In-House City Attorneys in Southern California: When Were They Admitted, Where Did They Attend Law School, and What University Did They Attend?

September 9, 2011 Leave a comment

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

 

This is a continuation of my series about Southern California In-House City Attorneys in California.  This information is gleaned from open and public sources, all online, including the State of California’s website.  This may seem like very personal information, but it is not.  Each of these attorneys are public officials and public figures.  They knew the job was dangerous when they took it.

 

City Name Name of City Attorney Tenure Law School Undergrad Admitted in CA
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino James F. Penman 1987 Western State Univ. CSU San Bernardino 1980
Redlands Daniel J. McHugh 1994 McGeorge SOL Rutgers 1983
Riverside County
Moreno Valley Robert Hansen 2010 Southwestern Univ. Brigham Young Univ. 1987
Riverside Gregory Priamos 2001 Loyola Law School U.S.C. 1988
Los Angeles County
Burbank Dennis Barlow 1997 Univ. of San Diego Brigham Young Univ. 1975
Compton Craig J. Cornwell 2008 Whittier College SOL U.C. Santa Barbara 1994
Culver City Carol Schwab 1997 U.C. Hastings SOL U.C. Berkeley 1985
Glendale Scott H. Howard 1990 Southwestern Univ. U.S.C. 1976
Hawthorne Russell I. Miyahira 2009 U.C. Hastings SOL U.C.L.A. 1986
Inglewood Cal P. Saunders 2006 U.C. Hastings SOL CSU Long Beach 1975
Long Beach Robert E. Shannon 1998 U.C.L.A. SOL U.C.L.A. 1969
Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert 2010 McGeorge SOL U.C. Santa Barbara 1999
Los Angeles Carmen Trutanich 2009 South Bay Univ., Harbour City, CA U.S.C. 1979
Palmdale Wm. Matthew Ditzhazy 1994 Michigan State Univ. Univ. of Michigan 1985
Pasadena Michele Beal Bagneris 1997 UC Berkeley/Boalt Hall Stanford 1984
Redondo Beach Michael W. Webb 2005 U.C. Hastings SOL U.C. Santa Barbara 1987
Santa Monica Marsha Jones Moutrie 1993 U.C.L.A. SOL U.C.L.A. 1976
Torrance John L. Fellowes III 1993 U.S.C. Law School U.C. Irvine 1981
Orange
Anaheim Cristina Talley 2009 U.C.L.A. SOL Cal. Poly Pomona 1982
Huntington Beach Jennifer McGrath 2002 McGeorge SOL U.C.L.A. 1995
Newport Beach David R. Hunt 2008 McGeorge SOL U.C. Irvine 1983
Orange David A. DeBerry Western State Univ. San Diego State 1989
Santa Ana Joe Straka 2011 Cleveland-Marshall SOL Kent State 1987
Ventura County
Oxnard Alan Holmberg 2008 U.S.C. Law School Oberlin 1975
Simi Valley  Tracy M. Noonan 2009 Southwestern Univ. CSU Long Beach 1994
Thousand Oaks Amy Albano Albany Law School S.U.N.Y (Unknown Location) 1982
Ventura Ariel P. Calonne 2007 U.C. Hastings SOL U.C. Riverside 1983
San Diego County
Carlsbad Ronald R. Ball Santa Clara Univ. Stanford 1977
Chula Vista Glen R. Googins 2010 UC Berkeley/Boalt Hall Dartmouth 1988
Escondido Jeffrey R. Epp 1996 Univ. of Wyoming COL Univ. of Wyoming 1986
National City Claudia Silva 2010 Univ. of San Diego U.C.L.A. 1993
Oceanside John P. Mullen 2006 Univ. of San Diego U.C. San Diego 1992
San Diego Jan Goldsmith 2008 Univ. of San Diego American Univ. 1976
Vista Darold Pieper 2005 U.S.C. Law School U.C.L.A. 1971
Imperial
El Centro Luis F. Hernandez 2008 UC Berkeley/Boalt Hall Santa Clara Univ. 1979

For Law Schools, this is the tally:   U.C. Hastings has  five active in-house City Attorneys,  University of San Diego School of Law has four, McGeorge has four, Boalt Hall (U.C. Berkeley) has three, U.C.L.A. has three, U.S.C. has three, Southwestern has three, Western State University has two, Loyola, Santa Clara, Albany, Whittier, Michigan State, Univ. of Wyoming, Cleveland-Marshall, South Bay University are tied for one a piece.

