3.480 City Attorney.

(1) City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be appointed by the Common Council for an indefinite term. In addition to other duties, it shall be the duty of the City Attorney to keep the Municipal Code in a currently revised form.

Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 62.115, the City Attorney is hereby authorized to defend actions brought against any officer or employee of the City of Manitowoc, or of any City board or commission, growing out of any acts done in the course of employment, or out of any alleged breach of duty as such officer or employee, excepting actions brought to determine the right of such officer or employee to hold or retain his or her office or position, and except actions brought by the City of Manitowoc against any officer or employee thereof.

The City Attorney may appoint an assistant to handle prosecution of ordinance violations and such other duties as may be assigned by the City Attorney. The salary for the Assistant City Attorney shall be determined by the Common Council.

(2) Informed Consent.

(a) Pursuant to this section, the Common Council provides informed consent for the office of the City Attorney to share information regarding the office’s representation of the City, including the identity of the City as a client and information which may not be available to the public at the time of release, to the extent necessary for the purposes of consulting and collaborating with other municipal attorneys or legal counsel representing other governmental jurisdictions or other public or private organizations or parties, for the benefit of the City. This informed consent includes but is not limited to participation with legal listservs, joint meetings or conferences with other attorneys, and individual consultations with other attorneys with expertise in the subject matter or legal interests similar to those of the City.

(b) This section shall not provide informed consent for the office of the City Attorney to release confidential information relating to the representation of the City where communication of the information would disadvantage the City’s legal position or where communication of the information is likely to result in that information being conveyed to a party that is adverse to the City in the particular matter related to the information or to that party’s legal counsel. In its sole discretion, the Common Council may establish additional restrictions or conditions related to its informed consent pursuant to this section.

(c) In specific instances where the office of the City Attorney deems it necessary to seek more specific informed consent regarding communication of information due to the requirements of subsection (2)(b) of this section or due to other obligations of the City Attorney under the rules of professional conduct for attorneys or to other factors or circumstances, the City Attorney may seek such informed consent from the Mayor and the Mayor may, in their sole judgment, determine whether such informed consent may be provided on behalf of the City.

[Ord. 24-1649 § 1, 2024; Ord. 20-564 § 17, 2020; Ord. 16-430 § 19, 2016. Prior code § 3.48]