A message from our WMCA President

February 2010

President Gina Gresch

 

I hope everyone made it through tax collection and is ready to jump into another election cycle. The WMCA Committees have started up again after a short break. Here’s what been happening in the Association:

IIMC ATHENIAN DIALOGUE & REGION VI MEETING

On Friday, January 22, a number of Wisconsin and Minnesota Clerks and I attended the IIMC Athenian Dialogue. We discussed the book, “Founding Mothers, The Women Who Raised Our Nation” by Cokie Roberts. The book told the stories of the women who were the wives, sisters and daughters of those that founded our nation. These women showed us how they led their families and our new nation. We learned their leadership characteristics and how they overcame hardships in their times. I highly recommend trying an Athenian Dialogue, and you will have the chance to do so at the 2010 WMCA Conference. Following the Athenian Dialogue is the IIMC Region VI Meeting. At that meeting, we will discuss what is happening in IIMC and how it affects the membership. Currently there are 356 WMCA members in IIMC, 196 of which are CMCs and 33 MMCs.

For those that are interested in attending the 2010 IIMC Conference in Reno but are unsure if the funds are available, IIMC’s Region VI awards a grant for conference registration to one member in each region. Please consider submitting an application. This is an excellent opportunity to see what an IIMC Conference is like and to get more members interested in volunteering for planning the 2014 Conference in Milwaukee.

UPCOMING COMMITTEE & DISTRICT MEETINGS

Committee and District meetings are starting up again. Here is what is on my calendar:

RUNNING FOR WMCA OFFICE

At the Spring WMCA meetings, nominations are taken for members interested in running for WMCA Officers positions. This year, the 1st Vice President and newly created Officers at Large positions are up for election. Below are the position descriptions:

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

The First Vice President shall assist the President and perform such duties directed by the President. In addition, this Officer shall serve as a member of the Advisory Board to the Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute the Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund Committee. The First Vice President shall inform the Executive Board of legislation affecting this organization and its membership. The First Vice President shall also ensure that actions of Executive Board conform to the WMCA Constitution and with the established policies and procedures of this Association and shall serve as a member of the Manuals Committee. Candidates for the office of First Vice President must have served a minimum of two (2) consecutive years as an officer, district director, or committee chair of the Association, immediately preceding the election for this office.

OFFICERS AT LARGE

The Officers at Large position description is being worked on by the Manuals Committee, but here it is in a nutshell:

Please consider running for office. It truly is a very rewarding experience. I have met many clerks and made new friendships the last few years. During my travels, I have seen parts of the state I never knew existed! You will learn so much about your fellow WMCA members, their community and yourself while serving as an officer. Yes, it is a time commitment, but one that is well worth doing. Please contact either 1st VP Diane Hermann-Brown or myself if you have questions about running for office. If you are interested, please email or call me and I will send an email to the membership.

THIS MONTH’S FEATURED TECHNOLOGY……. LASERFICHE

In January, I was very fortunate to attend the Laserfiche Conference in California. Many of us know the name “Laserfiche” but might not know exactly what it does. I was interested in attending this conference to see how the City of Delafield could be using more of its features and to take the City’s digital movement to a higher level. I learned how to do just that and then some! Laserfiche has many different add-ons to the basic software to scan and store your documents: Agenda Manager, Workflow, Records Management, and more. I found their classes and hands-on computer labs to be very beneficial and came back with a lot of ideas. Some of those ideas I can implement right away, some will take some planning, and some will require that money be set aside in the budget. Also, I was able to network not only with municipal clerks but also with people in other industries that are using Laserfiche in ways I never imagined. I could go on and on, so if you want to know more, you can call me anytime and I would be happy to share what I learned. You can also call our vendors to discuss this with them or stop by their booths at the next conference.

Click on the link below for video highlights from the conference. http://www.laserfiche.com/conference/Video%20Highlights.aspx

Click on the link below to view the 20 Laserfiche Clients Recognized Among the Top Digital Cities in America http://www.laserfiche.com/news/archives/2010/01/19/twenty-laserfiche-clients-recognized-among-the-top-digital-cities-in-america/

SNOWBIRD PRESS RELEASE FOR CENSUS

I received this email from Andrea Kaminski, the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters and WI Education Fund. She asked that this be passed on to the Clerks, as possibly add a note in with all of the Absentee Ballots that go out:

Wisconsin’s population could well be undercounted in 2010 Census due to inadequate instructions on the Census form. This will hurt the state because census data are the basis for the distribution of needed federal funding for programs, services and infrastructure.

In the past there have been ways people could indicate that their primary residence is in Wisconsin. In 1990, snowbirds could complete the form delivered to their winter address, noting that they have a “usual residence elsewhere” and providing the alternate address; the Census Bureau transferred these respondents so they would be counted at the more permanent address. The 2000 questionnaire instructed households not to report people who lived somewhere else “most of the time.”

For 2010, Question 10 asks if a person sometimes lives elsewhere and, if so, “at a seasonal or second residence.” Even if respondents indicate a second residence, they will be counted in the southern state’s population. Meanwhile, census takers will visit their unresponsive northern homes in May and June, when most snowbirds have returned home. If the dual homeowner tells the enumerator they completed a census form while living in their southern home, they will not be counted up North, even if they live there most of the time.

To make it come out right, we're encouraging respondents NOT to complete the southern questionnaires. They should write ‘zero’ for the number of April 1 residents, put “usual residence elsewhere” somewhere on the form, and mail it back. Then they should fill out the northern address questionnaire or respond to a census taker during door-to-door canvassing. Further, they have to say that they “lived” at the northern address on April 1 – after all, they actually did, but were just away on extended vacation.

Please contact Andrea Kaminski, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of WI Education Fund at (608) 256-0827 for further questions.

NEW CERTIFIED MUNICIPAL CLERKS

DaNean Naeger, Clerk-Treasurer for the City of Dodgeville earned the prestigious Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) in December 2009. Congrats DaNean!!!

Have a great February everyone! Spring is right around the corner… I can feel it!!

Gina C. Gresch, MMC/WCPC
City of Delafield Clerk/Treasurer
2009 - 2010 WMCA President
500 Genesee Street,
Delafield, WI 53018
DIRECT PH: 262-303-4513
OFFICE PH: 262-646-6220 / FX: 262-646-6223
E-Mail: ggresch@ci.delafield.wi.us
Website: www.cityofdelafield.com
Population: 6,934