In This Issue

• President's Message
• Municipal Clerks Week
• Leaders Needed
• District Meetings
• Northern Training
• Board of Review
• Lifetime Achievement
• New WCMCs
• Letter to the Editor
• Donate to WCEF

Links

• Career Ads
• 2022 Conference Hotel

Donate

to

WCEF

Wisconsin Clerk Education Fund (WCEF) was established to promote the education and training of clerks! 

 We couldn’t do it without your generosity!  All donations received are returned in scholarships!

Our goal for 2022 is to be able to offer $8,000.00 in scholarships.  Help us reach that goal! 

Click Here to Donate $10.00 Now!

Don't forget to donate while you shop with Amazon Smile.

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.

Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association

www.wisclerks.org

President's

Message 

We are finally starting to see some glimpses of spring and it reminds me of all the exciting things coming up in the next few months! District four and District six will be holding meetings, there are multiple opportunities for Board of Review Training, and Spring Northern Training is taking place May 12 and 13 in Rothschild.

Northern Training provides an opportunity for new clerks to network with other clerks. Building your own network of clerk friends to answer questions, learn from and support each other is vital to the success of your position. There is a great training schedule lined up and I hope you will consider attending.

Conference is a little over four months away and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone! For many municipalities attending conference is not possible without the help of the Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund (WCEF) scholarships. The fund was established to promote the education and training of clerks, every dollar that is donated helps promote education. The 2022 goal is to offer $8,000 in scholarships. If every clerk donated $8.00, the goal would be easily met. For those that have received a scholarship in the past, this is a great way to give back to a fund that has given so much.  See the link to donate in the left hand column of this newsletter..

Two Elections down and two more to go! I hope everyone had a successful and uneventful Election Day. If you have a Special Election or recount, I wish you the best. Take a moment to breathe before the next one.

Lastly, I want to congratulate the following for achieving their WCMC Certification; Maggie McClain, Michelle Korth, Amy Vanderhei, Andrea White, Erica Berger, and Wendy Loveland. Amazing job!

Take Care

Sara

Sara Bruckman WCMC/CMC
2021-22 WMCA President

 The Governor has Proclaimed

Municipal Clerks Week

May 1-7, 2022

The Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association (WMCA), a professional non-profit association comprised of Professional Clerks, Deputy Clerks and Clerk/Treasurers from Cities, Towns, and Villages throughout Wisconsin, is proud to announce Professional Municipal Clerks Week —May 1 through May 7, 2022.

This week, proclaimed originally in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan and again in 1994 & 1996 by President Bill Clinton celebrates our honored profession by increasing the public’s awareness of the vital services Professional Clerk’s provide to local government and the communities they serve.

As you celebrate this week, don’t forget to congratulate yourself and your staff for administering all the vital services you provide throughout the year.

Click here for a sample Proclamation  you can download, complete with your information and put it on your next Board meeting agenda to celebrate Professional Municipal Clerks Week.

Leaders Needed for the

2022-2023 WMCA Year

It is that time of year when we are looking for a few good leaders to serve on the WMCA Board of Directors.  The positions that are up for election are 2^nd Vice President; Secretary; Treasurer and Director-at-Large. Please note that the 2^nd Vice President position ascends to the Presidency in three years.   All other positions are term positions.

You need to fill out and send in the 2022-2023 Board of Directors Packet or you can find it on the WMCA website.  June 1st is the deadline for the Board of Director Application to be submitted electronically to the WMCA Executive Director at ExecDirector@wisclerks.org and/or mailed to the WMCA Office at 1414 Montclair Place, Fort Atkinson, WI  53558.   Applications must be received by 4:00 pm and include a letter of support from your immediate supervisor/primary elected official.  You can read a short job description on page 4 of the packet.

DIRECTORS NEEDED
District Directors work as a Co-Directors team with one vote on the Board.  It is a 2-year term and one Director is elected each year.   The duties involve working with the Executive Director to develop one-day district meetings in the Fall and Spring.  The Co-Directors determine what classes to offer and contact speakers.  The Executive Director assists with all other details.  The Directors just need to be at the meeting to check people in and welcome them to the meeting.  At lunch time you report to the members about what is happening with the Board of Directors and upcoming events.   Also as a District Director you are part of the WMCA Board of Directors which meets 4-5 times per year in-person or via zoom.  You are part of the decision-making body representing member Clerks from your district!  The Board keeps the WMCA growing and sets the pace for helping clerks into the future. 
If you are interested in becoming a District Co-Director or wish to nominate someone else, attend your Spring District Meeting to see what position is open.  District Directors DO NOT have to fill out the Board Packet.  If you have any further questions regarding any of the positions above, contact the Executive Director.

Your District Directors are working on Spring in-person meetings for you.  Watch your email for your personal invitation to a meeting near you or click on the links available below.

