City of Swift Current, Saskatchewan honor provincial city clerks May 5-11

SUBMITTED

Jackie Schlamp, President to the Saskatchewan Association of City Clerks (SACC) and City Clerk for the City of Swift Current, would like to raise awareness that May 5th to May 11th, 2024, is celebrated by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) as Professional Municipal Clerks Week. Ms. Schlamp encourages all Saskatchewan municipalities to recognize their professional municipal clerk – whether that is a “City Clerk” RM or a Town “Administrator” for serving as the professional link between citizens, local governing bodies, and agencies of government at other levels.

Although it is one of the oldest positions in local government, few people realize the vital services that municipal clerks or administrators perform for their community.

Primarily, they function as the cornerstone of their council. They keep the official records of the municipality, prepare council agendas, records, and minutes, maintain council’s ordinance and resolutions files, oversee all Privacy and Access requests, and facilitate the research, interpretation, and establishments of bylaws and agreements within each associated repository. Other responsibilities include overseeing the appointments to external boards and committees and assisting within each governance structure, in addition to conducting local elections. In Rural Municipalities or towns, an Administrator also serves as the financial officer and administrative head of the municipality, otherwise known as the Chief Administrative Officer.

Jackie Schlamp explains that to simply list the services provided by municipal clerks is barely scratching the surface of the duties they perform. “Our profession is comprised of individuals who are efficient, extremely knowledgeable, service-driven, rather than ego-driven, and who approach every situation from a supportive perspective,” she explains, “We do everything from agendas, minutes, bylaw management, administering of agreements, scheduling, providing historical context, to guiding priorities with the mayor, Council, and the CAO – and we are responsible to keep everything on course, and to ensure that the public is also informed of notices and Council resolutions.”

“It is my hope that all municipalities observe Professional Municipal Clerks Week by expressing their appreciation toward these professionals,” she continued, “because although they typically go about their business without insisting on recognition, now is a great time to acknowledge them as the vital and resourceful assets they are, to local government.”