•PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
•MENTOR PROGRAM UPDATE
•GRANICUS LUNCH & LEARN WEBINAR
• DID YOU KNOW…?
•UPCOMING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
•EDUCATION INSTITUTE UPDATE
•REGION 15 LEARNS ABOUT RECORDS FILING & RETENTION
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• IIMC REGION DIRECTORS’ REPORT
•IIMC 2024
CONFERENCE
Greetings CCAC! First off, it’s hot outside and I’m already ready for the fall season. I’m encouraged when I see Halloween decor on sale at Target because that means summer is almost over! We continue to stay busy at CCAC and I’m excited to report the following updates:
As our association continues to grow and evolve, sometimes that requires change. At their special meeting on August 10, the Board of Directors approved a threeyear agreement with Association Resource Center (ARC) to serve as our new association management firm that manages the day-to-day operations of CCAC. With this action, we also provided a notice to terminate our agreement with Smith, Moore & Associates (SMA). This was not an easy decision but one that will set up CCAC for greater success in the future. I want to take this opportunity to thank SMA, specifically our Executive Director Elizabeth Cardwell and our Account Coordinator Dominique Mask, for all their hard work over the years. We look forward to working with ARC who is led by their President Camron King and our new Executive Director Karl Baur. There will be no changes in terms of how members will contact CCAC for any membership needs. Please continue to use staff@californiacityclerks.org or contact (916) 330-2706 for any questions or concerns.
I was excited to see that several individuals put their hat in the ring to become the next 2nd Vice President of the City Clerk Department for Cal Cities! Ballots will go out to Cal Cities member cities on Wednesday, August 23. If you receive a ballot, don’t forget to cast your vote! I’m hoping to see similar interest to serve when CCAC holds its annual election starting later this year in November.
Don’t forget to register for the upcoming City Clerk Workshop that occurs prior to the Cal Cities Annual Conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, September 20 at 8:30 a.m. Space will be limited and registration will be based on first come first serve basis. You can register through the League’s website at Annual Conference and Expo | Cal Cities.
I also want to take this moment to pre-congratulate City Clerk Department 1st Vice President Jessica Blair, who will be sworn in as the next President of the City Clerk Department for Cal Cities at the City Clerk Workshop! Excited to see her leadership over the next year for our Department.
I will continue to serve as CCAC’s President until April 2024. This change was part of bylaw amendment 23-A, that was passed in March 2023 where we separated the relationship between Cal Cities and CCAC.
The CCAC membership renewal period is in full swing! To date, we are just over 60% on our membership renewals which means there are still 40% of you who still haven’t processed your renewals! Don’t forget to renew your membership today so that you can continue to take advantage of all the membership benefits that include discounted education sessions, discounted rates for education institutes, access to the Municipal Clerk Handbook, and so much more!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Lunch & Learn Webinars with Granicus and Netfile over the last month. We enjoyed engaging with our members and our Platinum Level sponsors. Special shoutout to Tom Diebert with Netfile who provided several exciting giveaways during Netfile’s webinar! Please keep a lookout in the near future for additional Lunch & Learn Webinar opportunities. Wishing everyone a happy and long upcoming Labor Day weekend! As always, please feel free to reach out to me at mdonohue@eastvaleca.gov or (951) 703-4421.
Happy August!
I hope everyone had an amazing summer and that your kids are enjoying their school year so far.
First, I’d like to update you on the status of mentor assignments from past trainings:
Thanks to our AWESOME mentors, I was able to assign the mentees from the June 2023 Nuts & Bolts session who needed a virtual mentor. I’m so grateful to have such an awesome team of clerks who are willing to help out, even if from afar. As you can see, I do still have two who are pending assignment, but that’s only because the prospective mentors may be transitioning agencies, so I’m waiting until they’re settled to officially match them.
On August 3, 2023, 12 Clerks attended New Mentor Training and are ready to start helping the new Clerks coming in. I’m excited to see where their participation in the Mentor Program takes them.
