Important Dates to Remember FEBRUARY Telephone: Web-site: Greetings Members,

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1 FEBRUARY 2014 Telephone: Web-site: President Debra Mangen, MMC City of Edina 4801 W 50 th St. Edina, MN Phone: dmangen@ci.edina.mn.us Vice President Renee Eckerly, MCMC City of Paynesville 221 Washburne Ave. Paynesville, MN Phone: ReneeE@paynesvillemn.com Secretary Terri Boese, MCMC City of Dassel PO Box 391 Dassel, MN Terri.boese@dassel.com Treasurer Melissa Barker, MMC City of Independence 1920 County Rd 90 Independence, MN Phone: mbarker@ci.independence.mn.us Director-at-Large Daniel Buchholtz, CMC City of Spring Lake Park st Ave NE Spring Lake Park, MN dbuchholtz@slpmn.org Administrative Assistant David Spencer, MMC 401 State Street Tracy, MN Phone: dspencer@iw.net Greetings Members, Happy New Year! Thank you, thank you thank you for a wonderful year. I have been honored to serve as your President and blessed by all the new relationships made during this past year. Your support has meant more than I can express. The annual March conference is almost here. Thank you to Renee Eckerly and the Planning Committee for putting together this year s conference being mindful of the theme Learning is Growth! Let s grow together! You will all have opportunities for growth as you attend breakout sessions, listen to the key notes and of course network with your fellow clerks. In May of this year the Executive Board met with Karen Ray, to do some strategic planning. We agreed mutually that we would be best served by developing some initiatives that could be worked on through upcoming years. To that end, we have slightly restructured our March vendor show to begin on Wednesday night and also begin our Silent Auction that evening. It is our hope to increase member participation. Proceeds usually fund two members attendance at the IIMC Conference in May. Since the IIMC Conference this May will be in Milwaukee, it s our hope to send more than two members. Please make every effort to participate in the Silent Auction either by donating items or bidding. Can we send four, or how about six!!! Thank you to the Regional Vice Presidents. I have enjoyed attending your regional meetings from Orinoco to Bemidji. It has been wonderful to join in your regional meetings. This is another great networking opportunity. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Mahatma Gandi Important Dates to Remember March 18-21, 2014 MCFOA Conference in St. Cloud April 28-May 2, 2014 Minnesota Municipal Clerks Institute at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth May 18-22, 2014 IIMC Conference-Milwaukee, WI

2 DARLA BERRY, VP CITY CLERK P.O. Box H NEW YORK MILLS, MN PHONE: (218) darlanymcity@arvig.net Our annual holiday get together was held in Detroit Lakes on Saturday December 14. There were a couple of retired clerks that attended as well as a few of us still working. We had a good time despite a low turnout. Later this year we are going to survey our membership to see if we should change things up for our next annual holiday get together. We are thinking of changing to a different less hectic month and perhaps rotating to different locations within the region We had a great turnout at our Region 1 meeting in Bemidji held on Friday, January 10, Our MCFOA President Deb Mangen attended, traveling all the way to Bemidji from Edina, Minnesota. I had 24 attendees sign in on the attendance roster! We heard from Scott Mueller, Special Investigator, with the Alcohol Gambling and Enforcement Division on Liquor Licensing. There was a power point presentation and a great back and forth dialogue about common questions we all had with liquor licensing, from caterer s permits to wine licensing, specialty permits such as for ethyl alcohol, and the upcoming e-licensing later this year. The afternoon session was on the State s Pay Equity reporting, and Cyndee Gmach gave a great overview of the reporting requirements. Cities are subject to reporting every three years, so make sure you don t miss the January 31 deadline if 2014 is your reporting year. Don t forget to make your plans to participate in the Silent Auction Fundraiser for the March 2014 Conference. Colleen Lindgren and Kay Murphy will be putting together a basket for Region 1. In addition to a region basket, I encourage all of you to put together your own basket for the silent auction. This could include items representative of your City, or it could be something that reflects your personal interests in crafts or homemade items. Or, simply think of something you could purchase or maybe re-gift to put in the silent auction. We will again be holding Regional meetings at the conference, but the format will be more of a roundtable/networking event this year. Please note that Region 1 has been assigned the color red to unify those from our region. Please try to plan to wear a red shirt or outfit to the region 1 meeting on Wednesday of the Conference. If you have any suggestions for discussion topics, please forward them to me at any