Carel Hicks, MMC Membership Director Utah Municipal Clerks Association c/o West Valley City 3600 Constitution Blvd West Valley City UT 84119

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1 Newsletters are published each March, June, September, December. UMCA Carel Hicks, MMC Membership Director Utah Municipal Clerks Association c/o West Valley City 3600 Constitution Blvd West Valley City UT 84119

2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Utah Municipal Clerks Association President s Message Dana Pollard, President The coming of our annual Spring Conference means that my term as president is already half over; where does the time go? I really enjoy working with the members of the UMCA Board although it offers some challenges that I was not prepared for. This has really been a learning experience for me to be associated with the great minds on the Board. Years ago a former president had the good sense to compile our position descriptions into one place for each of us to follow; it makes our job easy. Another president assembled a booklet for new recorders that I recently found and hope to have to each of you who are new in your positions. We have had so many great presidents, I think of all of you so often and the example you have set for me, however, these are pretty big boots to fill. Former presidents and UMCA Board Members have also created our UMCA Handbook, our Pictorial Directory and created the various area regions around our State. Thanks to all of you. I get excited this time of year because I know I will be going to conference and seeing my friends and acting normal without my city watching over my shoulder! It s also the time I look forward to because of the new things I will be learning along with being updated on current affairs dealing with our city recorder/clerk positions. Donna Weaver and the Education Committee have spent hours preparing for instructors to teach us for conference; thank you. Rori Andreason has worked hard with UVSC to ensure that we will have everything we need to have a successful conference; thank you. When I first became the recorder in my city, I only had a few skills and literally bluffed my way through most things. Thanks to the UMCA and networking with other recorders, most days I learned as I went along. There are many resources for all of us, particularly you new recorder/clerks. The first is the Utah Code; read it, read it, read it as it pertains greatly to our positions. You can get online at (or find it by getting on the State website at Also be sure to read your own city code; this is very important. Lastly, our very own UMCA Recorders Handbook is a great guide and has been written and updated as needed by our very own recorders throughout the State. It is also on our website at where you can download what you need. If you attend our conferences, Institute and Academy and possibly IIMC Conferences, these are all great ways to stay on top of things. Sometimes I only remember a few things from the conferences I have attended, but that is still more than I knew when I got there. Lastly, don t forget that a call to another recorder is the best resource of all. Thanks to our Webmaster, Greg Shafer, we can now communicate with one another anytime we want. Many of you have taken advantage of our website and received answers to your questions that very day! Please feel free to contact any of us, there is bound to be someone around the State wondering about the same issue as you or who has had experience in something your city/town might be considering doing. UMCA WE VE GOT YOU COVERED! See you in Orem in a few weeks! Dana Pollard, UMCA President 2

3 Conferences & New News! 2008 UMCA Spring Conference April Orem, Utah Future UMCA SPRING Conferences: CONGRATULATIONS Greg Schafer, Delta City Recorder Master Municipal Clerk Connie Ashton, Lehi City Recorder Certified Municipal Clerk 2009 City Cedar 2010 Moab 2011 St. George Future IIMC Conferences: 2008 Atlanta, Georgia May Chicago, Illinois May Reno, Nevada May Nashville, TN May Portland, Oregon May One really great tradition at Spring Conference is the giving of door prizes. Waiting to hear your name called and finding out what treasure you get to take home is always fun. Please remember to donate a door prize so everyone goes home with something. The Board Would Like to Welcome the New Clerks/Recorders: Ballard Town Kaelyn Meyers Eagle Mountain City Fionunuala Kofoed, Recorder Taylorsville City Jessica Springer, Deputy Recorder Please, welcome these recorders/clerks in your communities and encourage them to attend your regional meetings and UMCA Spring Conference Sherma Mildon, Uintah City Recorder and Meris Secrest, Ballard City Recorder/Secretary. Meris retired after nine years of service and she looks forward to spending more time with her grandkids and doing some traveling. 3