I am not an in-house City Attorney, but as frequent readers of this site will note, I am a former Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Bernardino, and a former Assistant City Attorney for the City of Redlands.  Roughly, I worked about nine and a half years for those cities, and I was also a clerk in law school for the City of Santa Clara.  I graduated from the Santa Clara University School of Law and the University of California, Berkeley.  I have been admitted in the State of California to practice continuously since 1998.  In private practice, I work in municipal law both for the public and on behalf of public agencies.

Previous posts in the series of In-House City Attorneys in Southern California:

Cost Per Attorney for In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

Ratio of Attorneys to Population in In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

An Abbreviated Version of the Chart of In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

Address : 300 E. State St. Suite 517

                  Redlands CA 92373-5235
Telephone: (909) 708-6055

 

Filed under City Attorney, City of Anaheim, City of Burbank, City of Carlsbad, City of Chula Vista, City of Compton, City of Culver City, City of El Centro, CIty of Escondido, City of Glendale, City of Hawthorne, City of Huntington Beach, City of Inglewood, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of National City, City of Newport Beach, City of Oceanside, City of Orange, City of Oxnard, City of Palmdale, City of Pomona, City of Redlands, City of Redondo Beach, City of Riverside, City of San Bernardino, City of San Buenaventura, City of San Diego, CIty of Santa Ana, City of Santa Monica, City of Simi Valley, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Torrance, City of Ventura, City of Vista, County of Riverside, County of San Bernardino, Imperial County, Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, Municipal Law, Orange County, Riverside, Riverside County, San Bernardino, San Bernardino City Attorney's Office, San Bernardino City Charter, San Bernardino County Incorporated Cities and Towns, San Diego County, Ventura County Tagged with , , , , ,

Cost Per Attorney for In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

September 1, 2011 Leave a comment

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

Here is another chart comparing the various in-house City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California.  This time, the comparison is the cost per attorney.  This is the number arrived at by dividing the 2011-2012 budget (or the latest available budget) by the number of in-house attorneys.  This is not the true cost per attorney, because the budget includes such things as supplies, investigators, secretaries, and paralegals.  El Centro and Hawthorne have incredible numbers, that if true, show a very tight ship indeed.  Newport Beach’s ratio is high because it includes the outside counsel budget.  The City of Riverside spends more than $56,000 less per attorney, a number that could be attributable to the City Attorney investigators used in San Bernardino.  Oxnard and Oceanside, which are the two cities I think are most analogous to the City of San Bernardino as far as legal problems, demographics and size, are underspending San Bernardino by about $35,000 and $47,000 per attorney.  A closer examination of the differences between the offices is in order before drawing more conclusions.

City Name # Attorneys 2011-’12 Budget $/Attorney
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino 10 $3,026,000* $302,600
Redlands 1 $429,237* $429,237
Riverside County
Moreno Valley 3 $910,535* $303,512
Riverside 14 $3,451,041 $246,502
Los Angeles County
Burbank 11 $3,614,447 $328,586
Compton 4 Not Online Unknown
Culver City 4 $1,779,809 $444,952
Glendale 13 $3,720,156* $286,165
Hawthorne 3.6** $551,447 $153,179
Inglewood 10** $2,342,133** $234,213
Long Beach 22 $8,585,107 $390,232
Long Beach City Prosecutor 17 $4,824,978* $283,822
Los Angeles 444 $94,950,894* $213,853
Palmdale 2 $3,988,760 $1,994,380
Pasadena 20 $6,467,000* $323,350
Redondo Beach 6 $2,496,915* $416,152
Santa Monica 24.5 $8,672331* $353,972
Torrance 6 $2,160,322* $360,054
Orange
Anaheim 23 $5,592,143 $243,137
Huntington Beach 7 $2,311,624* $330,232
Newport Beach 5.7 $2,298,563.87*** $403,256
Orange 4 $1,411,049* $352,762
Santa Ana 8.5 $2,081,395* $244,870
Ventura County
Oxnard 5 $1,336,917* $267,383
Simi Valley  4 $983,400* $245,850
Thousand Oaks 4 $1,564,032* $391,008
Ventura 4 $1,711,112 $427,778
San Diego County
Carlsbad 4 $1,336,460* $334,115
Chula Vista 8 $2,271,182 $283,898
Escondido 7 $1,873,925 $267,703
National City 2.5 $703,760 $281,504
Oceanside 6 $1,535,860 $255,977
San Diego 147 $42,442,992* $288,728
Vista 3 $1,011,603 $337,201
Imperial
El Centro 3** $588,772** $196,257
* 2011-2012 Proposed
** 2010-2011 Adopted
*** Includes Outside Counsel budget