time. As always, I thank you, the members, for allowing me to serve as your regional Vice President. My term will be ending with the March 2015 Conference, so in the fall of 2014 we will need someone else in the region to step up and take over by submitting his/her paperwork to the nominating committee to become the next Region 1 MCFOA Vice President. KATHY BROPHY, VP CLERK CITY OF AITKIN 109 1ST AVENUE NW AITKIN, MN PHONE: aitkincityhall@charterinternet.net Brrrr... How is everyone handling the cold weather? I've been able to experience snowmobiling this winter -- it is really FUN -- but, not when it's super cold out. Region II held a training/ meeting session on January 17th in Grand Rapids -- thank you Kim & Lynn for hosting!! Mike McManus and Holly Phillips from the MN Dept of Public Safety Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement gave their Liquor Laws & Info for Licensing Officials presentation. We had 22 clerks in attendance!! The conference is right around the corner, as I'm sure you are aware. Please start putting together Silent Auction items. If you need help, please just let me know!! Looking forward to seeing you in March!! VAL MARTIN, VP-CLERK/ TREASURER/EDA DIRECTOR PO BOX 320 ASHBY, MN ashbycit@prtel.com Happy winter everyone! January 30 th our training will be held in Cold Spring with information on sales tax exemption, step/grade plans and pay equity compliance. We have a full day planned followed by a tour of the Cold Spring Brewery. I encourage all members to attend our conference coming up in March. It is a great way to do some networking along with learning some new skills. I always seem to come away with some great tools to do a better job for my city. Remember to wear purple on Wednesday to let everyone know you are from Region III. Along with that, isn t it great that the IIMC is so close this year Milwaukee. I am so excited to attend my first IIMC conference and of course, ride the bus. I hope to see many of you there. If you have some ideas on great topics or would like to host a Region III meeting, let us know. Please feel free to call me or the assistant VP Andrea Swenson from Starbuck if you have any questions or concerns.

3 AUDRA ETZEL, VP CITY OF ROCKFORD 6031 MAIN STREET ROCKFORD, MN We recently held a Regional meeting in Eden Prairie on January 22 nd. The League of Minnesota Cites presented information on Data Practices and the Minnesota Historical Society had information on Records Retention. Both topics were well received. Thank you to the Kitty Porta and the City of Eden Prairie for making us feel welcome! Our meeting also included a visit from Bill Craig, an Ambassador with the League of MN Cities. Kary Tillmann the Clerk for Zimmerman did a brief presentation on her IIMC Travel Abroad Trip to Scotland. MCFOA President Deb Mangen gave an update on the Minnesota Master s Certification being presented at the MCFOA Conference and other happenings. We also discussed the nomination for Region IV Vice President since my term is up this year. The group recommended nominating Audra for the next two year term thank you for your support. Cathy Sorenson and I are meeting in the near future to finalize our Region IV meeting at the MCFOA Conference and to plan a spring meeting. If you have a meeting location and/or topic, please me at: audrae@cityofrockford.org or call me at I hope to see you all at the MCFOA conference in March! There will be many informative sessions being offered and it is a great opportunity for networking! Wednesday is Focus on Your Region and we will have the opportunity to enjoy lunch together and welcome the new members followed by a brief region meeting. Members of each region are encouraged to show your MCFOA Spirit and wear your Regional color our color is BLUE! Speaking of the conference our region will be putting together baskets for the silent auction. The funds raised from the silent auction are used to send MCFOA Conference participants to the IIMC Conference. This year the IIMC is May 18 th to May 22 nd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Any donation (cash/gifts/gift certificates/handmade items) are greatly appreciated. Kary has graciously agreed (again) to organize baskets for our region. Let Kary know if you have items to donate and/or you can send your donations to Kary Tillmann, c/o City of Zimmerman, Fremont Avenue, Zimmerman, MN Contact Kary if you have any questions or concerns at (763) x-22 or ktillmann@izoom.net if you have questions. Prizes are also needed for the MCFOA Conference Mixer on Wednesday evening. Please consider bringing donations of: city mugs, shirts, bags, bottles of wine, etc Lastly, if you or a MCFOA member is retiring, please let me know and we ll help celebrate their years of service as a city employee! Stay warm and see you soon! KERRY RAUSCH, V-P, CITY OF EAGLE LAKE, 705 PARKWAY AVE, PO BOX 159, EAGLE LAKE, MN 56024, deputyclerk@eaglelakemn.com Wow! Even though we are in the middle of one of the coldest winters in a long time and we can already be looking forward