|
THE WMCA MISSION:
To be the premier source
for the personal empowerment
of municipal clerks in Wisconsin
through education, professional development, and the promotion of excellence.
|
|
 |
Happy
35th Anniversary
WMCA!
1980 to 2015 |
| |
| The President's Message
|
| Greetings Everyone,
Wow, it’s hard to believe that the 2015 Annual Conference is just around the corner and my term of office as your WMCA President is about to conclude. I’d like to provide you with an overview of some of the activities that took place over the past several months.
I have traveled to all corners of the State attending District meetings, attended conference meetings in La Crosse, traveled to the Minnesota conference, testified at the GAB hearing in Madison, represented WMCA at Wisconsin Town’s Association meetings, and conducted Board of Director meetings held in Plover. I also participated in many committee meetings both in person and by teleconference.
The Board of Directors met six times; five in-person meetings and one teleconference. The first meeting was held in August at last year’s conference. In September, the Board participated in executive board training conducted by Jim Reseburg and had professional photos taken of all the directors. Other meetings were held in December, March, June, and July. Those very productive meetings produced some major results:
- Adopted a Code of Conduct for the Board of Directors
- Adopted a Vision Statement for WMCA
- Voted to run a two-day educational opportunity in 2016 in the northern part of the state due to the overwhelming response of a survey
- Reviewed and re-drafted the WMCA Constitution
- Voted to purchase member-voting software (part of the constitution changes)
Committees met throughout the year under the direction of the following Chairpersons:
2015 Conference – Teri Lehrke
Elections – Diane Herman-Brown & Sandi Wesolowski
Promotions – Sandy Boettcher
Scholarship – Deina Shirmer
Professional Education – Anne Uecker
Certification – Nancy Zastrow & Jane Romanowski
New Clerk’s Class – Steve Braatz & Lynn Pepper
Mentoring – Lois Frank & Sue Finstad
Lifetime Achievement – Teri Lehrke
Finance – Brenda Ayers
WCEF – Barb Van Clake
Manuals – Karen Weinschrott
Ad Hoc Committee - New Clerks Manual – Vicki Zuehlke
I would like to thank all of you and your committee members for a job well done! So many positive things happened to include an updated version of the New Clerks Manual. Look for the new manual to be posted to the Members Log-in area this Fall.
The proposed Constitution is a much more concise and shorter version. A few examples of the noted changes include:
- Electronic voting privileges for all active members
- Defining who may hold office on the Board of Directors
- Changing District Director terms from one to two years
- Creating a new class of membership called Government Associate
- Defining the Executive Director position and declaring this Ex-Officio committee member has no voting rights
Over the past 18 months, WMCA Executive Director Faith Elford, has been a huge asset to me and the Board of Directors. She performs numerous duties above and beyond the call of duty (and her contract). When you see her at conference or at a meeting, please extend a word of thanks to her for all she does for our association.
|
Proposed Revised WMCA Constitution to be voted on
at the Annual Meeting |
As President Weinschrott mentioned in her message, the Manuals Committee and the WMCA Board of Directors have been working on revising the WMCA Constitution. Click here for a downloadable copy showing the current constitution and the new proposed constitution side-by-side,
WMCA members will be voting on this proposed constitution at the Annual Meeting at 12:30 PM on Thursday, August 20th, in the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, WI.
|
|
|
35th Anniversary WMCA Conference
Education . . . Strength of a Mighty River
The Early Bird is About to Fly Away! |
Last chance for the Early Bird pricing! The deadline for early bird pricing is this Friday, July 17th. Remember, you can register on-line WITHOUT having to pay by credit card. Just mark that you will be sending in a check.
Check out the details on the 35th Anniversary WMCA Conference website by clicking here. This conference website will show you all of the class descriptions; speakers bios; conference fees and you can register on-line. Remember, you don't need a credit card to register for the conference from the website. The system will send you a confirmation/invoice after you register and mark that you will be paying by check. Then mail in your check with a copy of the confirmation as soon as you can.