The City of Palmdale’s City Attorney’s Office bares more scrutiny.  Looking back at it, it has a category of “operating expenses” without a detailed break-out of what that entails.  However, even if it includes outside counsel (like Newport Beach), the number seems high.  Perhaps litigation reserves are included in the City Attorney’s budget?  The City’s budget gives the personnel expenditures of $822,060.  That includes two lawyers, and 4.16 positions in total.  The price per attorney for just salaries, wages, and similar would be $411,030 per attorney, still higher than the average.

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

A: 300 E. State St. #517
Redlands, CA 92373-5235
T: (909) 296-6708

Filed under Budget, City Attorney, City of Anaheim, City of Burbank, City of Carlsbad, City of Chula Vista, City of Compton, City of Culver City, City of El Centro, CIty of Escondido, City of Glendale, City of Hawthorne, City of Huntington Beach, City of Inglewood, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of Moreno Valley, City of National City, City of Newport Beach, City of Oceanside, City of Orange, City of Oxnard, City of Palmdale, City of Redlands, City of Redondo Beach, City of Riverside, City of San Bernardino, City of San Buenaventura, City of San Diego, CIty of Santa Ana, City of Santa Monica, City of Simi Valley, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Torrance, City of Ventura, City of Vista, Code Enforcement, Criminal Law, Imperial County, Los Angeles County, Municipal Law, Orange County, San Bernardino City Attorney's Office, San Bernardino City Charter, San Diego County, Ventura County Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Ratio of Attorneys to Population in In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

August 30, 2011 Leave a comment

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

Continuing my series on In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California, here is a new set of data comparing the Attorneys to population in City Attorney’s Offices.

City Name Pop. (2011 est.) # Attorneys Atty/Population Ratio
San Bernardino 211,076 10 21,108
Redlands 69,231 1 69,231
Riverside County
Moreno Valley 195,216 3 65,072
Riverside 306,779 14 21,913
Los Angeles County
Burbank 104,304 11 9,482
Compton 96,925 4 24,231
Culver City 38,973 4 9,743
Glendale 192,473 13 14,805
Hawthorne 84,854 3.6** 23,571
Inglewood 110,028 10** 11,003
Long Beach 463,894 22 11,894
Long Beach City Prosecutor Included Above 17 Included Above
Los Angeles 3,810,129 444 8,581
Palmdale 153,334 2 76,667
Pasadena 138,915 20 6,946
Redondo Beach 66,970 6 11,162
Santa Monica 90,174 24.5 3,681
Torrance 145,927 6 24,321
Orange
Anaheim 341,034 23 14,828
Huntington Beach 190,377 7 27,196
Newport Beach 85,376 5.7 14,978
Orange 136,995 4 34,249
Santa Ana 325,228 8.5 38,262
Ventura County
Oxnard 199,722 5 39,944
Simi Valley  125,026 4 31,257
Thousand Oaks 127,557 4 31,899
Ventura 107,124 4 26,781
San Diego County
Carlsbad 106,555 4 26,639
Chula Vista 246,496 8 30,812
Escondido 145,196 7 26,774
National City 58,785 2.5 23,514
Oceanside 168,173 6 28,029
San Diego 1,311,882 147 8,924
Vista 94,431 3 31,477
Imperial
El Centro 43,145 3** 14,382
* 2011-2012 Proposed
** 2010-2011 Adopted

Not surprisingly, the ratio is usually lowest in cities that prosecute state law misdemeanors and in large cities.  For example, Anaheim has a ratio of one attorney per 14,828  in population.  Los Angeles has one attorney per 8,851 people.  San Diego, the State of California’s second largest city, has a similar ratio, one city attorney per 8,924 people.  Palmdale, Redlands, and Moreno Valley have the highest ratios.

What does the data mean?   The average in Southern California is one attorney per 20,000 population. I think in some cases, it means that some cities are richer than other cities.  I think Santa Monica is certainly in this category, with one attorney per 3,861 in population.  In other cases, it may mean that some cities are overweight.  In researching this data, I found, for example, that El Centro was considering eliminating its in-house City Attorney’s Office.  The City of Oxnard looks like it could use another attorney, but these are fiscally trying times.

