April 2019 WMCA E-Newsletter
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Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association Monthly Newsletter
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Last Chance to Join Us in Eau Claire
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WMCA Northern Wisconsin Professional Clerk Training Registration Open until April 30th
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Register now for the 2-day
Northern Training coming on Thursday and Friday, May 9-10th
at the Lismore in Eau Claire. Click here to download the brochure and read through the details.
There will be two tracks
of classes to cover topics for the new professional clerk and the seasoned professional clerk.
Check out Track #1- with some great basic training every clerk needs - check out your duties and paperwork for licensing; go through the steps, notices and paperwork every Clerk has to do for Board of Review; go through your responsibilities for elections and the resources available. Then finish up the day in a Cracker Barrel session where you can ask those pesky questions that have been on your mind and talk through the answers with your fellow clerks.
Track #2 comes from UW-Green Bay - "Influence Without Authority". Great for a seasoned clerk. Do you feel like you don't have any influence in your office? Learn some ways that you can influence your situation.
Need your Board of Review Certification this year, you have two opportunities to get it at the Northern Training. Your Board Members are also welcome to register and attend. There are two choices of DVD to see this year - The First Two Hour Meeting that every BOR has to have or a Board of Review Hearing where you can see just how the Board should act and react when a resident comes in for a hearing.
Friday is also packed with great classes, it might be hard to choose which classes to take. That is why we are running the Election Training class twice. This class is a hands on tabletop class that is limited to 52 attendees.
Budgeting is something that every clerk needs to know and if you have not done it before, this is the class for you to learn the basics.
One of the many important jobs that Clerks are responsible for is Records Management. Hear from the WI Historical Society on what records you need to retain or can destroy.
When you go home from these two days, you will have an arsenal of information and new procedures to use.
Click here to download the brochure and read through the details.
Click here to go on-line to read the details and register today. Whether you can only come for a day or one class, we look forward to providing you with some great education!
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Do You Know Someone Worthy of a
Lifetime Achievement Award ?
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What is a Lifetime Achievement Award?
This award is the Wisconsin Municipal Clerk’s Association’s most prestigious. It was originally known as the Clerk of the Year Award, and the name was changed in 1999 to the Lifetime Achievement Award to better reflect the long-term commitment of the recipient clerk. The award was developed to recognize clerks for outstanding contributions and commitment to their local municipality and their profession. The award itself is characteristic of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerk profession, having an inscription of the title of the award, the year, and the name of the recipient.
Who is eligible for the Lifetime Achievement Award?
Must be a current member of the WMCA for at least five years, hold the position of municipal 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, or trainings.
What is the process for nomination?
Nomination forms must be received by the WMCA Executive Director by June 14th of each year. Click here for the Guidelines and Nomination Form on the WMCA website, or you may contact WMCA Executive Director at ExecDirector@wisclerks.org. Because of the level of detail required in the nomination, it is strongly recommended that if someone is going to nominate, they work with the individual.
What criteria are used in selecting the person chosen for the award?
Criteria for the person chosen for the Lifetime Achievement Award shall include, but not be limited to: length of service, interaction with fellow clerks, promoting education to and about the clerk’s role in local government, attendance at national and state conferences, pursuit of continuing education, community service and involvement in WMCA. A point system has been established for each of the categories and is used in evaluating the nominees.
Who determines the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award?
All nominations are independently reviewed and ranked according to the established point system by the committee members. Committee members then hold a telephone conference to review each nomination, establish the final points and determine an award recipient. The Lifetime Achievement Award Committee includes the previous two award recipients, or in the absence of one or both recipients, two Clerks chosen by the President, each from different districts, and a Certified Municipal Clerk appointed by the President. All members of the Committee are confirmed by the WMCA Board of Directors.
When is the award presented?
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented at the annual conference in August.
Teri Lehrke, WCPC
Chair – Lifetime Achievement Award Committee
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President's Message -
Lifetime Achievement
AVEO and
Endorsement of the
UW-GB Institute
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From President Kelly Michaels, WMCA President
HIGHEST HONORS!
The WMCA Lifetime Achievement Award is the recognition by one’s peers for a job well done, not just this year or last, but over a period of time. We know you are out there and you deserve recognition for your contribution to your community, your governing body and your professional association. The deadline is just around the corner so start working on the application today!
TRY, TRY AGAIN…
It is with a never give up attitude that our Legislative Communications and Advocacy Committee is working to get our absentee voting efficiency option legislation introduced again this year. As a reminder, this initiative is to help communities who experience a very large turn-out of in-person absentee voting. The Presidential Elections are coming in 2020, so this initiative to pass legislation that would allow municipalities the option of using the voting machines during in-person absentee voting is crucial. The in-person absentee voter would feed their own ballot into the machine instead of placing it inside an envelope. This would reduce costs in envelope supplies and hiring of extra workers to manage the thousands of ballots inside envelopes. It would also reduce the number of ballots being remade at the polling locations on Election Day. The machines would hold the votes and would not tabulate until after polls close on Election Day. Please be aware that we are hearing that some County Clerks are still opposed and will be no matter what. However, I want you to know that Committee members have met with representatives from the Wisconsin County Clerks Association and with staff members at WEC on numerous occasions to address their concerns. The work is not finished as we are planning another meeting in the near future but I wanted to provide you with the changes over what was introduced last year that came out of those meetings. Following is a brief recap:
- 70 day notice prior to Election to the County Clerks (communication with our County partners is crucial)
- All municipalities using direct balloting must be self-providers using WisVote.
