It is hard to believe that it is already December and the year is coming to a close. It has been quite the busy year as I have had the pleasure to travel to both the Oregon Recorder’s and Alaska Clerk’s con- ference. It is an honor to represent the City Clerks of California at these conferences; but they are rich learning experiences as well. Each time I travel to an out of state or the international conference I am stuck by two things – how different each clerk’s office is, and how much they are the same. Togeth- er we collectively share the same experienc- es – late agenda items, voluminous requests for public records, and of course legislative meetings that can drag on until the wee hours. But more than that, I find we share a love of civic duty, continued professional development, enjoyment in problem solving (and we are great at it!), and in general get- ting our customers to suc- cess. There is much to be learned from our IIMC Region IX partners. I have learned something at each conference that has in- spired me to try something new or share information with board on new and often innovative ways of conducting business. For me December is a very busy month, as I suspect it is for each of us as we close the legislative books for the year and begin the start of a new one. This year many of us are prepping for the upcoming elections, if you haven’t started already. Here in my City we have a two-week legislative recess which most of us use to get to those projects that we otherwise just can’t find the time to do. Of course December always brings the An- nual League of California Cities – City Clerks New Law & Elections Seminar. I truly hope to see each of you there as I find this to be a premier learning event. I always return home with the latest information I find vital to be- ing successful in the coming year. My holiday hope for each of us as we wrap up 2017 is that you take moment to pause and truly give yourselves credit for the great work you have done for your city and com- munity this past year. I know many of us feel we are just doing our job as we move from agenda to agenda; or election to election. However, when you look at the totality of the work you have done, I imagine that you would be surprised. I imagine that if you saw someone else doing the same tremendous work, that you would take a moment to recognize them for their efforts. Take a few minutes and rec- ognize yourself. You deserve it. Best wishes for a sensational holi- day season and new year. Enjoy it – elections and summer will be here before we know it. CCAC President’s Message INSIDE THIS ISSUE: President’s Message 1 2018 Annual Conference 2 Region 2 Message 2 Athenian Dialogues 2 Educational Sessions 3 Region 6 Message 4 Newly Designated 4 Region 9 Message 4 Member Spotlight 5 CCAC 2017 Sponsors 7 IIMC Founda- tion Fundraiser 9 Board of Directors 10 OFFICIAL WORD DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 18, ISSUE 12 Wendy Klock-Johnson, MMC CCAC President
Transcript
It is hard to believe that it is already December and the year is coming to a close. It has been quite the busy year as I have had the pleasure to travel to both the
Oregon Recorder’s and Alaska Clerk’s con-ference. It is an honor to represent the City Clerks of California at these conferences; but they are rich learning experiences as well. Each time I travel to an out of state or the international conference I am stuck by two things – how different each clerk’s office is, and how much they are the same. Togeth-er we collectively share the same experienc-es – late agenda items, voluminous requests for public records, and of course legislative meetings that can drag on until the wee hours. But more than that, I find we share a love of civic duty, continued professional development, enjoyment in problem solving (and we are great at it!), and in general get-ting our customers to suc-cess. There is much to be learned from our IIMC Region IX partners. I have learned something at each conference that has in-spired me to try something new or share information with board on new and often innovative ways of conducting business.
For me December is a very busy month, as I suspect it is for each of us as we close the legislative books for the year and begin the start of a new one. This year many of us are prepping for the upcoming elections, if you haven’t started already. Here in my City we have a two-week legislative recess which most of us use to get to those projects that we otherwise just can’t find the time to do. Of course December always brings the An-nual League of California Cities – City Clerks New Law & Elections Seminar. I truly hope to see each of you there as I find this to be a premier learning event. I always return home with the latest information I find vital to be-ing successful in the coming year.
My holiday hope for each of us as we wrap up 2017 is that you take moment to pause and truly give yourselves credit for the great work you have done for your city and com-munity this past year. I know many of us feel we are just doing our job as we move from agenda to agenda; or election to election. However, when you look at the totality of the work you have done, I imagine that you would be surprised. I imagine that if you saw someone else doing the same tremendous work, that you would take a moment to recognize them for their efforts. Take a few
minutes and rec-ognize yourself. You deserve it. Best wishes for a sensational holi-day season and new year. Enjoy it – elections and summer will be here before we know it.