to the MCFOA Spring Conference in just a few short months, March 18-21, 2014 in St. Cloud. I look forward to meeting you at the conference. Not sure if you should attend the conference? I can personally testify that it is money well spent. Not only will you get the benefit of OUTSTANDING training sessions, you will also have many opportunities to network. This is as valuable as the training. Wednesday afternoon there will be a breakout sessions designed to allow for networking. There will also be a Regional Luncheon in which each region is encouraged to dine together. We are also asking that each region wear a specified color shirt on Wednesday. Region V is asked to where GREEN. Let s see how many Shades of GREEN we can wear that day. To find out more information about the conference please visit downloads/2014mcfoa_registration_brochure.pdf. Again this year, the Conference will be hosting a Silent Auction beginning on Thursday with the proceeds being used for scholarships. Each region is asked to provide at least one gift basket for the silent auction. This year I would like to dedicate Region V s gift basket to one of our own who as diagnosis with breast cancer this past fall. I would like to pull together a Breast Cancer Awareness basket. My line of thinking for this basket is to include ALL THINGS PINK. I am considering crocheting a pink lap blanket or pink fingerless gloves. I would like to ask each of you to consider donating to this ALL PINK basket. If you can supply something pink to include in this basket please let me know what it is, either by phone or (see above). You can either bring it to the Conference, or send it to me, but I need to know in advance what we have so I can purchase an appropriate size basket. Another option is to donate cash by sending a donation to MCFOA-Region V, City of Eagle Lake, PO Box 159, Eagle Lake, MN (Attn: Kerry). What can we include as gift ideas? How about a pink bath scubby, pink bottle of hand lotion, pink fireman s tee-shirt from your city get the idea? I will pull together some breast cancer awareness literature to include in the basket. Until then, I would like to encourage you to Make it a Great Day! LINDA RAPPE, VP-CITY CLERK TH STREET SE, KASSON, MN PHONE: (507) zoning@cityofkasson.com As I am writing this newsletter we will be holding a Region VI meeting tomorrow January 23 in Red Wing. Cyndee Gmach from Pay Equity and Jeanette Behr and Irene Kao from the League of MN Cities will be presenting Data Practices. A big Thank you goes out to Lisa Acker from Red Wing for all of her help. If anyone s has changed please let me know I have been getting a few bounced back to me. Also if you know of anyone new in a nearby town or anyone that is retiring or leaving their position please let me know.

4 INSTITUTE & ADVANCED ACADEMY GRANTS MCFOA FUNDRAISING EVENT Grants are available again this year for the Institute and the Advanced Academy. The increments are now $200, $300 and $400 and the application is included with this newsletter. There will also be Advanced Academy grants offered again this year in the amount of $150. That form is also included in this newsletter or you may obtain both Grant Applications under the forms section at or contact David Spencer at The list of grant recipients will be available for the business meeting at the March Conference. There will be a Silent Auction during the March conference to raise money to send selected MCFOA members to the annual IIMC conference. Items donated to the auction must have a value of at least $15. Items can be turned in with GTS staff when you check in for the conference or to the auction committee. Now is the time to start thinking about silent auction donations. Get creative and coordinate a themed basket with your County or Region Clerks. Maybe contact a local merchant that might be willing to contribute to the auction. Thank you in advance for your participation Shari Moore, St. Paul, Cathy Sorensen, Coon Rapids, Jo Thieling, Ramsey Barb Held, St. Francis, Kary Tillman, Zimmerman, Marita Rhude, Barrett Joan Taylor, Granite Falls Darla Berry, New York Mills, Val Martin, Ashby, Debra Mangen, Edina. Board Positions Open Please consider serving on the MCFOA Executive board. It is a great way to participate in the future of our organization. Positions open this year are: Treasurer, Region 2, Region 4 and Region 6 Regional Vice President. The new Executive Board will be chosen by vote of the body at the March Conference Annual Business Meeting during the Conference in St. Cloud. If you are interested in applying for a board position, you need to send a completed application and a letter of support from your Mayor/Council to Glen Pederson. The deadline for submittal will be Friday, March 14 th. Current executive board members, other than the current President, also must submit their application/letter if they wish to move up on the board. Applications can be found under the forms section of the MCFOA website Note that Glen Pederson, Nominating Committee Chair s address is on the bottom