One caveat is that the cities are not equal.  The number of attorneys includes attorneys in cities that prosecute state law misdemeanors.  Also, full service cities should be expected to need more help then non-full service cities.  That explains Palmdale and Moreno Valley a little, but Moreno Valley cut a vacant position in 2010, also skewing the ratio.

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

A: 300 E. State St. Suite 517

Redlands CA 92373-5235
T: (909) 708-6055

Filed under Budget, City Attorney, City of Anaheim, City of Burbank, City of Carlsbad, City of Chula Vista, City of Compton, City of Culver City, City of El Centro, CIty of Escondido, City of Glendale, City of Hawthorne, City of Huntington Beach, City of Inglewood, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of Moreno Valley, City of National City, City of Newport Beach, City of Oceanside, City of Orange, City of Oxnard, City of Palmdale, City of Redlands, City of Redondo Beach, City of Riverside, City of San Bernardino, City of San Buenaventura, City of San Diego, CIty of Santa Ana, City of Santa Monica, City of Simi Valley, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Torrance, City of Ventura, City of Vista, Code Enforcement, Criminal Law, Imperial County, Los Angeles County, Municipal Law, Orange County, San Bernardino City Attorney's Office, San Bernardino City Charter, San Diego County, Ventura County Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

An Abbreviated Version of the Chart of In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

August 29, 2011 Leave a comment

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

Usually WordPress is a very reliable platform, but in this case, it did not like the chart that I created to illustrate my earlier post.  Here is a more readable post without information about each City’s City Attorney:

City Name Pop. (2011 est.) City Form Charter or General Law Full Service? Elected/Appointed # Attorneys 2011-’12 Budget Prosecute State Law Misdemeanors?
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino 211,076 Charter Y E 10 $3,026,000* No
Redlands 69,231 General Law Y A 1 $429,237* No
Riverside County
Moreno Valley 195,216 General Law N A 3 $910,535* No
Riverside 306,779 Charter Y A 14 $3,451,041 No
Los Angeles County
Burbank 104,304 Charter Y A 11 $3,614,447 Yes
Compton 96,925 Charter N E 4 Not Online No
Culver City 38,973 Charter Y A 4 $1,779,809 No
Glendale 192,473 Charter Y A 13 $3720156* No
Hawthorne 84,854 General Law N A 3.6** $551,447 Yes
Inglewood 110,028 Charter N A 10** $2,342,133** Yes
Long Beach 463,894 Charter Y E 22 $8,585,107 No
Long Beach City Prosecutor Included Above Charter Y E 17 $4,824,978* Yes
Los Angeles 3,810,129 Charter Y E 444 $94,950,894* Yes
Palmdale 153,334 Charter N A 2 $3,988,760 No
Pasadena 138,915 Charter Y A 20 $6,467,000* Yes
Redondo Beach 66,970 Charter Y E 6 $2,496,915* Yes
Santa Monica 90,174 Charter Y A 24.5 $8,672331* Yes
Torrance 145,927 Charter Y A 6 $2,160,322* Yes
Orange
Anaheim 341,034 Charter Y A 23 $5,592,143 Yes
Huntington Beach 190,377 Charter Y E 7 $2,311,624* Some
Newport Beach 85,376 Charter Y A 5.7 $2,298,563.87*** No
Orange 136,995 General Law Y A 4 $1,411,049* No
Santa Ana 325,228 Charter Y A 8.5 $2,081,395* No
Ventura County
Oxnard 199,722 General Law Y A 5 $1,336,917* No
Simi Valley  125,026 General Law N A 4 $983,400* No
Thousand Oaks 127,557 General Law N A 4 $1,564,032* No
Ventura 107,124 Charter Y A 4 $1,711,112 No
San Diego County
Carlsbad 106,555 Charter Y A 4 $1,336,460* No
Chula Vista 246,496 Charter Y E 8 $2,271,182 No
Escondido 145,196 General Law Y A 7 $1,873,925 No
National City 58,785 General Law Y A 2.5 $703,760 No
Oceanside 168,173 Charter Y A 6 $1,535,860 No
San Diego 1,311,882 Charter Y E 147 $42,442,992* Yes
Vista 94,431 Charter N A 3 $1,011,603 No
Imperial
El Centro 43,145 Charter Y A 3** $588,772** No
* 2011-2012 Proposed
** 2010-2011 Adopted
*** Includes Outside Counsel budget