- A municipality can decide on which specific elections they will use the new process so it is no longer all or nothing.
- Remains optional in which municipality must pass a resolution and WEC must certify their capability to secure.
- No change for County Clerks/Agencies that program the media as the timing requirements from first draft were removed last year. Each Clerk will work this out with the agency responsible for programming.
- In addition a large portion of the bill was modified by removing all electronic programming changes requiring the state to upgrade their systems. While it is something we’d like to see happen, it is not required.
- WEC also asked that this not be implemented any earlier than Spring of 2020.
Here is a link to the bill so you can read it in its entirety. If you have questions, please contact me as I’m happy to speak about this. If you haven’t already done so, please reach out to your legislators to ask for their support and sponsorship.
LRB-0344. Memo. Absentee voting (Brandtjen, Janel) Using an electronic voting machine to cast a vote with an in-person absentee ballot and providing a penalty.
ENDORSEMENT OF UW-GB INSTITUTE
Being someone with 30 years of experience, I can tell you that your community, Elected Officials and staff are all counting on YOU to have the answers they need. They will expect you to be the expert in Elections, Licensing, Budgeting, Tax Rolls, Parliamentary Procedure, Records Management, Open Meetings Law, TIFs, Levy Limits, Audits, Ethics and much, much more! Think about that for just a moment and try not to panic. If you are like me, then I know what you are thinking right now. “Really? Just because they hired me and I have a new fancy title, does not mean I magically know all that stuff.” I understand, but still the pressure is on. With the title comes the expectation that you know all that stuff.
So take a deep breath and let me introduce you to the best method for gaining the technical skills and knowledge needed to, not only be competent in your profession but to be the outstanding leader that is expected of you. Write this down, the UW-Green Bay Municipal Clerks and Treasurer’s Institute.
Click here to read the full endorsement message.
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UW-Green Bay Clerks Institute
July 14-19, 2019
Registration is Open - Click here to check out the best Clerk's Schooling in the Country!
The Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute consists of a three-year program of classroom instruction that takes place during one-week sessions recurring annually.
After three years when attendees have completed an accumulated total of 100 hours of programming, Clerks graduate from the Clerks Institute.
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| From the DOR Alcohol & Tobacco Division |
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The department has often received requests from municipal clerks asking for revisions to the Original Alcohol Beverage Retail License Application (Form AT-106) and the Renewal Alcohol Beverage License Application (Form AT-115). The requests were to make the forms easier to use, by increasing the font and providing more space for answering questions, such as the premises description. We also added a question regarding municipal property taxes, assessments and fees, and space requesting a contact name, phone number and email address. The revised forms are available on the department's Alcohol Beverage Retail License Applications and Miscellaneous Forms webpage: https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/Form/alcohol-Home.aspx.
Questions may be directed to Tom Ourada at thomas.ourada@wisconsin.gov, or (608) 266-8875.
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Thank You to the Associates Sponsoring the Northern Training
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Click on the logos to learn more about these Companies
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Attending & Sponsoring the Thursday Networking Reception
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These Companies Are Sponsoring Classrooms:
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| Click on the Logos to go to the Associates website. |
WMCA Associate Members are great partners with the WMCA. The next time you need to purchase a service or software, or other items, check out the vendors ads on the WMCA website on the Municipal Vendor page.
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DISTRICT 5-May 15, 2019
Brookfield, WI
DISTRICT 7 -April 25, 2019
Wittenberg, WI
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NORTHERN TRAINING
YOU CAN STILL RESERVE YOUR HOTEL ROOM! |
Classes start early on May 9th and 10th at the Northern Training in Eau Claire.
The block deadline has passed, however, Ricci Rudesill, the Sales Manager, said that she would still take a reservation if you call her directly at 1-715-318-6341.
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BOR Classes Available
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We
have a freshly trained set of WMCA Member Trainers authorized by the
Department of Revenue to certify you for the Board of Review for the
next two years.
Check out the classes that have been scheduled so far and watch the WMCA website for more classes in the next two months.
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WCEF Cash Raffle
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Want to win some cash! 10 Prizes available. Click here for more information on the 2019 WCEF Cash Raffle.
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IIMC Hawaii Raffle
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Need a Vacation? How about Hawaii?!? Take a chance on the IIMC Foundation Hawaii Raffle. Click here to download this year's flyer for the details.
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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.
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