Attachment G
CITY OF SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA
CITY ATTORNEY
JOB TITLE: City Attorney DEPARTMENT: City Attorney’s Office CLASSIFICATION: Exempt UNIT: GRADE: 111
ESTABLISHED: July 2025 LEVEL: Strategic Leader
SUMMARY / IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS:
Under general direction by the City Council, acts as chief legal advisor to the City Council and officers; represents the City in litigation; acts as legislative counsel in drafting laws, ordinances, and resolutions proposed for adoption by the City Council. This position oversees other staff, reports to the City Manager and is classified as an "at will" position.
The City Attorney position is a Strategic Leader role that provides legal advice, department support and litigation defense. Their role enables the City Council and staff to perform their duties to the community within the legal framework of the numerous codes, statutes and case authorities to efficiently and legally provide the City of Santa Maria with the highest quality services.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
These duties are a representative example; position assignments may vary depending on the business needs of the department and organization. This position:
• Attends meetings of the City Council and other boards and commissions, advising on matters of legal policy and procedure.
• Studies, interprets, and applies laws, court decisions, ordinances, and other legal sources in advising officials and employees of the City on legal matters. • Drafts ordinances, resolutions, contracts, deeds, and other legal documents. • Decides when to prosecute, compromise, or dismiss civil litigation, and advises department directors, City Manager, and City Council on such matters. • Assembles and evaluates evidence; prosecutes violators of the municipal code. • Represents the City and directs legal process work in annexation, election, and special district organization/reorganization proceedings. • Directs the selection, placement, training and supervision of other employees; reviews and evaluates performance and recommends personnel action. • Develops and administers the department's annual budget and controls expenditures. Oversees Code Enforcement Division. • Scope of assigned area will depend on departmental structure and is at the discretion of the City Manager.
• Upholds the values of the organization and has strong service orientation.
Attachment G
CITY OF SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA
CITY ATTORNEY
CORE COMPETENCIES:
Strategic Leader:
Incumbents should have a solid foundation of Individual Contributor, Front -line Supervisor and Middle Manager core competencies identified by the organization, as well as the following core competencies identified as essential for Strategic Leader Competencies (click the hyper link to see the full definition Strategic Leader Competencies):
• Mission Focus - Effective performers understand and support the organization's mission, believe in it, value it, and are committed to it.
• Visioning - Effective performers are imaginative, able to create a vision of a preferred future, and communicate it clearly and enthusiastically to others.
• Strategic Thinking - Effective performers act with the future in mind, understand the factors influencing strategy (e.g., core competence, community needs, and the organization's current strengths and limitations), and consider future impact when weighing decisions. • Business Thinking - Effective performers see the organization as a series of integrated and interlocking business processes, understand general business concepts that govern these systems, and understand how change impacts the entire organization. • Diplomacy - Effective performers work well within the organization's power network. They recognize personal agendas, balance internal politics, work well with elected officials and navigate the political environment effectively.
• Global Mindset - Effective performers see their city role in a larger context within the community, region and beyond. They value diversity and other points of view, identify partnership opportunities and exhibit coalition-building skills.
• Risk Taking - Effective performers have a history of, and propensity for, taking calculated chances to achieve goals. When they fail, they accept it, learn from it, and move on. • Leadership Identification - Effective performers identify with the role of leader, and enjoy positions of responsibility and authority.
• Presentation Skills - Effective performers are comfortable and confident in front of an audience, deliver messages effectively to inform or persuade, and are adept at public engagement.
QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE:
• Significant years of leadership and management experience to perform the job effectively; and
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Juris Doctorate. • Possession of licenses and/or certifications associated with the assignment, such as:
o Licensed to practice law in the State of California.
o Member of California State Bar, in good standing.
• Current technical/professional knowledge of complex principles, methods, standards and techniques associated with the scope of work of a recognized profession, such as:
o California Codes; principles of administration and constitutional law.
Attachment G
CITY OF SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA
CITY ATTORNEY
o Principles and practices of effective management, supervision, evaluation and training.
o Judicial procedures, rules of evidence, methods of legal research; interpreting o Municipal, land use, criminal, administrative, real estate, labor and employment law, public contracting, public meetings and records, etc. o Budget preparation, municipal business operations, etc. o Excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills. o Microsoft Office Suite (or equivalent), and project management principles. o Use computer and other office equipment effectively.
• Possession of a valid and appropriate Driver License. Must have and maintain a satisfactory driving record and meet City liability requirements to drive for City business. • Requires completion of a background investigation to the satisfaction of the City. • The incumbent must meet the physical requirements of the job class and have mobility, balance, coordination, vision, hearing and dexterity levels appropriate to the duties to be performed.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
• May require completion of a pre-employment physical to the satisfaction of the City. • Reasonable accommodation(s) for an individual with a qualified disability will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: