Clay 1 Michelle Clay Professor Bartels English 123 / Intermediate Composition 21 April 2013 Logo provided by:

Clay 2 Judy Haughney and City Clerk Discourse City of Perris City Clerk Mission Statement provided by: hall/departments/city-clerk.html

Clay 3 City Clerk Haughney said that “most City Clerks fall into the City Clerk’s position by default.” In her case, she said that “the elected official resigned and she was approached to finish the remaining five months of the term.” City Clerk Haughney stated that “she thought it was temporary, but her mentor convinced her that she would be ‘good at the job,’ so she decided to run [for City Clerk] in 2006.”

Clay 4 When elected in 2006, City Clerk Haughney had to learn the duties of the City Clerk through mentoring. The required training is a certification. There are two levels of certification: the first is a Certified Municipal Clerk and the second is a Master Municipal Clerk—both levels require a combination of training and experience. It took City Clerk Haughney three years to receiver her certification.

Clay 5 According to City Clerk Haughney, the City Clerk wears many hats. She stated that her duties include serving as the clerk for the City Clerk’s office and any boards or commissions for the City. The City Clerk is the Records Manager, Election Official, Filing Officer for The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The City Clerk’s office processes public records requests, public noticing, and the City Clerk is the bid officer for the City.

Clay 6 City Clerk Haughney stated that “the City Clerk’s office is also charged with codification of municipal code, recordation of documents, processing City contracts, production, distribution and preservation of the City Council, Public Finance Authority, and Public Utility Authority minutes, ordinances and resolutions.” She also said that the City Clerks office “maintains the records management for the City, including indexing, filing, and legislative history.”

Clay 7 She added that “the retention/destruction schedule and the safe keeping of permanent documents…and the department implemented a document imaging system to assist in the preservation of records…and to date over 20,000 records have been scanned into the system.”

Clay 8 City Clerk Haughney said that there are many ways for the City Clerk community to communicate with each other. The main reasons for their communication is to network so that they can receive help with problems, questions and documents. They often conduct surveys of other cities to see how they handle different issues and come up with a solution that will work in their particular city.

Clay 9 City Clerk Haughney stated that the “City Clerk community communicate throughout the year by various conferences held by the League of California Cities, City Clerks Association of California (CCAC), and the International Institute for Municipal Clerks (IIMC), which all provide an educational component.”

Clay 10 The City Clerk may also use a tool called ListServ, which is a service provided by member of the League of California Cities, which City Clerk Haughney describes as “similar to a blog.” She stated that a City Clerk may read the blogs for information, members, submit questions, receive help for problems or request documents.

Clay 11 The League of California Cities states their values and mission statement as the following: Vision: “To be recognized and respected as the leading advocate for the common interests of California's cities (League).” Mission Statement: “To expand and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians (League).”

Clay 12 The City Clerks Association of California states the following: Mission Statement: “The CCAC was founded in 1977 with the objective of promoting the city clerk profession throughout the state of California. (CCAC)” The Objectives of the CCAC are to: “Provide Leadership and Management Training Opportunities in Concert with Our Diverse Society (CCAC).” “Enhance Levels of Service Responsive to the Growing Demands Within our Organizations (CCAC).” “Foster Pro-Active Programs to Promote Effective Legislation (CCAC).” “Promote Networking System Among Members (CCAC).”

Clay 13 She said that the “CCAC has three divisions, Northern, Central and Southern, which holds meetings, provides networking opportunities, has a mentoring program for new City Clerks and provides training for mentors as well.” City Clerk Haughney continued that “the IIMC provides opportunity for U.S. City Clerk’s to travel to other countries to learn International City Clerk’s processes and for ‘us’ to teach international City Clerk’s ‘our’ processes.”

Clay 14 The International Institute of Municipal Clerks states the following: Mission Statement: “The International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) is a professional, nonprofit association that promotes continuing education and certification through university and college-based institutes and provides networking solutions, services and benefits to its members worldwide (IIMC).”

Clay 15 When asked the question “What advice could you offer someone newly joining the City Clerk community,” City Clerk Haughney gave the following response: “This profession is one of the most rewarding, and challenging professions, the work is ever changing and you never work on the same thing…there is a variety.”

Clay 16 “You meet so many dedicated people. If you are lucky enough [to become a City Clerk], you need to be able to juggle [multiple things], be flexible, [and remember] nothing is written in stone. You need to have a passion [for the job]. The City Clerk must remain unbiased, uphold honesty, integrity, [you] do not have an opinion, must remain neutral and stay out of [public and City] politics.”

Clay 17 Writing Analysis City of Perris Resolution Document provided by: City Clerk Haughney, City of Perris

Clay 18  The resolution number.  Summary paragraph.  “Whereas” paragraphs.  “Section” paragraphs.  Signature page.  City Council vote. There are many important writing genres in the City Clerk community. The City resolution is an important document as it is the “Policy of the City”. The resolution document has the following features:

Clay 19 The resolution number is assigned by the City Clerk’s Office after the City Council has approved the resolution at a City Council meeting. The creation of the number is simply assigned by using “next in order” number.

Clay 20 The resolution summary paragraph provides a description of the document and provides a “quick look” of the contents of the resolution.

Clay 21 The “whereas” paragraphs contain details resolution (who, what, where and how) and may refer to local and state codes and/or laws. These paragraphs may also refer to City resolutions, ordinances and/or municipal codes and any attachments and/or exhibits attached to the resolution.

Clay 22 The “section” paragraphs contain the facts of the resolution and what the City Council of the City of Perris “resolve, declare, determine and order” or, in simple terms, what the City Council is approving.

Clay 23 The signature page contains the date of adoption, signed and approved ate of the Mayor and the City Clerk’s signature attesting the document.

Clay 24 The City Council votes contains the “Ayes” and “Noes”. The vote records the Mayor and City Council members votes by name under the appropriate voting area of the document.

Clay 25 The City Clerk community is a specialized community with lots of resources. Although City Clerk’s work individually at their municipality, they are willing to help each other through mentoring, providing assistance and advice to members of the community. To join the community, you need to be appointed or elected. The training is a combination of formal training and on the job training. The interview was informative, but there is a lot to learn about the community. The best way to learn is to work in a City Clerk’s office.

Clay 26 City of Perris Logo. Web 21 Apr Haughney, Judy. Personal Interview. 13 Apr League of California Cities. “Mission and History” Web 21 Apr City Clerks Association of California (CCAC). “About CCAC” Web 21 Apr International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC). “About Us” Web 21 Apr City of Perris Resolution Number Document Provided by Judy Haughney, City Clerk of the City of Perris