of the application. IIMC Region VI Director update LINDA RAPPE, CITY CLERK th Street SE, MN PHONE: (507) zoning@cityofkasson.com We have the BUS!!!!! Everyone should have received the forms and information to ride the bus to the IIMC Conference in Milwaukee in May! If you did not get the forms please check the MCFOA website and print them off there. The bus will hold 47 so sign up soon! The deadline for the deposit is March 1. IIMC will be continuing a program they started last year, Clerks in our region who have never been an IIMC member get a one-year complimentary membership if they attend the conference. There is a discount for the conference being held in our region of $50 AND if you are a first time conference attendee there is another $50 discount on the registration fee. Please check out the IIMC website for more details, there is a preliminary conference program on the website. IIMC is lowering the cost from $195 per session to $179 for Academy sessions at the conference AND offering a $50 discount if you sign up for more than one session! The IIMC Region VI meeting has been set for January at the Marriott in Bloomington. The education session on Friday will be an Athenian Dialogue on the book The Junction Boys by Jim Dent. We have a wonderful number of Minnesota people attending! We will hold the Region VI business meeting on Saturday morning. Please take advantage of the scholarships that IIMC/MCEF (Minnesota Clerks Education Foundation) offer. They have scholarships to attend our state Institute and Advanced Academy. There are scholarships to attend the IIMC Annual Conference also. Please check out and go to the Education tab and there is a drop down for scholarships and grants. During our IIMC Mid-Year Board meeting in Savannah Georgia in November the Board voted to increase the Athenian Dialogue points to 3 points (up from 2) but to limit the points you can earn with Athenians to 18 to use towards accreditation. I want you to know that there was quite a controversy over limiting the number of credits for Athenians and I was one of about 7 that voted no to limit the number of credits for Athenians.

5 MINNESOTA MUNICIPAL CLERKS INSTITUTE GRANT APPLICATION FOR YEARS I, II, & III Sponsored by THE MUNICIPAL CLERKS AND FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION Grants are awarded in $200, $300 and $400 increments. You must be a paid member to apply-if you have not paid your dues you may send your $35 membership fee along with the grant application. Name Address Zip Code Telephone Position City Population 1. What year of the institute will you be attending? I II III 2. Do you supervise any employees? Yes No If so, how many? 3. How many years have you been in your present position? 4. How many years of related experience do you have? Where? 5. What is your highest level of education completed in years? 6. Since the grants are only partial, how will you fund the remainder of the costs? 7. Will you be receiving wages while attending the institute? Yes No 8. Do you have to use vacation time to attend the institute? Yes No 9. If your city does not receive a grant will you still attend? Yes No 10. What is your budget for training this year? 11. Are you a paid member of the MCFOA? Yes No IIMC? Yes No 12. Have you applied for an MCEF Grant through the IIMC? Yes No Please Mail your completed application no later than March 1st to: David D. Spencer MCFOA Administrative Assistant 401 State Street Tracy, Minnesota Telephone: Home-(507) Work-(507) dspencer@iw.net Revised 10/2012

6 MINNESOTA MUNICIPAL CLERKS ADVANCED ACADEMY GRANT APPLICATION Sponsored by THE MUNICIPAL CLERKS AND FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION Grants are awarded in $150 increments. You must be a paid member of the MCFOA to apply-if you have not paid your dues you may send your $35 membership fee along with the grant application. You must also have completed years I, II, & III of the Minnesota Municipal Clerks Institute, or have your CMC, MMC, or MCMC Certification to be eligible for this grant. Name Address Zip Code Telephone Position City Population 1. Are you a member of the MN Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers Assn (MCFOA)? Yes No a. Are you a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC)? Yes No 2. How many years have you been a member of the MCFOA? IIMC? 3. Did you receive your MCMC, if so what year? 4. Did you complete the 3 year Institute Program? Yes No If yes, year completed 5. Have you received your CMC? Yes No if so what year? 6. Are you pursuing your Master Municipal Clerk Certification from the IIMC? Yes No 7. Are you planning to use the Advanced Academy points for your MMC? Yes No 8. If your city does not receive a grant will you still attend? Yes No 9. Do you plan to use the Advanced Academy for professional development? Yes No Please mail your completed application no later than March 1st to: David D. Spencer MCFOA Administrative Assistant 401 State Street Tracy, Minnesota Telephone: Home-(507) Work-(507) dspencer@iw.net Revised 10/2012