "city ordinances," "payroll taxes," and "meeting minutes." Meanwhile a typical recorder has skills in areas such as "real property," "audio equipment," "legal descriptions," and "windows." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, recorders reach similar levels of education than city clerks. Recorders are 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.City clerk vs. Municipal clerk
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that city clerk responsibilities requires skills like "city ordinances," "payroll taxes," "meeting minutes," and "office equipment." But a municipal clerk might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "payroll," "borough," "public officials," and "court dates."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Municipal clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than city clerks. In fact, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.City clerk vs. Payroll clerk
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, city clerks are more likely to have skills like "meeting agendas," "city ordinances," "meeting minutes," and "utility billing." But a payroll clerk is more likely to have skills like "data entry," "payroll system," "photocopying," and "excellent organizational."
Payroll clerks earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $49,623. Comparatively, city clerks have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $58,147.Most payroll clerks achieve a similar degree level compared to city clerks. For example, they're 4.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.City clerk vs. City recorder
Types of city clerk
Updated January 8, 2025
