City of Wenatchee v. Owens

Kulik, A.C.J.

¶1 In January 1995, the city of Wenatchee (City) adopted Ordinance No. 3109 (Ordinance), which governed gambling taxes. The Ordinance was not signed by the city clerk. On July 5, 2006, the City separately charged Travis Owens and Ruth Owens by criminal complaint with three counts each of failure to pay gambling taxes in violation of the Ordinance. The district and superior courts dismissed the charges, concluding that the Ordinance was invalid because it was not attested to by the city clerk.

¶2 We hold that the city clerk’s duty to attest to the Ordinance was entirely ministerial…