Title 35 — Title 35 CITIES AND TOWNS
49 chapters · 1,261 sections in this title.
RCW 35.18.090 City manager—Department heads—Authority.
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The city manager may authorize the head of a department or office responsible to him or her to appoint and remove subordinates in such department or office. Any officer or employee who may be appointed by the city manager, or by the head of a department or office, except one who …
RCW 35.18.100 City manager—Appointment of subordinates—Qualifications—Terms.
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Appointments made by or under the authority of the city manager shall be on the basis of executive and administrative ability and of the training and experience of the appointees in the work which they are to perform. Residence within the city or town shall not be a requirement. …
RCW 35.18.110 City manager—Interference by councilmembers.
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Neither the council, nor any of its committees or members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his or her removal from, office by the city manager or any of his or her subordinates. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and its members shall deal …
RCW 35.18.120 City manager—Removal—Resolution and notice.
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The city manager shall be appointed for an indefinite term and may be removed by a majority vote of the council.At least thirty days before the effective date of his or her removal, the city manager must be furnished with a formal statement in the form of a resolution passed by a…
RCW 35.18.130 City manager—Removal—Reply and hearing.
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The city manager may, within thirty days from the date of service upon him or her of a copy thereof, reply in writing to the resolution stating the council's intention to remove him or her. In the event no reply is timely filed, the resolution shall upon the thirty-first day from…
RCW 35.18.140 City manager—Substitute.
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The council may designate a qualified administrative officer of the city or town to perform the duties of manager:(1) Upon the adoption of the council-manager plan, pending the selection and appointment of a manager; or(2) Upon the termination of the services of a manager, pendin…
RCW 35.18.150 Council—Eligibility.
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Only a qualified elector of the city or town may be a member of the council and upon ceasing to be such, or upon being convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, or of violating the provisions of RCW 35.18.110, he or she shall immediately forfeit his or her office.[ 2009 c 5…
RCW 35.18.160 Council—Authority.
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The council shall have all of the powers which inhere in the city or town not reserved to the people or vested in the city manager, including but not restricted to the authority to adopt ordinances and resolutions.[ 1965 c 7 s 35.18.160. Prior: (i) 1943 c 271 s 9, part; Rem. Supp…
RCW 35.18.170 Council meetings.
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The council shall meet at the times and places fixed by ordinance but must hold at least one regular meeting each month. The clerk shall call special meetings of the council upon request of the mayor or any two members. At all meetings of the city council, a majority of the counc…
RCW 35.18.180 Council—Ordinances—Recording.
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No ordinance, resolution, or order, including those granting a franchise or valuable privilege, shall have any validity or effect unless passed by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members of the city or town council. Every ordinance or resolution adopted shall b…
RCW 35.18.190 Mayor—Election—Vacancy.
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Biennially at the first meeting of the new council the members thereof shall choose a chair from among their number who shall have the title of mayor. In addition to the powers conferred upon him or her as mayor, he or she shall continue to have all the rights, privileges and imm…
RCW 35.18.200 Mayor—Duties.
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The mayor shall preside at meetings of the council, and be recognized as the head of the city or town for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law.He or she shall have no regular administrative duties, but in time of public danger or emergency, if …
RCW 35.18.210 Mayor pro tempore.
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In case of the mayor's absence, a mayor pro tempore selected by the members of the council from among their number shall act as mayor during the continuance of the absence.[ 1969 c 101 s 2; 1965 c 7 s 35.18.210. Prior: 1955 c 337 s 11; prior: 1943 c 271 s 8, part; Rem. Supp. 1943…
RCW 35.18.220 Salaries.
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Each member of the council shall receive such compensation as may be provided by law to cities of the class to which it belongs. The city manager and other officers or assistants shall receive such salary or compensation as the council shall fix by ordinance and shall be payable …
RCW 35.18.230 Organization on council-manager plan—Eligibility.
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Any city or town having a population of less than thirty thousand may be organized as a council-manager city or town under this chapter.[ 1965 c 7 s 35.18.230. Prior: 1959 c 76 s 2; 1943 c 271 s 1; Rem. Supp. 1943 s 9198-10.]
RCW 35.18.240 Organization—Petition.
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Petitions to reorganize a city or town on the council-manager plan must be signed by registered voters resident therein equal in number to at least twenty percent of the votes cast for all candidates for mayor at the last preceding municipal election. In addition to the signature…
RCW 35.18.250 Organization—Election procedure.
