A city attorney serves within a local government and is tasked with enhancing public safety while representing the city’s best interests. As such, they often attend city council meetings. Wondering how much a city official earns for these duties? Read on.
How Much Does a City Attorney Make?
The average city attorney’s salary in the United States is $115,070, according to Comparably. Salary varies based on several factors. In addition to the salary, candidates should consider benefits offered, work environment, and whether they’ll be required to serve on a standing committee.
Factors Influencing City Manager Salary
Before joining a city department as a municipal attorney, you’ll want to know what you can expect to earn in the role. The following factors affect city manager salaries.
1. Experience
Like with any career, the more experience you have in a sector, the more skilled and resourceful you’ll be. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average public tenure for local government officials is about seven years.
Senior city attorneys who have honed their legal skills over the years gain a deeper understanding of municipal law and possess valuable institutional knowledge. Because the government places a substantial value on expertise and work experience, the salaries of senior city attorneys often reflect their experience and the value they bring to the municipality.
2. Education
The minimum educational requirement to practice law is a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school. However, pursuing additional education, such as earning a Master of Laws degree or specializing in a specific area of municipal law, can enhance a candidate’s qualifications and lead to a higher salary.
3. Location
When determining a city attorney’s salary, location is by far the most important consideration. This mostly comes down to your specific city’s size, workload, budget constraints, and statutory demands. The following are a few well-known American cities and their corresponding civic lawyers’ salaries, as reported by Comparably.com:
- New Orleans: $88,775
- Mesa, Arizona: $112,427
- Omaha, Nebraska: $113,945
- Riverside, California: $119,178
- Los Angeles: $119,178
- Long Beach, California: $119,178
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $123,733
- Dallas: $128,495
- Saint Paul, Minnesota: $145,065
- Baltimore, Maryland: $150,057
- San Francisco: $170,184
- San Jose, California: $170,184
eScribe Powers Effective Municipalities
Board meetings are an integral part of a city attorney’s day-to-day routine. Through these meetings, critical agenda items are discussed, such as pending legal cases, changes to city policies and procedures, enforcement of local ordinances and regulations, legal training for city departments, and more. Therefore, the importance of a robust, customizable meeting manager cannot be overstated.
eScribe’s affordable meeting management software provides a modern solution that aids government agencies with planning, conducting, and documenting meetings to improve board meeting intelligence and effectiveness. Features designed to enhance city government efficacy include:
- Meeting Manager: Create, share, modify, and collaborate on meeting materials.
- Meeting Minutes: Effortlessly take notes, create tasks, track attendance, and mark motions as the meeting progresses.
- Reporting and Workflows: Save time, manage deadlines, track statuses, and handle reports and approvals with ease.
- Collaboration Tools: Enable participants to access all of the required meeting materials in person or remotely.
In addition, this software solution for local government powers civic engagement.
Want to see a real-life example of how eScribe helps local governments work more efficiently? Check out the City of Greensboro Case Study.
