Button, Kelley seek clerk seat

Sandy Button and Michael Aaron Kelley are both seeking the position of City Clerk/Treasurer. Both spoke at a forum recently telling their views to the public.

Question: What’s your best argument why voters in Pea Ridge should elect you city clerk?

Kelley: “I understand the duties of the city clerk — keep control of laws and ordinances and keep the history of the town. I’ve always been a writer, got a degree in broadcast journalism. It’s something I would love to do. Also, keep the minutes of the City Council meetings and the quarterly financial status of the city.”

Button: “Maintaining the minutes, preparing the agendas and preparing information for City Council, all ordinances and resolutions — there are 650 ordinances and 450 resolutions. It also entails the financial part of the city because we’re audited by state auditors … great staff … all our financials are perfect.”

Question: Based on your evaluation of the job, how many hours per week do you plan to commit to the position? Please explain your answer.

Button: “The clerk/treasurer part of my job is going to council meetings once a month or more if there is a committee of the whole meeting, keeping track of attendance so council members can be paid, preparing agendas — items are brought to the office about 10 days before meetings. At the Council meetings, keep all the minutes, we do record them now. I type all the minutes. We have all the minutes since the 1950s. It’s mostly just that and making sure the financials are done.”

Kelley: “As far as I understand it, it should not be a full-time position, as far as what is required.”

Question: What are the duties of the city clerk, as you understand them?

Kelley: “I look on the website and it requires you to request the minutes instead of it just being there … It’s very easy to post that in a timely fashion, even video meetings to hear what’s going on.”

Button: “Because I love my job and I love to do it and I love my community. I feel like we have a very open door policy. We do have a website. That website is growing. It would be very easy to put it on the website. With my experience, I’d like to keep doing my job.”

Button has held the elected position since 1985, except for a brief hiatus from 2000-05 when she moved out of the city limits. She currently fills three positions within the city government. She is hired as office manager (since August 1977) and hired as court clerk (since November 1977) in addition to being elected clerk/treasurer.

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Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on the candidates for Pea Ridge City Clerk/Treasurer.