Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the Comptroller Annual
Financial Reports
Seattle (Wash.).
Comptroller's Office
1802-J7
4 cubic feet
1890-2007
Annual financial reports from the Office
of the Comptroller. English .
The Comptroller was responsible by City Charter for supervising the
City's financial affairs including administration of the accounting system,
payroll system, investments, and borrowing. The Office also maintained a
general auditing function. The position of Comptroller was established by
Charter in 1890 and was appointed by the Mayor. The 1896 City Charter
designated the Comptroller the ex-officio City Clerk and made the position
elective. A 1991 City Charter amendment abolished the positions of City
Comptroller and City Treasurer and merged the two functions to create the
Department of Finance in 1993. The City was served by just twelve Comptrollers
during the office's 100 year existence: Chauncey W. Ferris, 1890-1892; J.M.
Carson, 1892-1894; Will H. Parry, 1894-1900; Frank H. Paul, 1900-1902; John
Riplinger, 1902-1906; Harry W. Carroll, 1906-1910 and 1912-1938; William
Bothwell, 1910-1912; W.C. Thomas, 1938-1958; Carl G. Erlandson, 1958-1976;
Edward L. Kidd, 1976-1979; Tim Hill, 1980-1985; and Norward J. Brooks,
1986-1992.
Annual reports for the Comptroller date from 1890; after 1978, annual
reports on the financial condition of the City were known as Comprehensive
Annual Reports. This change reflected, in part, the implementation of a
computer program, the Central Financial Management System. Researchers should
note that there is a separate record group for the Department of Finance. The
earliest reports contain disbursements and receipts by fund and department.
Beginning in 1895, some reports include more narrative. The 1896 report of the
License Department is included, as it was part of the Comptroller's Office.
Reports in the early 1900s include lists of City property and real estate.
Published and unpublished reports appear for some years; in these cases the
published report has the more complete financial statement. In 1932, annual
reports for the Weights and Measures Division begin to be a part of the
Comptroller's report because the Department of Public Utilities was
discontinued and the Weights and Measures Division, which had been a part of
that Department, was transferred to the Comptroller's. Reports in the late
1950s through the 1970s include organization charts for City government.
Records are open to the public.
A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports,
petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City
departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been
placed "on file" with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily
permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically
purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed,
arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the
Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.
[Item and date], Office of the Comptroller Annual Financial Reports,
Record Series 1802-J7 Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal
Archives.
Seattle (Wash.).
Comptroller's Office
Seattle (Wash.)
Seattle
Financial
management--Washington (State)--Seattle
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1890-1892
1
1
Clerk File
292706
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1895-1898
1
2
Clerk File
292707
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1899-1901
1
3
Clerk File
292711
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1902-1903
1
4
Clerk File
292714
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1904-1905
1
5
Clerk File
292716
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1904-1906
1
6
Clerk File
26790
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1906-1907
1
7
Clerk File
292717
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1908-1909
2
1
Clerk File
36078_3
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1910-1911
2
2
Clerk File
292718
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1912-1913
2
3
Clerk File
292719
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1914-1915
2
4
Clerk File
292721
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1916
2
5
Clerk File
68685_2
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1918-1921
2
6
Clerk File
292723
Comptroller, Biennial Financial
Report
1922-1923
2
7
Clerk File
292725
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1924
2
8
Clerk File
292726
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1925-1927
3
1
Clerk File
292749
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1928-1929
3
2
Clerk File
292729
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1930-1931
3
3
Clerk File
292731
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1932-1933
3
4
Clerk File
139014
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1934-1935
3
5
Clerk File
291649
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1936-1937
3
6
Clerk File
291651
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1938-1939
4
1
Clerk File
292736
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1940-1941
4
2
Clerk File
292738
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1942-1943
4
3
Clerk File
291652
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1944-1945
4
4
Clerk File
292741
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1946-1947
4
5
Clerk File
292744
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1948-1949
5
1
Clerk File
292745
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1950
5
2
Clerk File
211571
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1951-1952
5
3
Clerk File
216218
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1953
5
4
Clerk File
224517
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1954
5
5
Clerk File
227118
Comptroller, Comparative Budget
Statement
1954
5
6
Clerk File
227116
Comptroller Annual Financial
Reports
1955-1958
6
1
Clerk File
237694
Comptroller Annual Financial
Reports
1955-1958
6
2
Clerk File
236921
Comptroller Annual Financial
Reports
1959-1960
6
3
Clerk File
242929
Comptroller Annual Financial
Reports
1961
6
4
Clerk File
244896
Comptroller Annual Financial
Reports
1962
7
1
Clerk File
247781
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1964-1966
7
2
Clerk File
252944
Comptroller Annual Financial
Report
1967
7
3
Clerk File
261285
Comptroller Annual Financial
Report
1968-1969
7
4
Clerk File
264001
Comptroller Annual Financial
Report
1970
7
5
Clerk File
270320
Comptroller Annual Financial
Report
1971
7
6
Clerk File
273724
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1972
7
7
Clerk File
276867
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1973
8
1
Clerk File
279613
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1974
8
2
Clerk File
292747
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1975
8
3
Clerk File
284129
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1977
8
4
Clerk File
286876
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Report
1978
8
5
Clerk File
289676
Comptroller, Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1979
8
6
Clerk File
289856
Comptroller, Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1980
9
1
Clerk File
290721
Comptroller, Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1981
9
2
Clerk File
291691
Comptroller, Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1982
9
3
Clerk File
292525
Comptroller, Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1983
9
4
Clerk File
293596
Comptroller, Annual Financial
Review
1983
9
5
Clerk File
293434
Comptroller, Annual Report on
General Fund
1983
9
6
Clerk File
293317
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1984
9
7
Clerk File
294164
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1985
10
1
Clerk File
297704
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1988
10
2
Clerk File
297375
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1991
10
3
Clerk File
299170
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
1992
10
4
Clerk File
299556
Comptroller Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report
2007
10
5