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Upon the filing of a petition for the adoption of the council-manager plan of government, or upon resolution of the council to that effect, the mayor, only after the petition has been found to be valid, by proclamation issued within ten days after the filing of the petition or th…
RCW 35.18.260 Organization—Ballots.
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At the election for organization on the council-manager plan, the proposition on the ballots shall be: "Shall the city (or town) of . . . . . . adopt the council-manager plan of municipal government?" followed by the words:"For organization as a council-manager city or town . . .…
RCW 35.18.270 Organization—Election of council, procedure.
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If the majority of the votes cast at a special election for organization on the council-manager plan favor the plan, the city or town shall elect the council required under the council-manager plan in number according to its population at the next municipal general election. Howe…
RCW 35.18.280 Organization—Holding over by incumbent officials and employees.
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Councilmembers shall take office at the times provided by RCW 35.18.270 as now or hereafter amended. The other city officials and employees who are incumbent at the time the council-manager plan takes effect shall hold office until their successors have been selected in accordanc…
RCW 35.18.285 Organization—First council may revise budget.
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If, at the beginning of the term of office of the first council elected in a city organized under the council-manager plan, the appropriations for the expenditures of the city for the current fiscal year have been made, the council, by ordinance, may revise them but may not excee…
RCW 35.18.290 Abandonment of council-manager plan.
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Any city or town which has operated under the council-manager plan for more than six years may abandon such organization and accept the provisions of the general laws then applicable to municipalities upon the petition of not less than twenty percent of the registered voters ther…
RCW 35.18.300 Abandonment—Method.
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The sufficiency of the petition for abandonment of the council-manager form of government shall be determined, the election ordered and conducted, and the results declared generally as provided for the procedure for reorganizing under the council-manager plan so far as those prov…
RCW 35.18.310 Abandonment—Special election necessary.
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The proposition to abandon the council-manager plan must be voted on at a special election called for that purpose at which the only proposition to be voted on shall be: "Shall the city (or town) of . . . . . . abandon its organization under the council-manager plan and become a …
RCW 35.18.320 Abandonment—Effect.
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If a majority of votes cast at the special election favor the abandonment of the council-manager form of government, the officers elected at the next succeeding biennial election shall be those then prescribed for cities or towns of like class. Upon the qualification of such offi…
RCW 35.20.010 Municipal court established—Termination of court—Agreement covering costs of handling resulting criminal cases—Arbitration—Notice.
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(1) There is hereby created and established in each incorporated city of this state having a population of more than four hundred thousand inhabitants, as shown by the federal or state census, whichever is the later, a municipal court, which shall be styled "The Municipal Court o…
RCW 35.20.020 Sessions—Judges may act as magistrates—Night court.
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The municipal court shall be always open except on nonjudicial days. It shall hold regular and special sessions at such times as may be prescribed by the judges thereof. The judges shall have the power to act as magistrates in accordance with the provisions of chapter 10.16 RCW. …
RCW 35.20.030 Jurisdiction—Maximum penalties for criminal violations—Review—Costs.
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The municipal court shall have jurisdiction to try violations of all city ordinances and all other actions brought to enforce or recover license penalties or forfeitures declared or given by any such ordinances. It is empowered to forfeit cash bail or bail bonds and issue executi…
RCW 35.20.090 Trial by jury—Juror's fees.
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In all civil cases and criminal cases where jurisdiction is concurrent with district courts as provided in RCW 35.20.250, within the jurisdiction of the municipal court, the plaintiff or defendant may demand a jury, which shall consist of six citizens of the state who shall be im…
RCW 35.20.100 Departments of court—Jurisdiction and venue—Presiding judge—Costs of election.
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There shall be three departments of the municipal court, which shall be designated as Department Nos. 1, 2 and 3. However, when the administration of justice and the accomplishment of the work of the court make additional departments necessary, the legislative body of the city ma…
RCW 35.20.105 Court administrator.
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There shall be a court administrator of the municipal court appointed by the judges of the municipal court, subject to confirmation by a majority of the legislative body of the city, and removable by the judges of the municipal court subject to like confirmation. Before entering …
RCW 35.20.110 Seal of court—Extent of process.
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The municipal court shall have a seal which shall be the vignette of George Washington, with the words "Seal of The Municipal Court of . . . . . . (name of city), State of Washington," surrounding the vignette. All process from such court runs throughout the state. The supreme co…
RCW 35.20.120 Expenses of court.
