12-07 EC Mo Report

WASHINGTON MUNICIPAL CLERKS ASSOCIATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MONTHLY REPORT

DECEMBER 2007

By JoAnne Giesbrecht, Board Member

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

You can find information about the three types of WMCA scholarships on the WMCA website (www.WMCAclerks.org). The deadline for Conference Scholarship Applications is December 20, 2007. The deadline for applications for the Northwest Clerks Institute is February 15, 2007. The Marge Price Scholarship can be applied for at any time and is specifically for Clerks working towards their MMC. Applications will be considered on a first received basis.

CLERK OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS

Remember to make your nominations for Clerk of the Year! The call for nominations went out in September. Nominate someone who stands out as having made a special contribution to their Municipality or WMCA. More information about the award is available on the website at http://www.wmcaclerks.org under WMCA Policies. You will also be able to see a complete list of past Clerk of the Year Award recipients under Miscellaneous. Please send your nomination to Sandy Byers no later than December 31, 2007.

CALL FOR CANDIDATES

By this notice, the Elections Committee announces the annual call for candidates to fill officer and board positions on the WMCA Executive Committee. The positions available for election and their terms are as follows: President-Elect - 1 year; Vice President - 1 year; Secretary - 2 years; two Board Members - 3 years. Job Descriptions for these positions can be found on the WMCA homepage under the Executive Committee tab on the sidebar.

Service in these positions is a wonderful way to fill service requirements for IIMC certifications and a fun way to be involved in the educational, planning and advocacy activities of the Washington Municipal Clerks Association. If you would like to participate and stand for election to one of these positions, please submit the following items:

(1) Complete the attached Declaration of Candidacy. If you wish to create your own form, it must have the following language—“I declare myself as a candidate for the office of __________________. I also declare that I am an active WMCA member in good standing. I request that my name be printed on the official ballot for election. Attached is a letter of support from my (mayor, city or county administrator, or city manager), with a candidate photo and candidate statement, which I authorize for use in the election process.” A declaration with original signature is required.

(2) Prepare and transmit a Candidate Statement. The statement must be no more than 200 words in length, including the candidate’s name, title, place of employment and a statement of why election to office is sought. All words of more than one letter, all groups of numbers, and abbreviations or acronyms will be counted as one word. A statement in MS Word or via email is encouraged.

(3) Provide a Candidate Photo. A (2”x2”) black and white or color photo of the candidate must be provided. Digital photos are encouraged. Photos will not be returned, but will be forwarded to the Communications Committee for use in the April edition of the Executive Committee Monthly Report introducing the new Executive Committee.

(4) Send a signed Letter of Support. A letter to the Association signed by the candidate’s mayor, city or county administrator or manager supporting the candidacy and the candidate’s increased involvement in WMCA. A letter of support with original signature is required.

The above application materials must be received by the Elections Committee no later than Monday, December 31, 2007. An electronic copy of all the above is welcomed; however, signed originals of the Declaration of Candidacy and the Letter of Support must be provided in hard copy and received by Monday, December 31, 2007. Submit the candidate packet to the following: Harwood Edvalson, City Clerk, P. O. Box 7380, Bonney Lake, WA 98391-0944. Email address: edvalsonw@ci.bonney-lake.wa.us Phone: (253) 447-4310.

DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY

I, _______________________________, declare myself a candidate for the(Your Name)

______________________________________________________ Position.(President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, or Board Member)

I also declare that I am an active WMCA member in good standing. I request that my name be printed on the official ballot for election. Attached is a Letter of Support from my (circle one) mayor, city or county administrator, or city manager; with a Candidate Photo and Candidate Statement which I authorize for use in the election process.

_________________________________________________________(Candidate Signature) (Date)

Send Declaration of Candidacy with original signature and other required materials to:

Harwood Edvalson, City Clerk
City of Bonney Lake
P. O. Box 7380
Bonney Lake, WA 98391-0944
2007 – 2008 WMCA Elections Committee

REPORT FROM THE CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Conference Planning Committee has contacted over 50 vendors about attending our conference with a number of new exhibitors expected to attend. The centralized location of the conference in Wenatchee, coupled with the spacious layout of the vendor area will likely attract additional exhibitors for attendees to meet and learn about their products and services. We anticipate that the exhibitor area will be bustling with activity that is both fun and educational for all. Don't miss this conference!

CONGRATULATIONS

The following certifications have recently been achieved by WMCA members:

Virginia Olsen, City Clerk, Mountlake Terrace, CMC
Sara Chase, Deputy City Clerk, City of Tekoa, CMC
Pam Kolacy, City Clerk, City of Port Townsend, MMC

Please take a minute to congratulate these ladies for the hard work and dedication they put forth in obtaining these IIMC certifications.

