•PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
•MENTOR PROGRAM UPDATE
•DID YOU KNOW…?
•UPCOMING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
• MARCH TECHNICAL TRAINING FOR CLERKS (TTC)
•REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE SPOTLIGHT
•SPRING CLEANING?
•MEMBER SERVICES
UDPATE
Greetings CCAC! Phew! That’s a wrap for the 2023 CCAC Annual Conference. What a whirlwind of planning and coordinating over the last six months. I was so excited to welcome over 250 attendees (over 80 of them first-time attendees) to the Renaissance Hotel in Palm Springs last week. We had a wonderful week full of terrific education sessions, networking opportunities, and fun activities for our members
This year’s theme was Build, Back, Better – Building on Success. We are building on last year’s post COVID success, building on a strong foundation for the future success of CCAC, building measurable goals for CCAC. We are bringing back networking opportunities for our members, bringing back expanded volunteer opportunities to empower our members and organization, bringing back leadership and growth opportunities, and we are providing better education opportunities for our members, better membership benefits, better communication and better recognition of our members.
During the opening ceremonies of the conference, I was thrilled to provide the very first State of the Association address to our members. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, the PowerPoint is available here. Transparency with our members is of utmost importance to the Board of Directors. You can expect similar updates throughout the year as we move through the transition of our Education Institutes, updating of policies, etc.
Throughout the week, we got to participate in several wonderful education sessions from Jim Uhl, Camilla Pitman, the Palo Alto City Clerk’s Office, Gail Watts, and Tripepi Smith, just to name a few! Thank you to all our awesome speakers who participated this year.
On Wednesday night, we were treated to a wonderfully entertaining comedy drag show (although I think they picked on me a little too much lol). I enjoyed watching those who attended enjoy the good food, drinks, and entertainment! Thank you again to Oscars Palm Springs for hosting us.
This conference couldn’t have been such a success without the help of this year’s conference committee. I would like to thank the following individuals for all their hard work:
• Elizabeth Cardwell, Executive Director, SMA
• Dominique Mask, Account Coordinator, SMA
• Jessica Blair, 1st Vice President
• Ashton Arocho, 2nd Vice President
• Todd Stermer, Conference Director
• Sylvia Bermudez, Scholarship Director
• Roxanne Breceda, Networking Director
Perhaps my favorite part of the conference was the Havana Nights Awards Banquet on Thursday. Loved seeing everyone’s Havana Nights themed outfits and watching everyone enjoy the photo booth! It brought me so much joy to recognize so many deserving Clerks! I would like to congratulate the following individuals on their recognitions:
• Vida Barone, City of Cerritos
City Clerk Award of Distinction - Mentoring
• Mary Cusick, City of Santa Clarita
City Clerk Award of Distinction - Special Projects
• Jessica Blair, City of Half Moon Bay
City Clerk Award of Distinction - Public Relations
• Anthony Mejia, City of Palm Desert
City Clerk Award of DistinctionElections & Voter Outreach
• Holly Charlety, City of El Cerrito
City Clerk Award of DistinctionOrganization & Administration
• Adria Jimenez, City of Buena Park
City Clerk Award of Distinction in Leadership
• Lynnae Sisemore, City of Chino Hills Assistant City Clerk of the Year
• City of Sacramento – City Clerk’s Office Innovative Program of the Year
• Kimberly Schmitt, City of Mission Viejo Municipal Clerk of the Year
• Shalice Tilton, Retired City Clerk Lifetime Achievement Award
Before I close out my message, I wanted to reiterate some of my thoughts from the State of the Association address. This has been a banner year for CCAC thus far. We have and are currently going through major changes that will have lasting impacts to our members and the Association as a whole, for many years to come. I acknowledge that change can be hard, but I’m reminded of the old saying by Albert Einstein, “what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.” I will say that every decision made this year has been made with you, the members, as the top priority.
We are entering a new era in our profession. During COVID, we saw many legends in our industry retire but this has ushered in a new generation of Clerks, as seen with the number of first-time attendees at this year’s conference. Our profession is growing and evolving, and this association must grow and evolve too.
It’s been my honor to serve you as President these last six months and it’s my honor to continue serving you over the next year. As always, please feel free to reach out to me at mdonohue@eastvaleca.gov or (951) 703-4421.
Hope to see many of you at the International Institute of Municipal Clerks Annual Conference next month in Minneapolis, Minnesota!