Just a quick stats update - we now have 73 active mentors and 422 active mentees. We also had 14 mentees earn their CMC in July! While they have officially graduated out of the Mentor Program, we always strongly encourage our mentors and mentees to continue to grow their bond and be there for each other. If you’ve gained nothing else, I hope you now have a friend, a familiar face, in our big, ever-evolving world.
On that note, I would 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.
CMC
Michelle Ramos-Vergara, CMC - Management Analyst - City of Beverly Hills, CA
Madeline M. Balsz, CMC - Deputy City Clerk - City of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Brenna Nurmi, CMC - Deputy City Clerk - City of San Rafael, CA
Brandon Yoshida, CMC - Deputy City Clerk - City of Hemet, CA
Dora Seamans, CMC - Executive Officer/District Secretary - San Mateo County Transportation District, CA
Huma Ahmed, CMC - City Clerk - City of Beverly Hills, CA
Juan Esquivel, CMC - Deputy City Clerk - City of Hawthorne, CA
Elaine Tran, CMC - City Clerk - City of Millbrae, CA
Julie Gutierrez-Robles, CMC - City Clerk - City of Industry, CA
Abigail Alcala, CMC - Assistant City Clerk - City of Westminster, CA
MMC
Amy Lind, MMC - City Clerk - City of Auburn, CA
Thai Nam Pham, MMC - City Clerk - City of Gilroy, CA
JESSICA BLAIR, MMC, 1ST VICE PRESIDENT
CCAC hosted Diamond Annual Partner Granicus on July 25 for a Lunch & Learn Webinar. Thanks to those who attended! We hope you found the information useful. For those who couldn’t make it, attached is the slide deck that was shared with some useful information and helpful links. Hope to see you at the next one!
Did you know that the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) offers on-demand tutorials for Campaign and Form 700 Filing Officer, as well as Conflict of Interest Code Reviewers? For those new to any of these roles, it can be a daunting task to understand the requirements we have as filing officers. This great online tool provides videos anywhere from 10-35 minutes that can be viewed and printed for easy reference.
For more information, contact the Training and Outreach department of the FPPC seminars@fppc.ca.gov
Check out these upcoming education opportunities through CCAC! You can always find up-todate information on the CCAC website community calendar. For questions, please feel free to email pdd@californiacityclerks.org
In my last institute update in the May Official Word, I shared that the Board approved negotiating contract terms with Cal State University San Marcos (San Marcos) to provide CCAC’s education institute. Since May, the education committee has been working diligently with university contacts to finalize the language in the contract. It is in the final stages and the Board is anticipating approval at a special meeting in late August/early September.
Simultaneously, San Marcos and CCAC have been working on the proposal required to obtain approval from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC).
Throughout all of this, San Marcos staff have been putting together curriculum, trainers, logistics, and schedules to launch the new academy in 2024. Below are the tentative dates for CCAC’s new education institute which will be a single institute offering sessions for those working on their CMC as well as their MMC.
2024
February 20-23 (CMC 100)
June 18-21 (MMC)
October 22-25 (CMC 200)
2025
February 18-21 (CMC 300)
June 17-20 (MMC)
October 21-24 (CMC 400)
Each academy session is expected to have 1 day of virtual learning and 4 days in person learning at the San Marcos Campus.
While the CMC Academy will offer 4 sessions to cover all the required education needed to achieve the CMC, the content of these sessions will not entirely mirror the content of the prior sessions. Despite the content being shifted, it will still ultimately cover all content required.
For those who have completed sessions with the prior institute, your education points are fully transferable to the new program. This means that if you took TTC Series 100, you will still be able to take the CMC Series 100 for points.
Once CCAC has approved the contract and received approval from IIMC, information will start to be shared detailing the first session in February 2024.
For more information, please feel free to contact the CCAC President or Director of Professional Development
On July 20, Region 15 held a training on the topic of “Records Retention Schedule Updates.” We were hosted by the City of Pittsburg and held the training at the Elks Lodge in Pittsburg.