On another note, Melody Valiant, Deputy Clerk for the City of Tumwater, had her baby. Little Zoe arrived on 11/19/2007, at 5:30 p.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing great!

NORTHWEST CLERKS INSTITUTE 2008

Once again, Institute Director Dema Harris has put together an outstanding educational program for our Professional Development sessions. Mark your calendars now for the summer of 2008: Professional Development I will be June 1-6; Professional Development II will be June 8-13; Professional Development III will be June 15-20; and the Master Academy (Professional Development IV) will be June 11-14. All classes will take place on the beautiful campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. This is your opportunity to learn from outstanding instructors, acquire education points for your IIMC certification, and meet and exchange ideas with other clerks from Washington, Oregon and Alaska. For a look at the preliminary brochure, which includes a listing of courses and costs, go to http://www.wmcaclerks.org/Flyer%20washington08.pdf

SILENT & LIVE AUCTION RAFFLE ITEMS

Remember there will be a Silent Auction and a Live Auction at the Conference in March. Start now planning what items you can bring to include. Proceeds help fund scholarships for members who might otherwise not be able to attend the conference or other Professional Development Programs.

FOR OR AGAINST?

Members: A Bylaws amendment will be voted on at the 2008 Annual Conference in Wenatchee that will enact term limits on the WMCA Board Member positions, limiting Board members to two-consecutive terms. We request your assistance to provide a balanced presentation of this issue to the Association membership. We are looking for members willing to craft and sign “for” and “against” statements regarding the proposed revision. The statements will be included with the notice of the proposed changes.

A statement of the proposed Bylaws change will precede the for/against statements and read as follows:

Proposed Washington Municipal Clerk’s Association
Bylaws Amendment Article IV, Section 2

Proposed Bylaws Amendment: “Board of Directors and Terms: The Board of Directors shall consist of six members, each of whom shall serve a three year term, with two of the Board Members being elected each year during the regular annual election by a majority vote of the active members voting. There is a two consecutive term limit for Board Members. A partial term vacancy filled by a member prior to a regularly elected term shall not be considered as part of the term limit. Members who have previously served as Board Members for two consecutive terms may again stand for election or be appointed to a vacancy on the Board of Directors once there has been a 12 consecutive month period when they have not served on the Board.”

Explanatory Statement: If the proposed Bylaws Amendment (above) were adopted, it would be effective upon adoption. That is, all Board Members currently in office elected to their first full term would be eligible to serve one additional term. All Board Members who were on their second full term would not be eligible to stand for election as a Board Member (but would still be eligible to stand for election as an officer.) Current Board Members who are filling an unexpired term would be eligible for election when that term expired.

The Executive Committee requested the Elections Committee and the ByLaws Committee seek out WMCA members who would be willing and interested in writing for and against statements relating to the proposed term limit amendment. The Elections and ByLaws Committees will jointly appoint three individuals for each viewpoint to write the statements. Current WMCA Executive Committee Members (officers and Board Members) may not be appointed to write either of these statements. Elections and ByLaws Committee members may be appointed to write statements. The two appointed groups will be responsible for writing for/against statements within the following guidelines:

1. Shall not exceed 250 words in length
2. Each statement shall have a heading. The header for the For statement shall read “Statement in Favor of Term Limits for WMCA Board Member Positions” and the Against statement header shall read “Statement Against Term Limits for WMCA Board Member Positions.”
3. At the end of the statement the authors of each of the statements shall be listed as “Prepared by …”

The For and Against statements shall be submitted electronically to the WMCA President no later than Monday, January 14, 2008.

Woody Edvalson, Chair of the Elections Committee and Irvalene Moni, Chair of the Bylaws Committee, will be coordinating the appointments and efforts of the “For” and “Against” groups. If you are interested in participating with one of the groups, please contact Woody at edvalsonw@ci.bonney-lake.wa.us 253-447-4310, or Irvalene at Irvalene.moni@ci.maple-valley.wa.us 425-413-8800 on or before December 10, 2007.

SPRING ACADEMY SESSION APPROVED

Mark your calendar now for the WMCA Spring Master Academy session March 18, 2008, in Wenatchee. The session, “Creating Powerful Partnerships” will be presented by Donna Zajonc, author of The Politics of Hope: Reviving the Dream of Democracy. Ms. Zajonc is a non-partisan political leadership coach, a three-term Oregon Legislator, and co-founder of the Bainbridge Leadership Center.

Participants will learn the Four Stages of Public Leadership and learn when to lead from which stage, gain insights into their public leadership philosophies, and learn the essential roles of collaboration and convening.

The class has been pre-approved by IIMC for 3 MMC advanced education points, 3 CMC experience points, and 6 hours or 3 advanced education points for recertification.

The Academy is held the day before the start of the annual WMCA conference. We’ll have more details and specifics about registration in a future newsletter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!

Updated: 12/01/2007