February 2020 WMCA E-Newsletter
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Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association
Monthly Newsletter
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Your President's
Message
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GOOD NEWS ALERT – ‘A’ & ‘B’ BALLOTS …… By now I hope you have all heard that the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) has decided it is ONLY necessary to send out ‘A’ Presidential Preference Ballots to military and overseas voters (UOCAVA) for the April 7th Spring Election. WEC is directing Professional Clerks to follow past practice and only comply with the 47-day deadline on February 20 to send Presidential Preference-Only Ballots to military and overseas voters. THANK YOU WEC!!!
AVEO UDPATE …... The Legislative Communications and Advocacy Committee Chairman, Kelly Michaels has received information that the last session of the year for the Assembly will be sometime in March. If the Assembly introduces AVEO (AB 203) and approves it, it will move on to the Senate. This will be our last chance in 2020 to get the AVEO bill passed so we have a solution for the November processing of in-office absentee ballots. Please continue to reach out to your legislators asking them to support this bill.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! I couldn’t do a February Newsletter without mentioning that we have come to celebrate it as a day of romance and love and thank goodness it’s a day of candy and cupids because although the exact origin of the holiday isn’t known, in ancient Rome two men by the name of Valentine were executed on Feb. 14th (different years) in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. Even more disturbing from Feb. 13th – 15th Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia where men hit on (wooed) women by sacrificing a goat & a dog, then whipping them with the hides of the animals they had just slain. It is said that young women would lineup for the men to hit them. I say, give me Chocolate!!!!!!
Since my last newsletter article, I attended a WMCA Board of Directors meeting on January 17th and traveled to the City of Stillwater, MN on January 24th – 25th for an IIMC District VI Region Meeting and Athenian Dialogue (Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker.) I also had a phone conversation with Meagan Wolfe, WEC about a new Election Security Grant the Federal Government has approved in the amount of $425M, with $7.8M of that going to Wisconsin. WEC has a tight timeline (Feb. 27th) to determine how to distribute these funds for municipalities, SO STAY TUNED.
VISIONS: Helping Future WMCA Presidents/Boards: At the Jan. 17th Board meeting, we approved a “new” template letter for Presidents to use when the Board approves supporting a Professional who has requested WMCA support in their quest to run for an office affiliated with the Clerk’s Profession. The intent of the template is to have standard language of support (which can be added to) to ensure consistency in how a support letter is written for all Professionals that ask. The Vision of creating this letter lead to another Vision of creating a “President Folder” in the Membership Log-In section that will have useful tools such as a list of duties spreadsheet, letter templates, and other pertinent documents to be used by your President. The folder contents will be a work-in-progress for the remainder of my term so your next President and those thereafter will have tools to help them prepare for, and achieve, their duties.
VICTORIES: WMCA Policy & Procedures Manual: In June 2016 the WMCA Board of Directors approved Chapters 1-10 of the Policy and Procedures Manual. The manual did not include WMCA Committees. In August 2019, the Manuals Committee was given the directive to develop the committee sections. Each member of the Manuals Committee was assigned a WMCA Committee and worked with the Chair(s) to write the policies and procedures for that specific Committee. On Jan. 17th the Board approved these newly revised Committee Sections: 12 – Committees; 13 – Certification Committee; 14 – Conference Committee; 15 – Finance Committee; 16 – Legislative Communications & Advocacy Committee; 17 – Lifetime Achievement Award Committee; 18 – Manuals Committee; 19 – Mentoring Committee; 20 – New Clerks Class Committee; 21 – PEC-Professional Education Committee; 22 – Promotions Committee; 23 – Scholarship Committee; and 24 – WCEF-Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund Committee. WOW – that’s a lot of sections and a lot of work. The Manuals Committee vision was to provide the sections to the Board on Jan. 17th and mission accomplished. This was a huge undertaking, led by Chairman Brenda Ayers and it’s a huge Victory for WMCA. Please join me in Thanking the Manuals Committee for all their hard work and determination to not only get this task done in record time, but also achieving their goal. BRAVO!!!
Wishing all Professionals a Happy Valentine’s Day filled with Love and Support! Diane
Diane Coenen WCMC/CMC
2019-2020 WMCA President
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The League's Local Perspective interviews Past President
Kelly Michaels
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How many poll workers? How many ballots? Is the polling place ADA accessible? What about absentee ballots? The work that goes into elections is complicated. There is A LOT more to this important process than just election day!
On this League Local Perspective, Jerry Deschane talks with Kelly Michaels, Brookfield City Clerk about election security, the event planning that is involved, absentee ballot processing and the number of volunteers and training that is included. You’ll want to bring your municipal election staff flowers after watching this show!
