City of Morro Bay moving ahead with hiring an in-house attorney

April 22, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The Morro Bay City Council voted earlier this month to begin the process of hiring an in-house city attorney. On Tuesday, the city council will consider proposed salary and job classifications, according to its agenda.

Staff is also asking the city council to select one of two recruitment options. The cheaper option is to have the city’s human resources staff manage the full recruitment process with the assistance of the interim city attorney.

The second option provided as a way to bring in a larger applicant pool, is to hire an executive recruiter with specific experience in municipal city attorney placements. A professional recruiter can lead all or certain aspects of the process.

From its incorporation in 1964 until 2002, Morro Bay contracted its city attorney services. Then from 2002 until 2013, the city had an in-house city attorney before switching back to contracted services in 2013.

“The fiscal impact of establishing an in-house city attorney is estimated to be between $550,000 and $700,000 annually, including salary, benefits, support staff, office space, furniture, technology, and professional resources, such as a legal assistant,” according to the staff report. “The first year is expected to have a higher cost due to the need to acquire computers, copier, printer, scanner, and phones.”