🏛️ MVM CIVICS 101 — City Clerk

What Does the City Clerk Do?

What does the City Clerk’s Office do?

The City Clerk’s Office:

• Prepares and distributes City Council meeting agendas
• Records actions taken by the City Council
• Prepares and maintains Council meeting minutes
• Keeps official City records
• Maintains the City seal
• Helps people find and request City records
• Helps carry out City election duties
• Receives candidate and campaign forms
• Receives required financial-disclosure forms
• Publishes notices for City bids and receives the bids
• Conducts official bid openings
• Accepts claims and legal papers filed against the City

The office supports the City Council while also helping the public find official information.

Does the City Clerk decide what the Council will consider?

No.

The City Clerk puts the agenda together and publishes it. But the Clerk does not personally decide everything that appears on it.

Agenda items may come from:

• The City Manager
• City departments
• The City Attorney
• The City Clerk
• The Mayor or a Councilmember, following City rules
• A City board or commission

The City Clerk makes sure the agenda is prepared, posted and shared as required.

What is a City Council agenda?

The agenda is the official public notice of what the Council plans to discuss or act on at a meeting.

It usually includes:

• The meeting date, time and location
• Items the Council plans to discuss
• Items that may receive a vote
• Notices for public hearings
• Staff reports and other documents
• Instructions for public participation
• Topics that may legally be discussed in closed session

The agenda lets residents see what the Council plans to discuss before the meeting.

Can the Council discuss something that is not on the agenda?

Usually not.

California’s open-meeting law generally prevents the Council from discussing or acting on a subject that was not properly listed on the agenda.

The law allows a few exceptions, including certain emergencies.

The City Attorney advises the Council about these rules. The City Clerk prepares the agenda and records what happens at the meeting.

What are meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes are the City’s official written summary of what happened during a meeting.

Minutes generally show:

• Who attended
• What items were considered
• What motions were made
• How Councilmembers voted
• What actions the Council took

Minutes are not usually a word-for-word record of everything that was said.

Residents who want more detail can watch the meeting video or review other available records.

Who keeps the official record of a Council vote?

The City Clerk does.

The voting record and approved minutes show how each Councilmember voted and whether an item passed or failed.

These official records are more reliable than a social-media post, campaign statement or someone’s memory of the meeting.

Does the City Clerk make Council decisions?

No.

The City Clerk records and maintains the official action. The Clerk does not cast a Council vote or decide whether an item should pass.

Recording a decision is not the same as making it.

Can the City Clerk change the minutes?

Draft minutes may be corrected before the Council approves them.

If an error is found later, the City may correct the record through the proper process.

The City Clerk cannot change the minutes simply to alter the meaning of a Council action or make someone’s voting record look better.

What does the City Clerk do with public records?

The City Clerk’s Office helps people request and obtain public records held by the City.

These records may include:

• Council records
• City contracts
• Emails and letters about City business
• Financial records
• Permits and applications
• City reports

Most City records are available to the public, but some information must remain private under state law.

The City Clerk helps manage the request. The department that has the records may need to find and review them.

Does the City Clerk decide what records are public?

The City Clerk helps manage the public-record process.

Sometimes the City Attorney and the department holding the records must decide whether information can be released. Some information may need to be removed, or redacted, before the record is released.

The City Clerk cannot release information that the law requires the City to keep private.

What does the City Clerk do during elections?

The City Clerk helps carry out Moreno Valley’s City election duties.

The office:

• Gives election information to candidates
• Issues and receives the papers needed to run for office
• Receives campaign-finance forms
• Receives forms showing certain financial interests
• Keeps City election records
• Makes required forms available to the public
• Works with county and other election officials

The City Clerk does not choose candidates, support campaigns or decide who wins.

Does the City Clerk enforce campaign-finance laws?

The City Clerk receives and keeps many required campaign forms.

The office may remind candidates and campaign committees about forms and filing deadlines.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission, known as the FPPC, and other government agencies enforce many campaign-finance laws.

Accepting a form does not mean the City Clerk supports the candidate or promises that everything on the form is correct.

Where are claims against the City filed?

Formal claims against the City are submitted to the City Clerk’s Office.

The City Clerk accepts and processes the filing. The Clerk does not decide whether the person should receive money.

The City Attorney’s Office handles legal claims for the City and protects the City’s legal interests. Because it represents the City, it cannot give legal advice to the person filing the claim.

What kinds of bids does the City Clerk receive?

When the City wants to buy equipment, hire a contractor or complete a construction project, it may ask businesses to compete for the work.

The City may request bids for:

• Road or sidewalk work
• Construction or repair of a City building
• Park improvements
• Vehicles and equipment
• Materials and supplies
• Certain services

Each business submits a bid explaining what it will provide and how much it will charge.

The City Clerk may publish the notice, receive sealed bids and open them at the announced time. This creates an official record and gives every bidder the same deadline.

Does the City Clerk choose the winning bid?

No.

City staff reviews the bids to see whether they meet the project’s rules. Depending on the type and cost of the contract, the City Manager, City Council or another authorized official may approve the winning bid.

The lowest price does not always win. The City may also consider whether the business is qualified and whether its bid meets all the stated requirements.

The City Clerk manages the official bid process. The Clerk does not choose which business receives the contract.

Is the City Clerk elected?

No.

Moreno Valley’s City Clerk is appointed by the City Council.

Residents elect the Mayor and four district Councilmembers. The Council selects and evaluates the City Clerk.

The Mayor does not independently appoint or remove the City Clerk.

Is the City Clerk simply the Council’s secretary?

No.

The office provides administrative support to the Council, but its responsibilities are much broader.

The City Clerk protects the official record, manages important public processes and helps residents access City information.

Official sources

• Moreno Valley City Clerk’s Office
• Moreno Valley City Council agendas, minutes and videos
• Moreno Valley Public Records
• Moreno Valley Municipal Code
• California Fair Political Practices Commission

Last reviewed: September 1, 2026