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

A: 300 E. State St. Suite 517

     Redlands CA 92373-5235
T: (909) 708-6055

Filed under Budget, City Attorney, City of Anaheim, City of Burbank, City of Carlsbad, City of Chula Vista, City of Compton, City of Culver City, City of El Centro, CIty of Escondido, City of Glendale, City of Hawthorne, City of Huntington Beach, City of Inglewood, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of Moreno Valley, City of National City, City of Newport Beach, City of Oceanside, City of Orange, City of Oxnard, City of Palmdale, City of Redlands, City of Redondo Beach, City of Riverside, City of San Bernardino, City of San Buenaventura, City of San Diego, CIty of Santa Ana, City of Santa Monica, City of Simi Valley, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Torrance, City of Ventura, City of Vista, Code Enforcement, Criminal Law, Imperial County, Los Angeles County, Municipal Law, Orange County, San Bernardino City Attorney's Office, San Bernardino City Charter, San Diego County, Ventura County Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

In-House City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California

August 29, 2011 Leave a comment

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

I was recently speaking to an investigative journalist about in-house versus contract City Attorneys.   The journalist asked me if there were a list of in-house City Attorney’s Offices in California.   Upon review, there does not appear to be a list, though the League of California Cities does keep a list of all City/Town Attorneys in California.  So, I created  a list of in-house City Attorney’s Offices in Southern California:

City Name Pop. (2011 est.) City Form Full Service Elected/Appointed Name of City Attorney Tenure # Attorneys 2011-’12 Budget Prosecute State Law Misdemeanors?
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino 211,076 Charter Yes Elected James F. Penman 1987 10 $3,026,000* No
Redlands 69,231 General Law Yes Appointed Daniel J. McHugh 1994 1 $429,237* No
Riverside County
Moreno Valley 195,216 General Law No Appointed Robert Hansen 2010 3 $910,535* No
Riverside 306,779 Charter Yes Appointed Gregory Priamos 2001 14 $3,451,041 No
Los Angeles County
Burbank 104,304 Charter Yes Appointed Dennis Barlow 1997 11 $3,614,447 Yes
Compton 96,925 Charter No Elected Craig J. Cornwell 2008 4 Not Online No
Culver City 38,973 Charter Yes Appointed Carol Schwab 1997 4 $1,779,809 No
Glendale 192,473 Charter Yes Appointed Scott H. Howard 1990 13 $3720156* No
Hawthorne 84,854 General Law No Appointed Russell I. Miyahira 2009 3.6** $551,447 Yes
Inglewood 110,028 Charter No Appointed Cal P. Saunders 2006 10** $2,342,133** Yes
Long Beach 463,894 Charter Yes Elected Robert E. Shannon 1998 22 $8,585,107 No
Long Beach City Prosecutor Included Above Charter Yes Elected Doug Haubert 2010 17 $4,824,978* Yes
Los Angeles 3,810,129 Charter Yes Elected Carmen Trutanich 2009 444 $94,950,894* Yes
Palmdale 153,334 Charter No Appointed Wm. Matthew Ditzhazy 1994 2 $3,988,760 No
Pasadena 138,915 Charter Yes Appointed Michele Beal Bagneris 1997 20 $6,467,000* Yes
Redondo Beach 66,970 Charter Yes Elected Michael W. Webb 2005 6 $2,496,915* Yes
Santa Monica 90,174 Charter Yes Appointed Marsha Jones Moutrie 1993 24.5 $8,672331* Yes
Torrance 145,927 Charter Yes Appointed John L. Fellowes III 1993 6 $2,160,322* Yes
Orange
Anaheim 341,034 Charter Yes Appointed Cristina Talley 2009 23 $5,592,143 Yes
Huntington Beach 190,377 Charter Yes Elected Jennifer McGrath 2002 7 $2,311,624* Some
Newport Beach 85,376 Charter Yes Appointed David R. Hunt 2008 5.7 $2,298,563.87*** No
Orange 136,995 General Law Yes Appointed David A. DeBerry 4 $1,411,049* No
Santa Ana 325,228 Charter Yes Appointed Joe Straka 2011 8.5 $2,081,395* No
Ventura County
Oxnard 199,722 General Law Yes Appointed Alan Holmberg 2008 5 $1,336,917* No
Simi Valley  125,026 General Law No Appointed Tracy M. Noonan 2009 4 $983,400* No
Thousand Oaks 127,557 General Law No Appointed Amy Albano 4 $1,564,032* No
Ventura 107,124 Charter Yes Appointed Ariel P. Calonne 2007 4 $1,711,112 No
San Diego County
Carlsbad 106,555 Charter Yes Appointed Ronald R. Ball 4 $1,336,460* No
Chula Vista 246,496 Charter Yes Elected Glen R. Googins 2010 8 $2,271,182 No
Escondido 145,196 General Law Yes Appointed Jeffrey R. Epp 1996 7 $1,873,925 No
National City 58,785 General Law Yes Appointed Claudia Silva 2010 2.5 $703,760 No
Oceanside 168,173 Charter Yes Appointed John P. Mullen 2006 6 $1,535,860 No
San Diego 1,311,882 Charter Yes Elected Jan Goldsmith 2008 147 $42,442,992* Yes
Vista 94,431 Charter No Appointed Darold Pieper 2005 3 $1,011,603 No
Imperial
El Centro 43,145 Charter Yes Appointed Luis F. Hernandez 2008 3** $588,772** No
* 2011-2012 Proposed
** 2010-2011 Adopted
*** Includes Outside Counsel budget