4 Institute and Academy will be held in a new location and a new time this year. The new location is at the Sandy Branch of the University of Utah at 9875 South Monroe St. (240 West). The Sandy site will provide us with the room for growth that the Fort Douglas location did not. Please note that the date is a bit earlier this year, with Institute beginning on Monday, July 28th and Academy beginning on Wednesday, July 30th. You can register by going to To see a list of the classes and course descriptions, you can check umcia/course_descriptions.html. See you in July! LET THE BIDDING BEGIN Each year the Utah Municipal Clerks Association holds it Silent Auction during the UMCA Spring conference. The money generated from the Silent Auction is given to Utah city recorder/clerks, in the form of a scholarship to attend Spring Conference or Institute / Academy. It also helps pay for other educational programs such as roving classes sponsored by the UMCA. The Silent Auction is a great opportunity for you to contribute to the UMCA Scholarship Fund by either donating and/or buying Silent Auction items. WE NEED YOU!!! If you didn't notice the that went around from our webmaster about the new Handbook Committee, please note that with the legislative session completed, it's time to put together a Handbook Committee again to review the changes that have been made to the law and update the Recorder's Handbook. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact Donna Weaver at drweaver@orem.org or If you have already attained your CMC and are working on your MMC, for serving on the committee you will receive 1 point in the Professional and Social Contribution category. Serving on this committee is fairly easy in that we don't have "meetings" as such. This is an especially good opportunity for those of you in more outlying communities to participate on a committee. Each member takes a chapter or two from the handbook (depending upon how many people wish to serve) and checks to see if there were any laws passed that will change the chapter information. If you have the Internet, it's very simple. Once the Handbook information is updated and all the chapters are completed, the finished product is submitted to Greg Shafer, UMCA Webmaster Extraordinaire, to put on the website for everyone's access. Thanks in advance for your willingness to serve! If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. Bradstreet, Anne 4

5 Service By Donna Weaver UMCA 1 st Vice President "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." ~ Albert Schweitzer A bazillion years ago, when I was in college a film came out called Lost Horizon and was based upon the book by James Hilton. Ever heard of a place called Shangri-La? Well, Shangri-La is in this story, and it s a utopia. The book really captured my imagination because of its strong contrast between the war torn real world and this wonderful little lost society the characters find. One of the messages the characters learn in Shangri-La is doing for others, and one of my favorite songs (oh, did I mention it was a musical?) is called Reflections: When you look at yourself do you like what you see? If you like what you see, you're the person you should be. 'Cause your reflection reflects in everything you do, and everything you do reflects on you. When you wake up each day do you like how you feel? If you like how you feel, you've got nothing to conceal. 'Cause your reflection reflects in everything you do, and everything you do reflects on you. Doing something for someone else isn't really for someone else. It does twice as much for you as something you do just for yourself. If you like all your dreams, life's as happy as it seems. 'Cause your reflection reflects in everything you do, and everything you do reflects on you. The part of the song I ve bolded above has a lot of truth in it, I think. I m a sucker for quotes about the mark we may leave on the world. In the film Little Lord Fauntleroy the boy s mother tells him that the world should always be a little better because a man has lived. Does this mean that I think we should all go out and run for President of the United States or some other such nationally or worldwide public contribution? No! I think that we as clerks and recorders are making a contribution to our communities by our public service, especially when we take the time to go above and beyond the call of duty. But I would like to suggest that each of you consider where you can broaden your impact on your little part of the world, and I hope you will consider running for the UMCA Board. Going back to the lyrics above, I want to affirm that my time serving on the Board has been a very educational experience for me. I hope that I have contributed something to our organization as well, but I know that my service has done much more for me than I could ever hope to do for each of you. It doesn t hurt that, for those of you working on your MMCs, you get lots of points in the Professional and Social Contribution requirements category. We have the secretary and two director positions up this year. Please consider sharing your talents with us. Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes When you lay down to sleep do you like all your dreams? 5