Hope to see you in La Crosse!
|
|
Meet Your New 2015-16 Officers
|
|
Only one member stepped up and handed in the appropriate paperwork by June 1st to qualify for the open 2nd Vice President position and one member filed for the Secretary position. Therefore, as stated in the WMCA Constitution, the following members will assume those positions at the annual conference.
|
 |
2nd Vice President
Barbara Goeckner WCPC/MMC |
|
Hello, my name is Barbara (Barb) Goeckner and I am the Village Clerk for the Village of Germantown in Washington County, District 5 of WMCA. I have been involved in municipal government since 1988. For the past 21 years I have worked as either the Clerk, Clerk/Treasurer or Deputy Clerk/Treasurer. I have also served WMCA as a member of the Board of Directors for two terms as a Director-At-Large. My involvement goes well beyond that, having also actively participated on the Election Communication, Professional Education, Promotions, Lifetime Achievement, Scholarship and Conference Committees over the past several years. I received my IIMC certification as a CMC in 1999 after attending Institute at UWGB. In 2011 I received my MMC. I am a certified trainer for Board of Review as well as Chief Inspector Trainer. I also serve as a liaison to the Department of Revenue for WMCA. It has been an honor representing you and serving WMCA throughout the state during my career. I hope to continue this for service many years to come.
A critical experience in my life and career was being thrust into the Clerk’s role in my first year as a Deputy Clerk/Treasurer when my Clerk passed away within her first year in office. WMCA and the Clerks around the state were my go to people for all the day to day questions I had on how to do the job when this happened. The WMCA and its members were my saving grace. To this day I always try to help others with any questions they may have as we never know what struggles they may be going through. This is why I have volunteered as a mentor for WMCA for many years and why I want to continue to give back to WMCA.
We are an incredible organization of caring Clerks who strive to share our knowledge and professional resources with one another every day. It is these every day experiences that are vital to our jobs and sharing them help us get through those difficult days when we wonder why we are here. I have been a Clerk/Treasurer in a small northwestern City, in small and midsize Milwaukee County Villages, and now a larger Village in the southeast part of the state. All have provided me with incredible learning experiences and continually remind me of how different every one of us operates while doing many of the same required duties and just how very critical the Clerk’s role is in our local government. The value of having been in these various locations is priceless when testifying at the Capital trying to help our State Representatives understand how vastly different it is for a small northern town hall to handle elections and voting, as well as equipment, in comparison to what I have available in a full time department in a larger community.
This year I have submitted my application to become the 2nd Vice President to continue my service and representation of you for many years to come. I want to see our organization continue to grow and thrive on the values we have in providing education and support for one another. Only through the process of open communication, sharing and helping each other become stronger can we become an even greater Association. We can accomplish great things when we all commit to working together for the better of the Association. I would truly appreciate your support in my endeavor to become your next 2nd Vice President and make this a reality.
|
 |
Secretary
Kathy Kasza CMTW/CPFO/WCMC |
|
My name is Kathy Kasza and I would be honored to serve as your Secretary. As Finance Director for the City of Waupaca my experience as Clerk-Treasurer for the Village of Greendale for 7 years has helped me assist this small office with many of the clerk duties.
I joined WMCA as soon as I became Clerk-Treasurer as I know from past experience the need to have a powerful network of peers to be able to get ideas, share concerns and assist in not having to re-invent the wheel. I have served on the Wisconsin Government Finance Officers Association (WGFOA) Board for over 10 years as past-President; the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Debt Management Committee for six (6) years recommending policy and practices, meeting with congressional representatives and regulatory agencies; and the Municipal Treasurer’s Association-WI (MTAW) past District V Director and legislative committee chairperson. The Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO) designation was a major achievement for me in 2010 when I passed all five exams. Involvement in these organizations has assisted me in my daily work, working on organizational boards, as well as, developing lasting friendships.