I define Southern California in this case as Imperial, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

It can be difficult to directly compare cities and City Attorney’s Offices directly.  The difficulty is that different cities use different accounting.  For example, Newport Beach places the outside counsel directly in its budget.  Some cities use a Risk Management/liability account to pay for outside counsel.  Other differences are whether the city prosecutes State law misdemeanors, which increases the size of the budget and the number of attorneys.  One City offset the budget with internal fund transfers.  I just added them together to get the budgeted amount.  Long Beach has both an elected City Attorney and an elected City Prosecutor, which I have listed separately.  The population figures are  the January 2011 estimates from the California Department of Finance.  There  are a variety of definitions of “full service.”  For the purposes of this list, I define “full service” as having both a Fire Department and a Police Department.

I tried to use equivalent data.  However, some cities have not adopted 2011-2012 budgets, so I used the proposed budget if available, and the 2010-2011 Adopted budget if neither the FY 12 adopted or proposed budget was available online.  Also, some full service cities are more full service than others.  For example, Redlands has both an airport and a landfill, while San Bernardino has neither, but San Bernardino is about three times as big as Redlands in population.  Some full service cities do not have any utilities, while others have solid waste, water and electricity.  The coastal cities have harbors and have to deal with the Coastal Commission.  As far as complexity, I would imagine that the City and County of San Francisco as a the only Charter City and County in California, as well as having its own transit system, would be the most complex City in the State.

The data came mostly from the City’s website.  Sometimes, the number of attorneys comes from the City Attorney’s website, sometimes from the adopted or proposed budget, sometimes from the State Bar’s website (though it is more difficult to do than in the past), and the State Controller’s compensation website.  The determination whether the City is a Charter or General Law City comes from the list maintained by the League of California Cities.  The names of City Attorneys comes from an August 2011 list from the City Attorney’s division of the League of California Cities, and checked against the internet.  The year the City Attorneys were appointed or elected came from a variety of internet sources, such as newspaper archives, Google, or the City’s website. I couldn’t find two.  I counted from the initial appointment (including interim appointments).  I derived the data about which cities have in-house City Attorney’s Offices from Google searches cross-checked against the League’s list of City Attorneys.

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

A: 300 E. State St. Suite 517
Redlands, CA 92373-5235
T: (909) 708-6055

Filed under Budget, City Attorney, City of Anaheim, City of Burbank, City of Carlsbad, City of Chula Vista, City of Compton, City of Culver City, City of El Centro, CIty of Escondido, City of Glendale, City of Hawthorne, City of Huntington Beach, City of Inglewood, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of Moreno Valley, City of National City, City of Newport Beach, City of Oceanside, City of Orange, City of Oxnard, City of Palmdale, City of Redlands, City of Redondo Beach, City of Riverside, City of San Bernardino, City of San Buenaventura, City of San Diego, CIty of Santa Ana, City of Santa Monica, City of Simi Valley, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Torrance, City of Ventura, City of Vista, Code Enforcement, Criminal Law, Imperial County, Los Angeles County, Municipal Law, Orange County, San Bernardino City Attorney's Office, San Bernardino City Charter, San Diego County, Ventura County Tagged with , , , , , , , ,