Happy April! A lot has been completed since my last update. First, I’m excited to welcome 11 new mentors to our team, who completed their training just in time for March’s Technical Training for Clerks (TTC). Several of these dedicated Clerks are already hitting the ground running with their first mentees. If you have your CMC or MMC and are interested in becoming a mentor, I will be holding another Virtual Mentor Training on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 2-3 p.m. Register now on the CCAC website!
Following are a few data points on the status of mentor assignments:
I need your help! To assist me in assigning the last few mentees above, if you are a mentor and are willing & able to mentor someone from the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, City of Concord, City of Martinez, City of National City, City of Pittsburg, City of Roseville, City of San Clemente, City of San Fernando, City of San Jacinto, City of San Leandro, City of Sonoma, City of Westminster, City of Winters, or Town of Yountville, please contact me immediately. Thank you!
On March 21, 2023, the CCAC Board approved an updated Mentor Program Policy. Some of the updates include defining duties of the Director of Mentor Development, formerly the Mentor Program Chair; cleaning up language to reflect organizational changes; and adding several new requirements, responsibilities, and clarifications for the Director of Mentor Development, mentors, and mentees. The biggest update is that mentees must now be members of CCAC to be assigned a mentor. The next biggest change is the matching process. Mentors are now assigned to CCAC Members when they attend Nuts & Bolts rather than waiting until they attend TTC or the CMC Institute. Hopefully, this will give mentors a better opportunity to develop their mentee’s development plan. Additionally, when pairing mentees with the mentor, I am now able to prioritize proximity while also considering each mentor’s mentee load. Next, since I know several mentors are unable to meet in person with their mentees for various reasons, virtual meetings through Zoom, Teams, or other means are allowed in lieu of in-person meetings as long as they try to connect with them as needed or when possible, for example at networking events and conferences. And finally, Mentor Refresher Training is now required every 3 years to help keep mentors updated on best practices.
In order to meet the new Mentor Refresher Training requirement, on March 30, 2023, existing mentors attended a training I conducted along with Pamela Miller where they received updates on the Mentor Program and learned new ways to mentor. I am confident in our mentors’ ability to continue helping our up & coming Clerks. Are you a mentor but missed the training? I will hold another in summer, so please keep an eye out for an email. If you have not attended the Refresher Training by summer, you will be marked as inactive, and your mentees may be reassigned.
Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our newly designated Certified Municipal Clerks and Master Municipal Clerks. These individuals have confirmed their commitment to our unique and awesome profession, and I, along with their mentors, colleagues, and agencies, are so proud of their hard work and dedication.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY CERTIFIED MEMBERS:
CMC
Enyssa Momoli, CMC - Administrative Analyst I - City of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Kimberly Solorio, CMC - Records Management Analyst - City of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
MMC
Maria Soria, MMC - Deputy District Clerk - Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, CA
Annette Juarez, MMC - City Clerk - City of Duarte, CA
Did you know that the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) is a great resource for municipal clerks who are responsible for records and information management? This organization is a great resource for information on all things records. Are you looking for information on legal holds, access rights, standards and best practices? ARMA has it! Digital Document Management, metadata, archiving, content management, you name it. This international organization has several local chapters including the Greater Los Angeles Area, Sacramento, Orange County, San Diego, Inland Empire, and San Francisco. Chapter meetings give clerks an opportunity to meet others with similar responsibilities in their roles. Working on your CMC or MMC designation? Local Chapters can sometimes offer education opportunities that will earn you 1 point per 6 education hours as training directly related to the duties of a municipal clerk.
Hello City Clerks! Thank you for allowing us to be part of your conference. As a leader you’re trying to meet the demands of stakeholders, you have limited financial resources, limited human resources, and you’re faced with never ending scrutiny. It’s time you had a partner in your corner! At Jacob Green & Associates we’ll help you assess and build your organization with a fresh perspective and best practices from across hundreds of agencies. Here are three services we offer:
Top performing teams take time away from the daily workplace grind to enhance team cohesion, engagement, and build alignment for future success. JGA’s teambuilding and facilitation services are customized to meet client needs and include the opportunity to reflect on the existing operation and ensure the team is ready for inevitable future change and challenges. Facilitation services enable all members of the team to actively engage in the meeting process instead of having a designated team member take the role of facilitator and be excluded from group discussion.
Additionally, JGA offers the cutting-edge AEM-Cube team dynamics assessment; created as the result of decades of research focused on understanding how high-performing teams tackle complex challenges and enhance performance. This intuitive management too l identifies and aligns the strategic diversity within an organization so that performance is optimized by identifying how teams interact and how to get the greatest contribution from each individual, which in turn maximizes both productivity and collaboration.
