With a history dating back to biblical times, municipal clerks are among the oldest public servants in local governments.
They play a varied and vital role in the communities they serve and that work is highlighted each year by Municipal Clerks Week.
The 49th annual event began Sunday and will continue until May 12.
MCW features a series of activities that are designed to raise public awareness about the office of municipal/city clerks and the services they provide for the governments and communities for which they work, according to information provided by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
The IIMC is a professional, nonprofit association with 14,500 members, including deputy and municipal clerks who represent cities, towns, townships, villages, boroughs and counties throughout the U.S., Canada and 15 other countries.
El Dorado City Clerk Heather McVay is part of that network, and like the IIMC, McVay has said citizens are often unaware of the resources they can find in the city clerk’s office.
“The city clerk’s office is a great source of information for the public, city staff, government agencies and elected officials," she previously told the News-Times. “The city clerk’s office is often a distribution center of information pertaining to city issues, events and meetings.”
Mary Kayser, IIMC president and city secretary of Fort Worth, Texas, made similar statements.
“The true worth of the municipal and deputy clerk is often not realized but clerks perform some of the principal functions of the democratic process,” Kayser said.
McVay explained that the city clerk’s primary duties and responsibilities are prescribed by state law.
“Like the mayor, the city clerk works for and answers to the citizens of El Dorado,” she said.
Duties and responsibilities
IIMC members said the main function of the municipal clerk is to serve as the foundation of the city council.
Other clerk duties include, but are not limited to, preparing agendas, taking official minutes, maintaining ordinance and resolutions files, keeping the municipality’s historical records, processing permits and serving as the clearinghouse for information about the local government.
As the official custodian of El Dorado city records, which date back to the 1800s, McVay also maintains the city’s archives, including contracts, agreements and deeds.
While not mandated by the state to do so, McVay keeps current listings of all city boards, commissions and committees; accepts applications from candidates who wish to serve on those bodies; and advertises vacancies.
Additionally, she provides appropriate correspondence between the chairman and members of those board, schedules meetings, prepares agendas and records the minutes while making them all available to the public.
In her time as city clerk — McVay was appointed to fill an unexpired term in 2013 and she was elected to her first four-year term the following year —, McVay has made sweeping changes in her City Hall office.
The city clerk’s office has relocated to the second floor of City Hall, allowing more space for city ordinance/resolution books, which were previously kept in a city vault.
To update functions in the city clerk’s office and better serve the community, McVay has launched an long-running effort to digitize city records and make them available to the public online.
She also created and maintains the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
“Because some elements of government are constantly changing, clerks must stay current of changes so they can advise their council and inform their community,” Kayser said. “As the focus of each level of government changes, clerks must also adapt.”
‘I like to have my finger on the pulse of the entire city’
McVay also does her part to promote El Dorado.
In 2015, she was instrumental in bringing the University of Arkansas Municipal Clerks Institute District 2 Spring Workshop to El Dorado for the first time.
As organizer and director of the 2015 workshop, McVay worked with local businesses and individuals to welcome 50 municipal clerks from cities across the state — many of whom had never visited El Dorado.
“It was a perfect opportunity to showcase what all El Dorado has to offer,” she said at the time.
Later that year, the Arkansas Municipal League named the event the Workshop of the Year.
McVay routinely attends such events in Arkansas and around the country to sharpen her skills, learn new material and stay abreast of and increase her knowledge of the latest developments in technology/computer applications, records management and other information that is relevant to the ever-changing job of city clerk.
She is a member of the Arkansas City Clerks, Recorders and Treasurers Association, having served as chairman of Membership Development, chairman of the Newsletter Committee and other committees, including the ACCRTA website and Facebook committees.
Earlier this year, McVay, along with Mayor Frank Hash and Alderman Dianne Hammond, earned continuing education hours and maintained her status as a Certified Municipal Official with the Arkansas Municipal League.
During Municipal Clerks Week, clerks around the world will be engaging in activities to familiarize their respective communities with the functions of the municipal clerk’s office.
McVay said her door on the second floor of City Hall is always open to meet the needs of the public.
“I like to have my finger on the pulse of the entire city,” she said.
“I have truly enjoyed seeing what all has been accomplished in the short time that I have held the office of city clerk,” McVay continued. “I am extremely excited to see all of the wonderful things we can accomplish in the coming years if we all work together for the greater good of El Dorado.”
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected].