To make sure you receive future emails, please add info@wisclerks.org to your address book or safe list. April 2024 WMCA E-Newsletter Issue 04 - 2024 In This Issue: President's Message 2024 Board of Review 2024 Conference WCEF Clerks Week Lifetime Achievement Award Upcoming District Meetings UW-GB Institute Links: Career Ads 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. President's Message It’s almost here! The 55th Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week May 5-11, 2024. Initiated in 1969 by IIMC and an official proclamation signed in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan declaring the first full week in May Municipal Clerks Week. It’s a time for Professional Clerks to celebrate and reflect on our positions. Wear your WMCA merchandise proudly. It’s also a great time to write a note or call that Clerk that has made in a difference in your career. If you are an IIMC member, send your Clerks Week pics into IIMC to show how your office is celebrating this week. Also, the IIMC Public Relations and Marketing Committee has some fun materials available to download from their website.  The IIMC Conference is right around the corner. This year’s conference will be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 19-22, 2024. There is still time to register. If you are attending the conference, please notify our Executive Director Courtney, execdirector@wisclerks.org, so that we can make arrangements for you to get your WMCA trading pins. Don’t forget to pack your WMCA apparel. It would be a great opportunity for WMCA attendees to wear their WMCA “Rodeo” shirts on the same day at the conference to represent our association. Great news for our Northern Clerks. WMCA will again be holding Northern Training! Elena Hilby, Anne Uecker and I have just started working on this project. We are hoping to hold 1-day training sessions in Districts 1, 2 and 8.  I sent out an email to the clerks in those districts asking what training they need. We will be going through those topics and see what we can put together for training. I have also reached out to the Treasurers Association asking if they want to join WMCA in this training. More details will be coming soon. Do you want to become more involved in WMCA? How about running for the WMCA Board? What a great opportunity! The three open positions are: Second Vice President, Secretary and Director-at-Large. Candidates must be active members of WMCA in good standing and have attended at least two annual conferences. In addition, candidates for Second Vice President, must have served a minimum of a one-year term as an officer of the Board of Directors, District Director or Committee Chairperson of WMCA.  All of the positions are for a one-year term. The 2nd Vice President ascends to the office of First Vice President, President and then Past President. The Board application packets will be available in May and due back to Executive Director Courtney by June 12, 2024. There are so many great learning opportunities for clerks coming up; WMCA district meetings, IIMC conference, Board of Review training, UWGB Clerks Institute, WMCA Annual Conference and more! Keep learning and growing. Take advantage of these opportunities. “The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” —Sydney J. Harris.  Happy Professional Municipal Clerks Week! I appreciate all of you. Enjoy your day, Cindi Gamb MMC/WCPC/CMTW WMCA President 2024 Board of Review (BOR) Training Wisconsin law requires that in 2024, before the First Two-hour Meeting, at least one member of the BOR must attend a training session approved by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue within one year of the BOR’s first meeting, see Wis. Stats. §§ 70.46(4) and 73.03(55). 2024 Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) Approved Training WMCA will be holding in-person training sessions around Wisconsin. Watch your email for meeting notices. If you aren’t able to attend an in-person session, the DOR has approved watching the following video programs along with completing the NEW 2024 BOR Exam to meet the 2024 BOR training. To complete the 2024 BOR training you can view: a) The 2022, or 2023 “How to Conduct a BOR First Meeting” OR b) The 2021, 2022 & 2023 “How to Conduct a BOR Hearing” video OR c) View ALL the NEW 2024 Board of Review Short Videos 1. Examining the Assessment roll, AND 2. BOR Chair Duties, AND 3. Hiring the Assessor, AND 4. BOR Meeting and Notice Requirements How to Purchase the BOR Training Videos You can purchase these videos through the DOR, https://localgovernment.extension.wisc.edu/board-of-review-training/. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you already purchased the 2022, or 2023 “How to Conduct a BOR First Meeting” and/or the 2021, 2022 & 2023 “How to Conduct a BOR Hearing” video. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE A NEW VIDEO FOR THE 2024 BOR Training. While Watching the Videos When viewing the BOR First Meeting video, use the Sample First Meeting Agenda on page 35 to follow the fictional Village of Grewyair First Meeting actions. For a BOR Hearing, use the “Findings of Fact, Determinations and Decision Form” on pages 53-58. The new BOR Short Videos are designed to aid a Chair and Clerk with specific BOR duties. 2024 BOR Handbook – UPDATED for 2024 DOR revamped the 2024 BOR Handbook to follow the typical BOR schedule for notices, starting with the Assessor’s Open Book, BOR First Meeting then, if needed, through a BOR Hearing. 2024 Board of Review Handbook includes a sample BOR agenda; BOR Checklist The Basics; 2023 Forms and Scripts; Findings of Fact and Decision form; scripts for running both the BOR Two Hour First Meeting and BOR Hearing; DOR and other forms; BOR Meeting notices; Sample Revaluation Notice; BOR Sample Ordinances and Policies; Taxpayer Assessment Questions and Policies; DOE resources and publications information and BOR Wisconsin statutes. 2024 BOR Exam – NEW for 2024 There is a NEW 2024 BOR Exam, which must be completed to complete your 2024 BOR Training. You do not have to achieve a certain score to receive certification as having completed your training. The exam’s main purpose is to guide you in preparing for your board of review. These materials are designed to assist you in your BOR member role with the BOR forms, outlines, and a link to DOR online resources. You can get the 2024 NEW BOR Exam using the New Revamped 2024 Handbook. Or download it for free (see below). Free Downloadable 2024 Board of Review Training Handbook Exam & Answers, Forms and Notices These materials are provided to assist municipalities in utilizing the printed forms contained in the 2024 Board of Review Training Handbook. The materials are a WORD file and can be adapted to fit your municipality. To download the WORD file go to the DOR website, https://localgovernment.extension.wisc.edu/board-of-review-training/. For any questions, please contact Bill Oemichen at woemichen@wisc.edu or Daniel Foth at daniel.foth@wisc.edu 2024 Annual Conference 2024 WMCA Annual Conference Madison Marriott West – Middleton The WMCA announced at the 2023 Annual Conference that the 2024 Annual Conference will be in Middleton at the Madison Marriot West. While it is too early to announce the line-up of classes, you can get your hotel room reserved now.  The 2024 WMCA Conference will be the shorter 2-day conference with a pre-conference day on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Conference will be August 29-30, 2024. Sleeping Room Reservation   Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund is for YOU! The Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund or WCEF is a WMCA committee that was established to promote the training and education of Wisconsin’s Municipal Clerks. This is accomplished by providing scholarships to clerks to attend the WMCA Annual Conference and the Spring Northern Training. In 2023, the WCEF helped 7 clerks by granting a partial or full scholarship to attend the conference. This year we hope to help even more! We are funded by generous donations from our vendors, from raffles held before and during the annual conference, and those that shop using iGive As a WMCA member you are eligible to apply for a scholarship. Please watch our page on the WMCA website https://www.wisclerks.org/wcef; the 2024 application will be out soon! Professional Municipal Clerks Appreciation Week 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 5  through May 11, 2024. 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. Lifetime Achievement Award Deadline: June 30, 2024 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  (WMCA, 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 the button below for the Guidelines and Nomination Form. Send completed nomination forms to the Executive Director at ExecDirector@wisclerks.org. Applications must be returned by June 30, 2023. Lifetime Achievement Nomination Form   Upcoming District Meetings District I & II Joint Meeting - May 10th Time: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM Location: Rice Lake City Hall District VIII (8) - May 15th Time: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM Location: Rhinelander City Hall District V (5) - May 16 Time: 8:30 AM Location: Zoom Registration coming soon District VII (7) - May 22nd Time: 8:30 AM Location: Clintonville Registration coming soon District III (3) - May 29th Time: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM Location: American Legion Miles Post 200 Registration coming soon Click here for more informatio o the WMCA website. UW-Green Bay Clerks and Treasurers Institute July 14-19, 2024 | Fully Online - $499 The UW-Green Bay Virtual Institute is a series of interactive, live online sessions via Zoom. Participants select and register for their track, and UW-Green Bay provides links so that participants can join the cohort live. The session length depends on the content. Click the button below for more information and registration! UW-GB Institute Info   www.wisclerks.org Copyright © WMCA, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association 262 W. Main Street Wales, WI 53183 info@wisclerks.org If you no longer want to receive emails from 2024 WMCA E-Newsletters, please Opt-Out.