Over the past four years I have served on the WMCA Finance Committee and Manuals Committee this past year. I worked with the Finance Committee to change its responsibilities to a policy recommending position as part of the overall organization and brought more internal controls over the WMCA finances which every member should be aware of. Being involved in WMCA at the committee level has shown me that there is something more I can contribute to WMCA by running for the Secretary position and being more involved in shaping the organization for the future. Besides I’d like to make more friends and help others in my clerk profession.
As Secretary I plan to bring continued accountability and transparency to the membership through accessibility, policies and procedures. I am interested in learning from the membership what direction it would like WMCA to move in the future and welcome ideas and comments to help assist me in making decisions on matters being brought forward to the Board of Directors. I recognize the need for the organization to move into being more accessible with training to the membership due to the fiscal restraints our local governments are facing and look at ways to accomplish this. The WMCA is an educational organization and that should be its main focus, whether it’s to help the newly elected/appointed clerk with their first election or the seasoned clerk who’s looking for a more efficient way to process licenses. This organization has so much to offer its members and with my experience, background and plans for the future direction; I hope you view me as the best candidate for Secretary.
|
| Meet the Candidates Running for Director-At-Large |
There are two open positions for Directors-at-Large up for election for the 2015-2016 Season. No candidates came forward before the June 1st deadline, however, two members have come forward since the deadline and have now filed their paperwork stating that their municipality supports their run for this office.
According to the constitution, there will be an election at the Annual Meeting and nominations will be taken from the floor for these two positions. The following members are asking for your nomination and vote on August 20th.
|
 |
Brenda Ayers
for
Director-at-Large |
| I hope to be nominated and elected to the Director-at- Large position on the WMCA Board of Directors at the conference in August. Attending the Board meetings this year as Finance Committee Chair inspired me to consider running for a positon on the Board. When I discovered that nobody was running for the two Director-at-Large positions I decided it was time to quit thinking about running for the Board and to submit a late application. I truly believe in our organization and its mission to be a premiere resource for professional development of Municipal Clerks. If nominated, I will do my best to represent the membership while focusing on our mission.
I have been in municipal government for a total of fifteen years. I am currently the Administrator/Clerk/Treasurer with the Town of Burke in Dane County where I have been employed for 7 years. The Town of Burke Board strongly supports my professional development and pursuance of the Director-at-Large position.
I look forward to seeing everyone at conference in August.
|
 |
Kelly Michaels CMC/WCMC
for
Director-at-Large |
|
My name is Kelly Michaels and I am asking for your vote to serve as a Director at Large on the WMCA’s Board of Directors.
I have been a member of the WMCA since 1997 and a member of IIMC since 2001. I was elected to the Director-at-Large position for the 2014-2015 term and served on the Promotions Committee as well as the Ad Hoc Committees for the Clerk’s Manual and Vision Statement. I have a passion for the Clerk’s profession and am so proud of the members of this organization for following their passions, working hard for their communities and sharing their professionalism with everyone they meet. I appreciate diversity of thought and the shared experience in belonging to the Wisconsin Municipal Clerk’s Association.
Thank you for your support!
|
| New Law Announced by DOR |
|
We wanted to provide you with information about a law change in the 2015-17 budget related to "Class A" liquor licenses.
The 2015-17 Wisconsin State Budget (2015 Act 55) provides that municipalities shall issue a "Class A" liquor license if both of the following apply:
- The "Class A" liquor license application is for sales limited to cider
- The applicant for a "Class A" liquor license also holds a Class "A" beer license for the same premises
The budget provision also defines "Cider" to mean any alcohol beverage that is obtained from the fermentation of the juice of apples or pears and that contains not less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume and not more than 7.0 percent alcohol by volume. "Cider" includes flavored, sparkling, and carbonated cider.
The municipality may not charge any initial issuance fee or annual fee for a "Class A" liquor license issued under this provision.
The department has revised Form AT-106 (original alcohol beverage license application) and Form AT-115 (renewal application) to provide for a CLASS A (cider only) option. The department will soon be updating other forms, common questions and publications to include information regarding this law change.
Tom Ourada, Revenue Tax Specialist
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
|
|