Our approach allows JGA to utilize the knowledge and expertise of the organization to gain an understanding and respect for the past, as we work within the organization to determine the current and future needs of the agency. Understanding the importance of balancing quantitative data with qualitative facts, JGA will assess the performance and outcomes of current systems, processes, and team dynamics to identify implementable strategic improvements. We work with staff to identify positive and sustainable organizational enhancements that align with Council, City Manager, City priorities, and fiscal realities that teams can own and support.
One of the best ways public sector organizations can retain a high caliber workforce is by investing in an employee’s personal and professional development. JGA’s executive coaching team is comprised of experienced local government professionals who understand how to support the professional growth of the public servant. Management coaching is the process of working one-on-one with an employee to help the participant enhance their workplace self-awareness, tackle blind spots, clarify goals, unlock their potential, and have a trusted source for feedback and guidance. JGA coaches subscribe to the “Brief Coaching” philosophy ensuring the sessions are focused on results. Sessions examine future achievement, support the identification of successful strategies, and help create clearly defined goals based on needs.
“My Agency has engaged Jacob Green & Associates on two separate occasions for two very different assignments. In both cases JGA demonstrated a wealth of information and the unique ability to relate to all in the room. He definitely delivered!”
Kristine Ridge, City of Santa Ana – City Manager
HOLLY M. CHARLÉTY, MMC, DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Check out these upcoming education opportunities through CCAC! You can always find up-to-date information on the CCAC website community calendar. For questions, please feel free to email pdd@californiacityclerks.org
TRAINER
March 2023 brought 145(!) clerks, deputy clerks and others pursuing their CMC to Riverside for TTC Series 100. Seventeen students graduated, having completed all four TTC courses and now have enough IIMC education points to earn their CMC. Series 100 covered the topics of Local Government, the Clerk Profession, Influencing Others, Ethics and Personal Values, Management Skills, Emergency Crisis, and Communication Skills.
After completing TTC and attaining my CMC in 2021, I have looked forward to participating in TTC as a trainer. Series 100 was my first opportunity to train and I loved the experience! Helping other clerks learn various aspects of the profession was a rewarding and educational experience for me. Hearing about each participant’s agency and how they address the same (and different) tasks and challenges helped broaden my understanding of our profession.
DAVID CARNAHANDid you know there are three California counties that contain no incorporated cities? Alpine, Mariposa and Trinity Counties do not currently have any cities within their boundaries.
Is your community served by a Mental Health Special District? There are several of these districts throughout California, providing funding and services dedicated to mental health, separate (but often in partnership) with local municipalities.
When you call 911, does a dispatcher from your city answer the phone? Does California Highway Patrol (CHP) answer? Is it the County? Does the 911 Dispatcher handle police dispatch? What about fire and ambulance service? All residents need these services available to them, however, no two communities provide them in the same way.
These are a few examples of the conversations that took place between students and trainers during the week of TTC. We participated in a celebratory dinner for the graduates, a networking reception, daily breakfast and lunch together and had the opportunity to meet with CCAC Mentors, take a selfdefense course and mingle during session breaks.
Trainings such as TTC are one of the best ways to network with your colleagues across the state, learn about issues impacting our work and learn best practices and efficiencies that can be brought back to your agency.
I look forward to participating as a Trainer at TTC in September!
SEPTEMBER 12 -15, 2023 (SERIES 400)
• Personal Ethics
• Political Reform Act
• Initiative, Referendum and Recall
• Mechanics of Conducing Elections
• Election Technology and Systems
• Public Speaking/Making Presentations
• The Clerk as a Professional Model
Sunnyvale is also excited to announce two upcoming Region 14 training opportunities taking place at our new City Hall:
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2023
Athenian Leadership Dialogue – Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
Sunnyvale, California
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
✎ Register
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023
Adopting a Positive Leadership Style: How you can transform your department and yourself
Sunnyvale, California
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
✎ Register
SIANA L. EMMONS, FORTUNA CITY CLERK, REGION 1 REPRESENTATIVE
As I start to become more comfortable in my role as the Region 1 Representative, I am becoming more familiar with our members across the region. I have seen this amazing clerk reach out through the list serve, seeking knowledge and information from CCAC’s sage membership! I have a great appreciation for those who continue to seek knowledge and in that regard; I am honored to spotlight Krisine Lawler, a committed, knowledgeable Clerk, who has accomplish a lot, and has much to share with this membership!
How did you get started, and what advice would you give association members working towards becoming a clerk?
