The Office of the Chief Clerk of Council serves as the central depository for all information, incoming and outgoing, that concerns Council’s legislative activities. The Office is also a coordinating element in the legislative process, with the responsibility for managing many of the details associated with moving legislation from one stage in the process to the next. The Clerk’s Office is therefore a useful resource for legislative information, and a valuable link joining the Council, the public, and other government agencies, including the Executive Branch of City government.

            The Chief Clerk is elected by the members of Council and officially serves as the Council’s secretary. In general, the Chief Clerk’s office manages session proceedings, oversees the legislative process, maintains the recordkeeping of the legislature, and performs a variety of other functions set forth in the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, The Philadelphia Code, and the Rules of Council. These functions are performed with the following goals in mind at all times:

• To inform the public regarding the Council’s legislative activities;
• To provide members of Council with all information required to deliberate effectively;
• To maintain a complete and accurate legislative record;
• To ensure that all legal and due process requirements governing the legislative process are observed.