6 ROVING TRAINING TO BE OFFERED Each year the UMCA Board provides training opportunities closer to home for its members. In September UMCA will be sponsoring instruction in Introductory and Intermediate Excel at Bridgerland Technology College in Logan, Salt Lake Community College, Southern Utah University in Cedar City and Snow College or the College of Eastern Utah at a minimal fee to its members. These classes will run four hours each and the fee will include an instruction manual. Specific dates and fees will be available at Spring Conference so we look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at nancy.dean@clearfieldcity.org. The Board is interested in providing roving training that will benefit all of its members. If you have a specific subject you would like to see in a roving training class let me know at nancy.dean@clearfieldcity.org or (801) ORDINANCE WEBSITE Have you ever been asked by your City Council to write an ordinance and didn t know where to begin? Well there is help out there. The State of Utah has a website dedicated to sample land use ordinances from around the State. The address is While the library is not intended to be comprehensive, it will provide you with several ordinances to help guide you in tailoring zoning ordinances to your own unique situation. Below is a sample of some of the categories of ordinances on the website: Critical Lands, Recreation, and Open Space Infrastructure and Transportation Land Uses, Districts, and Zones Landscaping, Lighting, Construction Methods, and Design Subdivisions, Planned Developments, and Density Incentives Signs, Storage, Junk, and Nuisances Variances There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. Colin Powell 6

7 UPDATE! State Noticing Website Gina Peterson, UMCA Education Chair Last year the Legislature amended the Open and Public Meetings Act to require all agendas for public meetings to be posted on the Utah Public Notice Website (UCA 63F-1-701) beginning April 1, Tiffany O Sheal from the State Archives division has been assigned as the website administrator. Most of you have been aware of this requirement for some time and may have already attended training offered regarding the website. As an update, The Legislature passed Senate Bill 38 Transparency in Local Government. This extends the compliance date for posting on the website from April 1, 2008 to October 1, The Archives is still planning on the website going live April 1, The six month extension will be a good time for trial and error, as well as getting Recorders/Clerks used to the extra step in our noticing requirements. As a note, Senate Bill 38 contains many provisions that might be interesting for you to review. Remember, for those cities and towns that have an annual budget of less than $1 million, you are encouraged to post your agendas on the website, but not required. Senate Bill 38 also prohibits a court from voiding a final action taken by a public body for failure to post an agenda on the State website if the posting is made for a meeting that is held prior to April 1, Restated, this means that for meetings held after April 1, 2009 actions taken during that meeting can be voided if not noticed on the website. Certain criteria apply including that any legal action must commence between 30 and 90 days of the meeting, depending on the action; or if the failure to post the meeting was a result of an unforeseen technological failure. We all know those can happen! One additional bill that affects the Public Notice Website is Senate Bill 32 Local Government Bonding Act. The effective date of this bill is May 2008 and requires public hearing notices for bonding to be posted on the State website. In my experience, often these notices are generated by bond counsel who then submits the notice to the newspaper on the city s behalf. You ll need to ensure you work closely with your bond counsel to get the information posted on the Public Notice Website. In talking with Tiffany O Sheal she noted that currently this will be the only public notice (aside from agendas) that will be required to be posted. Standard public hearing notices for zoning, etc are not required to be posted on the website outside of the agenda. This may change in future Legislative Sessions. Lastly, if you have not submitted your city information to Tiffany O Sheal, this needs to be done as soon as possible. She is completing the framework for the website that will include each city s information. You can contact her at tosheal@utah.gov and view training schedules for the website at (At members requests, UMCA is currently working on getting approval for this training to count for certification points. We ll keep you posted if it s approved.) I realize this is a lot of information, and there is no need to be intimidated. Feel free to contact me at gina@highlandcity.org if you have questions. The Utah Public Notice Website was designed to assist the public process and encourage public awareness and that s a great thing. If you d like to see the full versions of these bills, please visit the following websites: Transparency in Local Government: sb0038s06.htm Local Government Bonding Act: sb0032s02.htm 7

8 Guidelines for Certification Gina Peterson, UMCA Education Chair IIMC has extended the grace period for compliance to the CMC/MMC certifications until December 31, They are encouraging all members to do their utmost to take advantage of the extra time to finish up the necessary work for your CMC or MMC designation. I d like to personally challenge those of you close to obtaining your CMC or MMC to push for it before this deadline. Let s make this a record year for certifications in Utah! I m willing to mentor or assist anyone in the process. IMPORTANT: The requirement for pre-approval of classes still applies. Prior to attending an education or certificate program offered by other organizations, the student shall seek and obtain approval of the program from the IMC Education Department. Now, a little bit more about the grace period: If you re working on a CMC designation and: 1. If you ve successfully completed an Institute course at the University of Utah prior to January 1, 2007 keep reading. Otherwise go to Section 2. a. Your criteria for obtaining Education points toward the CMC designation is 50 Education Points / 100 Institute hours. b. If you have not completed your education requirements by January 1, 2009 the remainder of your point accumulation shall be the same 50 Education Points / 100 Institute hours. However, instead of points from a college degree counting as 50 points, the point level will vary from 5 to 20 points based on the type and level of college degree. 2. If you have entered Institute at the University of Utah in or after 2007 you fall under the new criteria of 60 Education Points / 120 Institute hours. Any points for a college degree are also based on the new criteria. If you re working on your MMC designation see the flow chart on the following page prepared by IIMC: Murphy s Work Law Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted. 8

