Hello New City Clerks Ami Dieckman, MRWA Circuit Rider In the short time I’ve worked for MRWA I’ve learned there are many new clerks out there. Welcome aboard and fasten your seat belts! There seems to be two ways of accessing this ( A ) you’re in a bigger city or district and you worked your way up or ( B ) you’re in a small city or district and there is nobody at all to train you. Both come with challenges of course. Bigger city, bigger problems! But smaller cities have many hats to wear. Both need help, often with different circumstances. Bigger cities have support systems and a vast amount of knowledge floating around the office staff, while the smaller the city the harder knowledge gaps are to fill. They both come with difference but serve the same goals. Bigger towns seem to have developed policies and procedures to follow, and the shoes are filled fairly well. Usually someone has been working within the city for quite some time before taking the role of a City Clerk. There is familiarity of elements throughout city responsibilities. Sometimes there’s even months of training and thorough procedure manuals to follow. I have a soft spot in my heart for you small town clerks trying to navigate your way through this on your own. I worked for a small city for almost 10 years and had to learn everything the hard way. Thankfully I had a great network around me to help me get through with minimal challenges. This article was written to give some guidance for new clerks trying to navigate through the challenging career of city clerk.
One of the most important things to pass along is don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call to ask questions. There are so many resources out there. Neighboring cities, MRWA, MML, sometimes even your auditor or city attorney can answer your questions. I learned if the person you called doesn’t know the answer, they have a suggestion and are more than happy to help. Be involved with area meetings and go to training, get yourself out there. Jump in and be a member of MoCCFOA (Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association) MoCCFOA has a chat blog pertaining to subjects of matter and questions asked. It is a great resource if you are uncomfortable picking up that phone. Fellow clerks don’t typically mind sharing sample policies and documents. Fact of the matter is, they all have questions, too! Even seasoned clerks! There are so many things that aren’t dealt with regularly that can hang up a clerk. There are aspects in all areas that may only be dealt with once a year, or even every couple of years. Be part of the clerk community and help one another out. If you know of a neighboring city that has a new clerk, check on them and welcome them. Feel free to reach out to MRWA. I’d be happy to stop by for a visit. As you figure things out, make sure to add them to a working binder for quick access. I always called it my cheat binder to help fill out those yearly forms. It was a glorified procedure manual for the things I didn’t do daily. I kept print screens handy in it to help guide me through the processes of applications. Included in my binder would be the steps on tax levy hearings, planning and zoning hearings, etc. It was just a go-to book to reassure me I was doing all the right steps. My binder also included lists of things that needed done daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. This flow list reassured me that I had not forgotten to do anything important. There is little to no forgiveness from the IRS and the state for late submissions. Know the importance of following a calendar as your deadlines are tremendously important. (continued on page 28) 27