CCAC President’s Message I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
President’s
Message 1
2018 Annual
Conference 2
Region 2
Message 2
Athenian
Dialogues 2
Educational
Sessions 3
Region 6
Message 4
Newly
Designated 4
Region 9
Message 4
Member
Spotlight 5
CCAC 2017
Sponsors 7
IIMC Founda-
tion Fundraiser 9
Board of
Directors 10
OFFICIAL WORD D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 1 8 , I S S U E 1 2
The official registration webpage for the 2018 CCAC Annual Conference will be launched and ready for you to sign up later this week. This year’s conference will take place in beautiful bayside Berkeley, at the Hilton Dou-bletree Hotel on the Marina. We start the week with an exciting Advanced Academy session on Tuesday – “Enhancing Workplace Cul-tures and Ad-dressing the Fear Factor”, present-
ed by Brenda Viola, an award winning journalist and former municipal Public Information Officer. Another option for those arriving early is the Tuesday Athenian Dialogue, presented by Mary Lynne Stratta, and reviewing “Upstairs at the White House, My Life With the First Ladies” by J.B. West. Both the Academy and Athenian Dia-logue are optional sessions to further enhance your education opportunities at the Conference. The Conference itself kicks off on Wednesday, and emphasizes President Wendy’s theme of Creating Balance. Academy pre-senter Brenda Viola stays on to deliver our Keynote Address, followed by an amazing session by Dr. Frank Benest on Manag-ing through Transition. Who doesn’t need help dealing with
Creating Balance - 2018 CCAC Conference
Stephanie Smith, MMC
First Vice-President
change? Later than night, join us for the All Conference Event aboard the Hornblower Cruise Line, as we tour San Francisco Bay while enjoying a latin-themed dinner and Salsa Team com-petition. Thursday morning starts with the always-fabulously fun Pat Hammers Memorial Walk, which raises extra funding for edu-cation. Another great day of sessions is followed up by the Annual Awards Banquet, with this year’s super-cool theme of Tiaras and Tennies. Plan your outfits accordingly ladies and gentlemen, because this year’s banquet is going to knock your socks off!
The Friday morning closing Keynote, “Life Under the Limbo Bar” with Faith Wood, is uplifting and sure to inspire as you head back into the working world the following week. Visit the Conference webpage at www.californiacityclerks.org/ccac-annual-conference to sign up. It also includes the hotel link for special rates. Be sure to contact the hotel through the link, so we get credit for the rooms and you get the reduced parking. Why not take a moment now, before the holidays, to book your hotel room and sign up for the confer-
ence? That way you’re all set and it won’t get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. From my house to yours, I wish each of you a joyous Decem-ber. There are so many reasons to celebrate – I encourage you find one and spread the joy.
Region 2 Director’s Message - Donna Settles, CMC The Region 2 Education Workshop was held Novem-ber 17 in Roseville. Sonia Orozco, Roseville City Clerk, hosted the workshop which included great information and insights on the nomina-tion process from beginning to end. Mark Numainville, Berkeley City Clerk, was one of our speakers for the work-
shop. He gave tips on how to train new employees on
the nomination process by role playing. You are the candidate and the employee goes through the forms one by one with you. He offered suggestions on how to deal with unique candidates and to get a copy of the 2018 Election Code. He likes the hard copy! Jill LaVine, Sacramento County Registrar of Voters and Ryan Ronco, Placer County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar both went through the process of implementing the California Voter’s Choice Act. The 48 participants who attended the education workshop had many questions concerning the rolling out of the vote by mail program.
2018 Athenian Leadership Dialogues Save the dates for the 2018 Athenian Leadership Dialogues!
Visit www.californiacityclerks.org/athenian-dialogues for upcoming dates, books and more.
P A G E 3
Register now for
these upcoming
educational
opportunities.
Upcoming CCAC Educational Sessions
O F F I C I A L W O R D
Athenian Dialogues The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor Facilitated by Patrice Olds, MMC Saturday, January 27, 2018 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Hosted by City of Napa Limited to 30 participants Click here for more information and to register online.
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes Facilitated by Anthony Mejia, MMC Friday, February 16, 2018 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Hosted by City of Chino Hills Limited to 30 participants Click here for more information and to register online.
Dawn Abrahamson, MMC
Professional Development
Director
CCAC Education Workshops FPPC - Getting Prepared for the Upcoming Elections January 19, 2018, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hosted by City of Sonoma (Region 16 - North Bay) Click here for more information and to register online by January 12th
New Law & Elections Seminar December 13-15, 2017 Located at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Click here for more information and to register by November 14th
Save the Date 2018 CCAC Annual Conference
April 17-20, 2018
DoubleTree at the Marina
Berkeley, CA
Master Municipal Clerk Academy February 7-9, 2018 Located at Dolce Hayes Mansion, San Jose Click here for more information and to register by January 22nd
Nuts & Bolts Workshop - Northern February 8-9, 2018 Located at the Rancho Cordova City Hall Click here for more information and to register by January 10, 2018
Hello and Happy Holidays from Region 6! As the year winds down, I hope you are relaxing and celebrating with family and friends. Our Region (San Ber-nardino County), in cooperation with Region 7 (Riverside Coun-ty) ended the year on a high note by co-hosting a Regional Workshop. The event was held
on November 8th in the City of San Bernardino; thank you to City Clerk Gigi Hanna and Assistant City Clerk John Paul Maier for all of your assistance in organ-izing the event. The topic “Keeping Your City in Line and Out of Trouble: Public Noticing, CEQA, the Brown Act and the Public Records Act”, was presented by Thomas Rice, Jennifer Lynch and Nancy Stubbs of Best, Best and Krieger. It was very well received by the 70 plus people in attend-ance. We kicked up the fun factor with lunch from Olive Garden and a Raffle with gifts ranging from a decorative turkey to a classic bottle of rum. Our gracious sponsors Netfile and Ameri-
can Legal were there as always to participate in the fun sprin-kling Starbucks gift cards through the crowd! Overall a very successful event. Region 6 plans to host another Regional Workshop in May, 2018, so watch for updates! We also plan to hold networking lunches at various locations throughout our Region on a monthly basis to allow our members to stay connected with each other. Hope to see you all at New Law in Newport Beach, but if we don’t Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2018!