Retired City Clerk and Director of Election Services for Best, Best & Krieger (BBK) Stephanie Smith brought the topic of records to life and kept the attention of 46 records enthusiasts! Attendees came from all over Northern California, well beyond Region 15.
We started by talking about the Public Records Act and why that matters to managing the retention of records. This part of the training had an emphasis on records beyond paper, like emails, calendars, social media, and other forms of records we might not naturally think of, with the reminder that the content of the document is what determines whether the record is a public record.
Stephanie then changed gears to talk about functional filing systems and the different systems to catalogue files and records. A couple of key takeaways from this were that filing by function allows you to assign retention to large categories quickly and better maintain the records based on the adopted retention schedule and if you are going to use a numerical system, it is best to assign numbers to categories and functions, not simply one continuous long string of entries. Stephanie shared samples of successful functional filing systems that attendees could take back to their agencies and implement. Lastly, we linked it all together and talked about retention schedules. Stephanie shared the basics of retention schedules, elements of a retention schedule, and the organization of a schedule. She shared samples of different methods used to organize the retention schedule and emphasized the importance of following the schedule and keeping it up to date. Stephanie suggests the schedule be reviewed every two years (odd years work best around elections!) and take it to your legislative body for approval with each review.
After the training, attendees enjoyed an opportunity to network with other attendees, as well as talk with leaders in our region about their career journey in an executive roundtable model. Joining us as executives were Alex Orologas, Assistant City Manager in El Cerrito; Danielle Navarro, former City Clerk and current Assistant City Manager with the City of Oakley; Stephanie Smith, Retired City Clerk and currently with BB&K; and, Joelle Fockler, City Clerk with the City of Concord and TTC and MMCA trainer. Participants were provided with sample questions and had an opportunity to talk with each of these leaders in a small group for 5-10 minutes. Conversations included discussing how these individuals got to where they are now, what they liked about the cities they worked at, and pros and cons of different organizations and positions. AND, we enjoyed some fantastic food and hospitality at Dále Vino, a new wine bar in the marina in Pittsburg. If you are in the area, Region 15 would highly recommend you visit Dále Vino!
In case you missed it, an email from the FPPC recently went out regarding the FPPC no longer providing its free, online AB 1234 training as of January 1, 2024, as a result of a lack of funding and consequences of AB 2158. Below is the email for your reference. The attachment referenced can be found here
“I wanted to provide some information in hopes you will share it with your members. As you may be aware, last year AB 2158 amended Government Code 53234 to extend the mandatory local ethics training requirements (AB 1234) to members of school districts, boards of education and charter school boards beginning in January of 2025.
Many years ago, the FPPC, AG’s Office and Institute for Local Government collaborated in creating an online local ethics training that agencies could use to satisfy the AB 1234 training requirement. In addition to helping create and update that training, the FPPC has housed that training on its system and provided technical support since its inception. The technical support requires significant FPPC IT resources each year.
Due to the large increase in the number of officials subject to Gov’t Code 53234 as a result of AB 2158, the FPPC sought additional funding for the anticipated increased resources required to administer the online training. The Department of Finance declined to allocate additional funding because the FPPC was not legally required to provide the AB 1234 training curriculum in the first place. As a result, the FPPC has decided it will no longer offer the online training as of January 1, 2024. This decision was not made lightly as we realize that many local jurisdictions rely on the training to satisfy the requirements of Gov’t Code 53234. But absent additional funding, maintaining the training would use significant resources at the expense of other important Commission objectives. We have updated the training content for 2023 (see attached) and will provide the content of the updated training in PDF upon request. Requests for the training content can be made by emailing ab1234@fppc.ca.gov. Please share this information with your members and anyone else you think will be affected by this change.”
As summer winds down, your IIMC Board of Directors held a virtual meeting on August 17. Both of your Region IX Directors, Ruth Post and Jamie Newman, attended the meeting. Here’s a quick recap to bring you up-to-date:
2024 IIMC Annual Conference
• Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• May 19-22, 2024.
• The Canadian Clerks are busy fundraising and appreciate the contributions they’ve received from state associations such as Wyoming.