My first experience clerking was for the Eel Russian River Commission (ERRC), which was made up of Supervisors from three counties (Sonoma, Mendocino, and Humboldt). I didn’t have any experience at the time, so I researched the agendas, minutes, and videos of the County Board of Supervisors to see how it was done. Then during the 2010 economic downturn, my department was closed down, but the County Executive Office brought me on board to be a Deputy Clerk of the Board. For two and a half years they gave me the intensive clerk training I needed, after which I took the position of City Clerk for the City of Ukiah in 2012, where I currently continue to serve.
My advice to upcoming clerks is to find a clerk that you admire, then study their work, forms, process, and interview them to get tips; strive for high-quality, professional documents and personal conduct in everything you do (OCD really helps in this profession, LOL). Find ways to innovate and streamline the systems; get really good at prioritizing your assignments so that you can turn things around quickly. Be a kind, helpful, and indispensable person to the public, staff, and elected officials, so that they can get their objectives done quickly and easily. Above all, take your fifteen minute breaks so that you can keep your thoughts clear, get some perspective, and replenish your energy.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I love to organize and streamline systems! Since I have come on board with the City of Ukiah, I have established an index and tracking system for contracts; revamped the Records Retention Schedule (although this is a living document that changes all the time); created a central file system and indexing; installed a software system for labelling, tracking, and shelving records; designed and established a new storage facility for records retention; updated and organized the electronic records repository; created a public portal to our high-powered search engine; implemented a state approved Trusted System, and am currently working on making our city paperless and cloud based.
What is one place you would like to visit and why?
I love to travel, so it’s hard to pick between all of my dream travel destinations. However, if I must choose one, I would go back to Switzerland, where I spent some time as a teenager. Switzerland is abundant in nature’s beauty, which is what rejuvenates and inspires me in every aspect of life.
What do you love the most about your City and why? Our City Manager, Sage Sangiacomo, has been a dynamo in establishing core values and creating a happy, conducive work environment. His vision and innovative ideas for a productive agency, and in taking our city and community to the next level in every aspect, has been a guiding light, and is reflected back in our annual employee survey that shows an 85% satisfaction rate. I love the people I work with, and I am excited about the projects we are working on in our city to make this an enjoyable destination.
When I started clerking, I had no idea that I was at the beginning of a real career. I am so grateful for the teachers, leaders, and innovators in the IIMC, CCAC and TTC, who have brought credible recognition to the clerking profession.
"Find ways to innovate and streamline the systems; get really good at prioritizing your assignments so that you can turn things around quickly."
F O R M 7 0 0
C A M P A I G N D I S C L O S U R E
L O B B Y I S T
F i n d o u t w h y C i t y C l e r k s L O V E N e t F i l e
O t h e r O t h e r
F o r m 7 0 0
C a m p a i g n
w w w . n e t f i l e . c o m
LIND, CMC, AUBURN CITY CLERK, REGION 2 REPRESENTATIVE
What is it about Spring that makes you want to start fresh? The sun? The warmth? The mess you created over the winter? For me, it is the latter. The City Clerk’s Office recently relocated to a new location in City Hall. This was the real test for clutter. How did that box get there? Why didn’t I ever file that? What is that furry thing in the corner of the closet? (oh, maybe that’s just my office). I have set aside a couple of hours in the afternoon on Fridays to dedicate to “spring cleaning.” One week I removed plaques and framed certificates off the back wall of the Council Chambers (was it necessary to have a certificate of recognition for a quilt displayed in 1999?) to freshen up the look. It increased the overall professionalism of the room. We are implementing “Paper Free in 2023,” so I also took this opportunity to prepare my files to be scanned permanently. Clearing out paper is a favorite pastime of many Clerks. I recommend finding a spring cleaning project outside our regular day-to-day duties. Sometimes “other duties as assigned” can be a good thing.
Happy Cleaning!
MICHAEL MACDONALD, CMC, DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES
It was great seeing so many of you in Palm Springs! I’ve heard from many of you with great ideas on how we can strengthen our membership benefits. I want to hear more! If you have ideas, please reach out at mmacdonald@cityofventura.ca.gov. I know many of us are deep in budget season, so I’ll share a quick reminder that your membership dues are due in July. Your membership ensures that CCAC can continue to carry out its mission of promoting and supporting our profession through education, support, and beneficial communication with our members. I’ll close by saying Happy 54th Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week! Celebrating is not just a way to recognize our hard work, but a reminder of the crucial role we all play in shaping our cities and improving the lives of those who call them home. So, let us take a moment to honor our members for all of your dedication and commitment to public service.
MICHAEL MACDONALD
