The City of Carlton employs ten full time people and one half-time person, the City Manager, three Police Officers, two and a half Administrative Staff, a Municipal Clerk and four Public Works Personnel. The City Attorney, City Engineer and City Planner are all contract employees with offices elsewhere.  The City Contracts with Yamhill County for Building Inspections. 

The current population of 1790 is served by a seven member City Council and a seven member Planning Commission.

Carlton History:

In 1872 a railroad was built from Portland to St Joe, but the train did not stop between the two stations. There was nothing but farm land where Carlton is now. Some of the farmers talked it over and as a result Mr. Wilson Carl went to Portland and talked to the Railroad Company officials to see if they would make a stop closer to them so they would not have to take their produce so far to the railroad. As a result first a flag stop was tried then a regular stop was made at what is now Carlton. The story is that the railroad employees when they talked of this unnamed stop started calling it Carl's town, which was soon shortened to Carlton.

The City was incorporated in 1899.