Welcome to the City of Piedmont Government Pages

About Piedmont

The City of Piedmont is a primarily residential 1.7 square mile Charter City with approximately 11,000 residents, located in the beautiful Oakland Hills, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Aptly named “Piedmont,” or “foot of the mountain,” its most distinct features are gardens, bridges, parks, and schools that create a special sense of place.

Today, ambitious efforts are underway to usher in Piedmont’s vision for the future. Accessible and participatory local government are centerpieces to the City’s approach. Practicing good governance, advancing Piedmont’s quality of life, becoming a more diverse, inclusive, welcoming community and addressing the regional housing crisis are priorities.

As a charter city, Piedmont exercises a broad scope of local authority based on its local charter. This is in contrast to a general law city, which is restricted to the exercise of powers specifically set forth in State general law.

City Council - City Administrator Form of Government

The Piedmont City Charter establishes a City Council - City Administrator form of government. Under this form of government, the Piedmont City council is the legislative body responsible for setting City policy. The five Council members are elected at-large by the Piedmont electorate.

The City Administrator advises and makes recommendations to the City Council concerning any conditions or situations that require Council direction or policy determination and prepares the recommended budget for consideration and adoption by the City Council.

City Attorney 

The City Attorney works under contract and is directly responsible to the City Council. The City Attorney attends all council meetings and provides legal advice to the City Council, City Administrator, and department heads of the city. The City Attorney does not provide legal advice or opinions to the public. If you have questions pertaining to interpretation of the City Code or claims against the city, please contact the City Clerk's office at (510) 420-3040.