The City Clerk maintains the City's legislative records, official filings, and the Seattle Municipal Archives; keeps the minutes of City Council meetings; and provides information services to City agencies and the public. Seattle's first City Charter allowed for a Clerk of the Common Council to be elected by the Council. In 1875 the position of City Clerk became elective and remained so until 1896 when the new Charter designated the Comptroller ex-officio City Clerk. The Comptroller served as City Clerk through 1992. A 1991 City Charter amendment transferred the Comptroller's function to the Department of Finance and the City Clerk's Office became a division of the Legislative Department effective in 1993.
The Harbor Department was created by the City Charter of 1890. The Charter authorized the City Council to regulate wharfage and dockage tolls, regulate landings and berths for water craft, and provide general control of wharves and docks. The City Council could also order construction of wharves, docks, and other "landing places." The Port Warden was appointed by the mayor as the head of the Harbor Department.
In 1962, the charter article creating the Harbor Department and office of the Port Warden was repealed by charter amendment; the functions of the department were assigned to other city departments by ordinance.
The Port Warden monthly reports include statistics on tonnage and value of goods imported and exported through the port of Seattle. Import and export information is organized by port of origination or destination and further organized by type of merchandise. Also included is information on arrivals and departures of vessels, number of passsengers and ports of destination, and financial information (including revenues and disbursements) for the Harbor Department's office.
Reports are arranged chronologically by month and year.
Records are open to the public.
[Item and date], Port Warden Reports, Record Series 1802-C7. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.
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.