Click here to watch the interview on YouTube.
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Unique Educational Opportunities from Partners Around the State
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From WI Local Redistricting Group
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Wisconsin’s Local Redistricting Group is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the regionally located 2020 Local Redistricting Training Seminars & Workshops. This is a great opportunity to prepare for local redistricting in 2021. Click here for more information,
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From WI Historical Society
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The Wisconsin Historical Society is once again offering one-day records management workshops for local government employees. The popularity of last year’s workshops prompted WHS to cooperate with the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board to sponsor eight workshops over the next two years. Four workshops will be held across Wisconsin in 2020, with an additional four to be planned for 2021.
Click here for more information,
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From Grant Writing USA
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We are excited to present a Grant Management Workshop in partnership with the Brown County Sheriff's Office in Green Bay, March 26-27, 2020. This program is appropriate for any offices that receive state or federal grant funds.
In this class we will review key concepts associated with accepting and managing grant awards; including reporting and record keeping, audit requirements, and program evaluation. Please find learning objectives at: http://grantwritingusa.com/syllabusmgwusa.html
We felt that this program would be of benefit to the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association staff that work with grant funds as well as your partner/funded agencies.
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| **REMINDERS** |
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Scholarship Applications Now Available for
UW-Green Bay Institute
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The UW-GB Clerks and Treasurers Institute in Green Bay is a great place to learn the skills you need to be the best Clerk you can be. Any Clerk planning to attend the Clerks Institute may apply for a scholarship to help with the costs. Applications must be postmarked by April 15. All members are encouraged to apply for a scholarship no matter which year of the institute you are in – Year 1, 2 or 3 or Clerks Completion.
In 2019 - the WMCA gave out $10,413 in scholarships from their own funds; $775 in scholarship moneys from Past Presidents; and then our generous Associate Members(the vendors) donated $4,854 for a total of $16,042 in scholarship monies.
Click here to fill out an on-line Scholarship Application for the UW-GB.
Click here to download a fillable Scholarship Application.
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IIMC Conference Scholarship Available
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The WMCA Board of Directors voted to put $2,000 in the 2020 budget for an IIMC Conference Scholarship. This scholarship is being offered to eligible WMCA members to attend the IIMC Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, May 17 through 20, 2020. If you are interested in applying for a Conference Scholarship and match ALL the criteria listed on the application, either fill out the scholarship application on-line or download a fillable application form.
To be considered, your Application MUST be at WMCA Headquarters by March 1, 2020. **DO NOT FORGET to send in a letter of support from your Supervisor. Your application will not be considered without it!**
Click here to fill out the on-line version of the Scholarship Application.
Click here to download a fillable Scholarship Application.
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Don't Lose Your Privileges -
Dues must be in by February 28th.
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Did you receive your email to renew your dues with WMCA for 2020? The first email was sent out on December 30th and a second reminder was sent on February 5th. (Double check your junk mail, too.)
If your dues are not paid by the end of February, your account will go inactive. You will lose your use of Clerklist and the Member Log-In area. Most of all, if you don't keep your membership active, you will lose your certifications.
Contact Faith at the WMCA office at ExecDirector@wisclerks.org if you did not get your email. Or click on the Join button on the WMCA website to be directed to the Membership renewal site on-line or for a paper dues form to fill out and mail in.
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| 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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IIMC Region VI News
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Click here to bring up the latest January 2020 IIMC Region VI Newsletter.
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Other 2020 Educational Opportunities
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Mark your calendars for the following opportunities and watch your email for the registration information:
DISTRICT MEETINGS:
DISTRICT 4 - Blackhawk Country Club, Madison - 03/12/2020
DISTRICT 5 - Delafield Brewhaus - April 22, 2020-Registration coming soon
DISTRICT 7 - DePere Community Center- 02/28/2020
Northern Spring Training - in Minocqua on May 14-15, 2020. Great place to come for basic clerk education. Details coming soon.
IIMC Annual Conference - May 17-20, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. Click here for all the details.
UW-Green Bay Clerks Institute -
July 12-17, 2020. Click here for all the details.
40th Anniversary WMCA Conference -
August 26-28th, 2020 - Chula Vista
You can reserve your hotel room now. See Hotel information and code on the WMCA website. Click Here. Registration for the conference will be out in April.
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Have You Checked Out the Career Ads Lately? Have you been thinking of making a change or possibly moving up to a bigger position? Don’t forget to check out the “Career Ads” section of the WMCA website. Go to: https://www.wisclerks.org/ and click on the blue button on the right side of the website to check out all of the openings around the state.
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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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