Region 6 Director’s Message - Vicki Kasad, MMC
Eliza Garza, CMC Senior Deputy City Clerk, City of Stockton Jeremy Green, CMC City Clerk, City of Culver City Natalie F. Dominguez, CMC Public Information Representative II, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Newly Designated Clerks Andrea Carranza, MMC Deputy City Clerk, City of Coachella
Holiday Greetings from Region 9! As we forge ahead into the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for my fellow clerk professionals. I have relied on the help of so many of you, especially as we’ve been continually challenged to do more and more with less. The collaboration and support of those in our unique line of work is second to none - I am truly grateful to be part of such a wonderful com-munity.
Region 9 Director’s Message - Kerry Bigelow, MMC Along the theme of doing more with less, thirty-eight clerks participated in Region 9’s November workshop on Continuous Improvement. Facilitated by City of San Marcos City Clerk/Business Process Director Phil Scollick and myself, the workshop focused on technical skills as well as potential leadership opportunities. Continuous Improvement (“CI”) is a systematic ap-
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O F F I C I A L W O R D
Happy Holidays Everyone! My name is Yvonne Spence and I am the City Clerk for the City of Fresno, CA. In October 2017 I was appointed as Region Director for Region 4. I would like to take a moment to thank Luisa Zavala of Porterville, CA, for leading our region for the past two years. Luisa did a great job!! Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am origi-nally from Chicago, IL but I actually lived most of my life in the State of Texas. As you can imagine, I did not set out to be a City Clerk. Most of my professional career had been in records manage-ment. I worked for Sallie Mae from 1988 through 1996 in records management and student loan processing. From there I went on to work for the State of Texas as a Records Manager. At this time I started to get very involved with the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA). It was during this time that I stumbled onto a job posting for a Deputy City Clerk for the City of Austin, TX. The emphasis on this position was dealing with city records. While I didn’t really
Yvonne Spence, MMC
know what else a Deputy City Clerk did, I knew that I could manage records, so I applied for the position and got it. In 2006 I became a Certified Records Manager after rigorous studying and test-ing. I was introduced to all of the tasks that a City Clerk does and I absolutely LOVED it. I worked at the City of Austin for 10 years and that’s when I saw a recruitment for a City Clerk for the City of Fresno. I have worked for the City of Fresno for about six years now. In October of this year, I achieved my MMC designation which was a ton of work, but it was definitely worth the effort. I be-came active in IIMC and CCAC in 2012 shortly after I began working for the City of Fresno. I joined the board for the Central Division as the Treasurer and I served two terms. As Director of Region 4, I am responsible for 37 cities from Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Madera and Kern counties. I look forward to taking on my new role as Director for Region 4.
REGION 4
SPOT LIGHT
proach to examining processes in order to eliminate steps and activities that don’t add value to a process, thereby improving service delivery and ensuring employees’ skills are being used to their highest potential. The bene-fits for clerks in implementing CI in their or-ganizations are twofold: 1) To make tangible improvements in organizational effectiveness and service delivery; and 2) To demonstrate professional value by fostering positive change. Phil and I have both worked our way up the local government ranks from entry-level posi-tions to department directors/city clerks. Along the way, we each attended intensive CI training and participated in the roll out of citywide CI initiatives in our respective cities.
Region 9 Director’s Message Cont. Our CI initiatives provided us with opportuni-ties to work with different departments in our cities to help review processes and improve service delivery by focusing on value-added activities. During the training we covered CI principles and practical tools that participants could take back to their offices and begin using immediate-ly. During one exercise, participants mapped out the process of receiving a Form 700 by writing steps out on Post-It notes and placing them in order on butcher paper. We then used CI tools to identify areas for improvement and discussed next steps for implementing change. Continuous Improvement concepts can be
used to improve every type of process and is a way of thinking and acting for an entire organiza-tion. Interested in learning more? Visit www.lean.org or email me at [email protected].
P A G E 6 V O L U M E 1 8 , I S S U E 1 2 CCAC Diamond Sponsor
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O F F I C I A L W O R D
CCAC Diamond Sponsor
P A G E 8 V O L U M E 1 8 , I S S U E 1 2 CCAC Diamond Sponsor
P A G E 9
O F F I C I A L W O R D
P A G E 1 0 V O L U M E 1 8 , I S S U E 1 2
Wendy Klock-Johnson, MMC, President Assistant City Clerk, Sacramento (916) 808-7509, [email protected]
Stephanie Smith, MMC, First Vice-President City Clerk, Lake Forest (949) 461-3421, [email protected]
Patrice M. Olds, MMC, Second Vice-President City Clerk, San Mateo (650) 522-7042, [email protected]