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All blanks, books, papers, stationery and furniture necessary for the transaction of business and the keeping of records of the court shall be furnished at the expense of the city, except those expenses incidental to the operation of the court in matters brought before the court …
RCW 35.20.131 Director of traffic violations.
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There shall be a director of the traffic violations bureau or such similar agency of the city as may be created by ordinance of said city. Said director shall be appointed by the judges of the municipal court subject to such civil service laws and rules as may be provided in such…
RCW 35.20.140 Monthly meeting of judges—Rules and regulations of court.
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It shall be the duty of the judges to meet together at least once each month, except during the months of July and August, at such hour and place as they may designate, and at such other times as they may desire, for the consideration of such matters pertaining to the administrat…
RCW 35.20.150 Election of judges—Vacancies.
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The municipal judges shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1958, and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November every fourth year thereafter by the electorate of the city in which the court is located. The auditor of the county con…
RCW 35.20.155 Municipal court commissioners—Appointment, powers.
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When so authorized by the city legislative authority, the judges of the city may appoint one or more municipal court commissioners. A commissioner must be a registered voter of the city, and shall hold office at the pleasure of the appointing judges. A person appointed as a commi…
RCW 35.20.160 Judges' salaries.
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The total of the salaries of each municipal judge under this chapter shall be fixed by the legislative body of the city at not less than nine thousand dollars per annum, to be paid in monthly or semimonthly installments as for other officials of the city, and such total salaries …
RCW 35.20.170 Qualifications of judges—Practice of law prohibited.
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No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the municipal court unless he or she shall have been admitted to practice law before the courts of record of this state and is an elector of the city in which he or she files for office. No judge of said court during his or he…
RCW 35.20.175 Judicial officers—Disqualification.
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(1) A municipal court judicial officer shall not preside in any of the following cases:(a) In an action to which the judicial officer is a party, or in which the judicial officer is directly interested, or in which the judicial officer has been an attorney for a party.(b) When th…
RCW 35.20.180 Judges' oath of office, official bonds.
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Every judge of such municipal court, before he or she enters upon the duties of his or her office, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the St…
RCW 35.20.190 Additional judge.
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Whenever the number of departments of the municipal court is increased, the mayor of such city shall appoint a qualified person as provided in RCW 35.20.170 to act as municipal judge until the next general election. He or she shall be paid salaries in accordance with the provisio…
RCW 35.20.200 Judges pro tempore.
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(1) The presiding municipal court judge shall appoint judges pro tempore who shall act in the absence of the regular judges of the court or in addition to the regular judges when the administration of justice and the accomplishment of the work of the court make it necessary. The …
RCW 35.20.205 Judicial officers—Hearing examiner.
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The judges of the municipal court may employ judicial officers to assist in the administration of justice and the accomplishment of the work of the court as said work may be assigned to it by statute or ordinance. The duties and responsibilities of such officers shall be judicial…
RCW 35.20.210 Clerks of court.
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There shall be a chief clerk of the municipal court appointed by the judges of the municipal court subject to such civil service laws and rules as may be provided in such city. After August 11, 1969, those employees connected with the court under civil service status shall be con…
RCW 35.20.220 Powers and duties of chief clerk—Remittance by city treasurer—Interest—Disposition.
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(1) The chief clerk, under the supervision and direction of the court administrator of the municipal court, shall have the custody and care of the books, papers and records of the court. The chief clerk or a deputy shall be present during the session of the court and has the powe…
RCW 35.20.230 Director of probation services—Probation officers—Bailiffs.
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The judges of the municipal court shall appoint a director of probation services who shall, under the direction and supervision of the court administrator of the municipal court, supervise the probation officers of the municipal court. The judges of the municipal court shall also…
RCW 35.20.240 First judges—Transfer of equipment.
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Upon the effective date of this chapter (June 8, 1955), any justice of the peace who was the duly appointed and acting police justice of the city shall become a judge of the municipal court upon his or her filing his or her oath of office and bond as required by this chapter, and…
RCW 35.20.250 Concurrent jurisdiction with superior court and district court.
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The municipal court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court and district court in all civil and criminal matters as now provided by law for district judges, and a judge thereof may sit in preliminary hearings as magistrate. Fines, penalties, and forfeitures bef…
RCW 35.20.255 Deferral or suspension of sentences—Probation—Maximum term—Transfer to another state.
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(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, judges of the municipal court, in their discretion, shall have the power in all criminal proceedings within their jurisdiction including violations of city ordinances, to defer imposition of any sentence, suspend all or pa…