• See the Host Promotion Invitation and the IIMC Brochure for more information on the exuberant city of Calgary.
• The all-conference event is western theme so bring your cowboy hats and boots!
Staff Update
• IIMC is interviewing for the position of Administrative Coordinator and hope to have a new person on-board by October 2.
Certification Plaques
• Staff is working on finding a third-party vendor to link members to for CMC and MMC plaques.
• Currently, IIMC is not charging for plaques and any fees paid for them will be refunded.
Constitution
• The deadline to vote on the Constitutional Amendments is September 3. Have you voted?
E.P.P. –Education Plus Program
• The IIMC Education Department has worked with everyone who needed some grace in getting registered.
• 80-85 participants are expected in the first EPP group.
• Staff prioritized members who were completing their MMC certification review to get them finished so they could enter the EPP.
CMC/MMC Certifications
• The Education Department staff transition is complete, and they are processing applications as quickly as possible.
• Staff processed certifications for 212 new CMC’s and 92 new MMC’s in the past three months.
• The new process appears to be working well. Effective June 1, 2023, all certification designation applications must be submitted via the IIMC Education Certification portal. The portal may be accessed via the following links:
• CMC: https://bit.ly/CMCDesApp
• MMC: https://bit.ly/MMCDesApp
• Only submit your application once unless a member of the Education Certification Department specifically instructs you to do otherwise. Following this procedure as outlined is extremely important for tracking purposes; duplicate submissions will disrupt and delay processing.
• Please don't email, post, or fax application to IIMC since they will no longer be accepted.
• Moving forward, the Education Department will only process complete applications.
• IIMC will no longer accept or retain partial submissions.
• Visit the IIMC website, iimc.com, for instructions on how to submit you application, effective June 1, 2023.
• Do not submit points to IIMC until you have completed all requirements for certification.
• No more submitting along the way.
2024 Conference Education
• IIMC staff is working to secure speakers for the Calgary Conference.
• It was noted that speaker fees have significantly increased!
calendars and start planning to join us in Calgary We are expecting a sold-out event and we one of them.
know more check out
Facebook page
Tourism Calgary ‘2024 IIMC Calgary Conference’ web site
2024 Conference page
to those that stopped by our booth in Minneapolis - your support, kind words and well wishes and we appreciate you all so much.
much and I hope to see you in Calgary! PS: Bring your western attire! Yahoo!
BONNIE HILFORD, HOST, 2024 IIMC CONFERENCEHello Fellow IIMC Members!
I am so thrilled and honored to be the Host for the 78th Annual 2024 IIMC Conference happening May 19th to the 22nd, in beautiful Calgary Alberta! And I am so excited to have this opportunity to tell you what is planned and why you don’t want to miss it!!
It is a major undertaking to bring and host an international event of this caliber, and I can’t do it alone, it takes a team. So, I would like to introduce the Host Conference Committee members:
• Lana Antony – Canadian IIMC Director, Coaldale, Alberta
• Cheryl Hyde - IIMC Conference Sub-Committee, Chair, Canmore, Alberta
• Jaylene Knight - Canadian IIMC Director, Cochrane, Alberta
• Libbey McDougall – Banff, Alberta
• Sam Rodwell – Red Deer County, Alberta
• David Sarsfield – Lethbridge, Alberta
• Charlotte Satink – Airdrie, Alberta
• Ryan Westerson – Alberta Municipal Clerk Association, President, Lethbridge, Alberta
Together, with partners, IIMC and Tourism Calgary, we promise to deliver an amazing and unforgettable conference and experience in CALGARY and showcase what we have to offer.
Now, let me tell you about Calgary. Home to 1.4 million people, Calgary is an exuberant city, rich with beautiful landscapes, picturesque skylines and urban vibrancy. Renowned for its warm western hospitality and community spirit, Calgary prides itself on being the Ultimate Host City. With an exploding culinary, arts and culture scene, and an impressive list of attractions and activities to suit every type of visitor, Calgary is a city that delivers a remarkable experience from arrival to departure.