District 3 - Save the Date - District 3 is working on a meeting for May 10th at the Skyline Golf Course in Black River Falls.  Registration coming soon.
District 4 - Registration is available for their meeting on April 26th.  Registration closes on April 22nd at 4 PM.  Click here to check out the classes and register.

District 6 is meeting next week in Omro.  You need to register by this Friday, April 15th!  Click here to see the classes and register.
District 7 -Save the Date - Registration for the Spring District 7 meeting will be out soon.  They will be meeting in Hortonville on June 16th. 

 The in-person training geared to new clerks is back this May in Rothschild!  If you have been on the job for less than 2 years, mark your calendars for May 12-13 to join your fellow clerks for two days of training for you. Classes will include election training; agendas and minutes; open meetings; records management, Board of Review and much more.  Click here to see the class line up and registration.

You will also have the opportunity to check out the products and services of five of our great Associate Members! The following vendors are hosting our networking session on Thursday afternoon and each vendor will have a 1-hour breakout class or demo to show you what they can offer you.  There are 2 accounting software companies - Townhall Software and Workhorse Software; Community Insurance; Town Web Design and HeyGov-an app to help you engage with your citizens.  So if your municipality is looking for one or more of these services, Thursday afternoon and Friday at the Northern Training is for you!

We Thank the Following Associate Members for their Support of our Northern Training

Effective January 1, 2022, Wisconsin Law requires that at least one member of the BOR complete a Wisconsin Department of Revenue-(DOR) approved training each year. DOR recommends training all BOR members. However, the law only requires at least one member to be trained. (Wis. Stats. §70.46(4) & 73.03(55)). 

The WMCA is offering the new 2022 Board of Review Certification class on Zoom.  If you haven't registered yet, remember, our class registration ends 7 days ahead of the date of the class so that we can mail you the BOR packets you need to have in your hands for the meeting.  Click here to see which classes are still available.  

Watch your email for the annual conference registration, coming soon.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Deadline:  June 30, 2022

In our Clerk world, we all know an amazing Clerk who gives above and beyond in their daily job and to their community.  Would you like to nominate an amazing Clerk for the WMCA Lifetime Achievement Award?

The Lifetime Achievement Award gives recognition to a Clerk who has made a significant contribution to the Clerk profession and their community.  Please consider nominating a Clerk to receive this honor.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the Wisconsin Municipal Clerk’s Association’s most prestigious award.  This award was originally known as the Clerk of the Year Award, the name was changed in 1999 to reflect the long-term commitment of the recipient clerk.  This award was developed to recognize clerks for outstanding contributions and commitment to their local municipality and their profession.  The award will be presented at the Annual WMCA Conference in August.

If you have someone in mind to nominate for this prestigious award, the person must be a member of WMCA for at least five years, held the position of Municipal Clerk or Deputy Clerk, exhibit leadership ability, have received or currently hold certification as a Municipal Clerk (WCMC, CMC, MMC, WCPC), be active in the WMCA by serving on the Board of Directors, serving on a committee, attending annual conferences, workshops and trainings.  We urge you to work with the person you are nominating to help you gather all the information for the application.

Click here for the Guidelines and the Nomination Form or find them on the WMCA website or you may contact WMCA Executive Director at ExecDirector@wisclerks.org.  Applications must be returned by June 30, 2022.

Nancy J. Zastrow
Chair – Lifetime Achievement Award Committee

The following members have earned their WCMC-Wisconsin Certified Municipal Clerk certification.  Congratulations to: 

Erica Berger WCMC, Clerk-Treasurer, Village of Hobart

Michelle Korth WCMC, Deputy Clerk, Town of Grand Chute

Wendy Loveland WCMC, Clerk, City of Edgerton

Maggie McClain WCMC, Municipal Clerk II, City of Madison

Amy Vanderhei WCMC, Deputy Clerk, Village of Menomonee Falls

Andrea White WCMC, Clerk, City of Delavan

Dear Editor:

When I voted on Tuesday, I was impressed about how well everything went.  My election polling place was well organized and my elections clerk and poll workers were friendly and helpful.  They gave me a feeling of confidence that my vote really counted.

The clerk and poll workers are our friends and neighbors who step up to help with a vital civic process.  Each of Wisconsin's 1,852 municipalities has a clerk who has been trained to administer election.  Some municipalities are large enough to have deputy clerks, who are also trained.  Each polling place has multiple election workers who must attend a training at least once every two years.  People of all political persuasions participate as election workers.  Everyone wants elections to be carried out in a fair, nonpartisan manner.  I trust my neighbors and friends to obey the election laws as they were trained to do, which means I must also trust our election results.

Sincerely, Donna Clark-Mauel, Kaukauna