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10 BEAR RIVER AREA GROUP (BRAG) Box Elder, Cache and Rich counties. REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS President Sheila Lind, River Heights 1st Vice President Char Izatt, Smithfield City 2nd Vice President Darlene Hess, Tremonton Secretary/Treasurer Beverly Schiefer, Paradise Town CENTRAL UTAH RECORDERS (CURA) Carbon, Juab, Utah and Wasatch counties President Mary Burgin, Pleasant Grove City Vice President Debbie Cullimore, Lindon City Secretary Gretchen Gordon, City of Cedar Hills Treasurer Lori Yates, Saratoga Springs City Past President Venla Gubler, Springville City DAVIS, MORGAN, WEBER RECORDERS (DMWRA) Davis, Morgan and Weber counties Chair LeeAnn Peterson, Ogden City Vice Chair Erika Ahlstrom, South Weber Secretary Theida Wellman, Layton City Treasurer Sue Richey, North Ogden Past President Annette Spendlove, North Ogden. GREATER SALT LAKE CLERKS/RECORDERS (GSLCRA) Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties President Konni Thompson, Oakley City Vice President, Sharon Dawson, Tooele City Secretary Melanie Briggs, West Jordan City Treasurer Kate Black, Alta Town Past President Cindi Lopicolo, Park City NORTHEASTERN RECORDERS (NRA) Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties President Roxanne Behunin, Vernal City Secretary/Treasurer Nikki Kay, Naples City SOUTH CENTRAL UTAH RECORDERS (SCURA) Emery, Piute, Millard, Sanpete, Sevier and Wayne counties President City Conae Black, Green River City Vice President Sherri Westbrook, Salina City Secretary Jeane Wood, Elsinore City Past President Jimie Jones, Huntington City SOUTHEAST UTAH RECORDERS (SURA) Grand and San Juan counties SOUTHWEST REGIONAL MUNICIPAL CLERKS (SRMCA) Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties Contact Person Rachel Ellison, Moab City Chairman Nancy Leigh, Brian Head Town Vice Chair Michelle Thone, Hurricane City Secretary Vickie Schulkoski, Escalante Town Treasurer Renon Savage, Cedar City 10

11 UMCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Dana B. Pollard, CMC South Ogden City Recorder 3950 Adams Avenue South Ogden V F dpollard@southogdencity.com 1st Vice President Donna Weaver, CMC Orem City Recorder 56 N State St Orem V F drweaver@orem.org 2nd Vice President Rori L. Clark, MMC Midvale City Recorder 655 W. Center Street Midvale V F rclark@midvale.com Past President Rose Mary Jones, MMC Millville City Recorder PO BOX E 300 S Millville H V F rmjx2@quixnet.net Secretary Lee Ann Peterson, CMC Ogden City Chief Deputy 2549 Washington Blvd, ST210 Ogden V F leeannpeterson@ci.ogden.ut.us Treasurer Stephanie N. Carlson, CMC Holladay City Recorder 4707 S. Holladay Blvd Holladay V F scarlson@cityofholladay.com Education Chair Gina Peterson, CMC Highland City Recorder 5378 W N Highland V F Education Director Nancy Dean, CMC Clearfield City Recorder 55 S State St Clearfield UT V F Membership Chair Mary Kate Christensen, CMC Brigham City Recorder 20 N. Main Street Brigham City, V F mchristensen@brighamcity.utah.gov Membership Director Carel Hicks, MMC WVC Deputy Recorder 3600 Constitution Blvd. West Valley City UT V F chicks@wvc-ut.gov