The conference venue - The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, is located in the heart of downtown Calgary, which is very walkable and safe. There you can discover over 1,000 stores 200 restaurants and 50 entertainment spots as well as lots of public art.
With one of the world’s most modern and welcoming airports, including a brand-new international terminal, getting to Calgary for travelers from around the world by air, is simple and a great experience. Book early to get the lowest price. At the time of writing, these were the starting $US return airfares to Calgary from Houston ($325, nonstop), Phoenix ($360, nonstop), Atlanta ($374, 1 stop) and Amsterdam ($606, 1 stop) to give you an example. For those of you driving, Calgary is only three hours from the US border, north of Montana.
If you live outside Canada you will need a valid Passport. But it is a simple process, however be forewarned as it can take up to three months to process.
1. Calgary was ranked as the most livable city in North America in 2018 and 2019 and named the 4th most livable city in the world in 2018.
2. For music lovers, there is Studio Bell - Home of the National Music Centre and for animal lovers there is the Calgary Zoo rated the third-best zoo in North America!
3. Within the City, there are 20,000 acres of open space and parkland to explore, and over 525 miles of paved pathways ... so bring your sneakers for a picturesque run or walk along the Bow or Elbow rivers. Or rent an ebike or scooter to explore.
4. Calgary’s Bow River is the 3rd best spot for trout fishing in the world.
5. The Plus 15 or +15 is a skyway network in downtown Calgary. It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and 86 bridges connecting 130 buildings.
6. Calgary is full of rich and wonderful diversity and culture being the third most diverse major city in Canada with more than 120 languages spoken.
7. Calgary was the first city in North America to have a Muslim Mayor, Naheed Nenshi, whom I was lucky enough to work with, and who was also awarded World Mayor in 2014
8. In 2021, Calgary elected their first female mayor, Jyoti Gondek, an Indian Punjabi Sikh, who will be speaking at the Opening Ceremonies.
9. As one of Canada’s largest airports, Calgary International Airport welcomes millions of visitors to Calgary each year.
10. 200,000+ free pancakes are served during the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' - the Calgary Stampede.
11. Alberta does not have a provincial or state sales tax. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is only 5%.
12. For those of you from Europe and United States, your currency is worth way more than the Canadian dollar – 33% more! So, your dollar stretches further!
Plan to stay a few extra days before or after the conference and take a short drive:
• An hour West to the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park;
• East to Drumheller, the dinosaur capital of the world with the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum and the Alberta badlands;
• South to Lethbridge to see the coulees and the Lethbridge Train Trestle Bridge - the longest, highest bridge of its kind in the world; or
• North to Edmonton, Alberta's capital city and home to the West Edmonton Mall – the largest mall in North America!
• To four UNESCO World Heritage sites: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and Dinosaur Provincial Park
For fans of the award winning TV series, ‘The Last of Us’, it was all filmed in the places just noted and received a 96% thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes!
If I haven’t convinced you yet, that you have to come, see for yourself and watch this video! Did that convince you! Who’s coming to Calgary now!?
Well mark your calendars and start planning to join us in Calgary. We are expecting a sold-out event and we hope you are one of them.
If you want to know more check out…
- Our Facebook page
- The Tourism Calgary ‘2024 IIMC Calgary Conference’ web site
- IIMC’s 2024 Conference page
And thank you to those that stopped by our booth in Minneapolis - your support, kind words and well wishes meant so much and we appreciate you all so much.
Thank you so much and I hope to see you in Calgary! PS: Bring your western attire! Yahoo!
Early Bird Conference Fees: Early Bird Conference Fees: Region I - IX = $625 US Region I - IX = $625 US Region X = $410 US Region X = $410 US
Region XI = $395 US Region XI = $395 US
May 19 - 22, 2024 -
includes:
3 Full days of Conference Sessions
2 optional days of Athenian & Academies
Grab & Go Breakfasts
Lunches
Conference Themed Dinner Event
Banquet
Admission to Exhibit Hall Trade Show
Swag Bag
Credit towards CMC, MMC Designations
