Dee Werbrich, Editor
www.omca.us
Spring 2017
Follow the Yellow Brick Road…
I don’t know about the rest of you
but here in Green we have had
some weather like Kansas and I was
glad it didn’t turn into a twister. I
did make it to the IIMC Region V
meeting in Michigan, not OZ but it
was great too. We learned and
INSIDE
Committee News
 Administrative
 Communications
 Legislative Review
 Membership Services
 Professional





Development
Ways and Means
Region V. News
IIMC News
What’s New
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3
4
5
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6
7
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OUR MISSION
The Ohio Municipal Clerks
Association advances the
municipal clerks profession
through education, networking
and member benefits, which
establishes clerks as experts in
their field and leaders in the
communities they serve.
made new friends all at once.
Fifteen members from Ohio
attended which was a pretty good
turnout from another state. Next
up is the IIMC conference in
Montreal. I’m so excited to
represent the OMCA at this
conference and can’t wait to go. If
you will be going, please let me
know. I might have a little surprise
for you. Following that will be the
OMCA Annual Institute this year
being held in Cleveland. We’ve
changed it up a little this year and I
hope you like the changes. We will
have a few breakout sessions and
each day focuses on one of
these…your brain, heart or
courage. We have two really great
speakers coming in that we have
not had since 2010 and were very
well liked then. We will be having
fun lunch activities to help
everyone get to know each other
and will take a boat trip on the
Goodtime III for dinner on Tuesday
night. If you haven’t sent in your
registration do it NOW. We have
lowered the price to make it
affordable and I’m promising you
this is a conference you don’t want
to miss. If you can’t come for the
whole time, we have a one day
price available too. Hope to see
you all there. Don’t make me
drop a house on you. Get those
registrations in.
Administrative Committee News
Meet City Board Member – Diane (Dee) Werbrich, CMC
1. How long have you been a
Clerk?
I originally started with the City of
Moraine as the part-time Deputy Clerk
of Council and was thrown into the fire
immediately. Soon after I was hired,
the Clerk became ill and I had to fill in
doing all of the meetings and clerk
duties. It was a bit overwhelming and I
found it very interesting. If anyone
knows me, I like challenges and this
period of time was very challenging.
After the City downsized and
eliminated the Deputy Clerk position, I
transferred to the Fire Division where I
worked as the Fire Chief’s secretary for
almost 8 years. I have been the fulltime Clerk since January 2014 when
the Clerk suddenly resigned. I learned
on the fly and found I really enjoyed
the daily changing duties—you know
when you come in, you never know
what you are going to face.
2. What did you do before
becoming a clerk?
I spent several years working for the
Federal government in Washington,
DC. After I retired at age 35 during the
Federal government downsizing era, I
moved back home to Miamisburg and
got married. At the C.I.A., I was an
Information Management Officer and
was the Chief of an Information
Services Center for the Offices of
Congressional Affairs and the
Comptroller. During my career at the
Agency, I served many senior members
of staff including a few of the Directors
and was instrumental in a couple of
their confirmation hearings. I worked
long, long hours and enjoyed every
minute of every day there.
3. What is your favorite part of
the job?
Honestly, the favorite part of being a
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
clerk to me is the opportunity it gives
me to meet members of the public and
to work with many different City staff
members. I enjoy working hard for the
Mayor and Council and volunteering
my time in the community. As I said
above, I also like waking up, getting
here and seeing how the day unfolds.
4. Least favorite part of your job.
Maybe I am too new, but there isn’t
much I don’t like about this job. If I
had to name something, it would be
the job is very time consuming. I work
long hours and do a lot of meetings
which plays into my workaholic
personality. Sometimes it is good to
relax and take some time off and I
never feel I can do that without getting
behind in my duties.
5. Most memorable clerk
moment.
Only have had one, which was
receiving my CMC. I never ever
thought I would actually ever get to
the point where I would earn my
certification. Now that I have, I can’t
wait until I earn my MMC. Thank
goodness my council supports me in
this endeaveor.
myself but have yet to lose!! Hahaha.
Heck she sends me $50 every week I
win!!
7. Tell us a little about your
family, hobbies anything else
you want to share
Something people may not know about
me is that I have been fortunate to be
inducted into three softball Halls of
Fame. I was inducted into the MidAtlantic Hall of Fame, the Fairfax
County Hall of Fame and the City of
Dayton Hall of Fame. I have been on
several championship teams and have
travelled all over the country playing
softball. I have been retired from
playing for many years, but this Jine I
will be participating in the Senior
Olympics in Alabama. I can’t wait to
see some old friends form VA and
hopefully bring home a gold medal.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Clerks Rock!!!”
6. What do you do in your free
time?
In my free time, I am the Varsity
Softball Coach at Chaminade-Julienne
H.S. in Dayton, OH. I have been the
Varisty coach for 18 years. When we
are not in season, I enjoy working in
my yard or on my house. I try to keep
in shape and recently found myself
addicted to my Fitbit—yep you read
that right, addicted to my fitbit – who
does that! Ha ha. To explaine, I am in a
Fitbit challenge with my sister-in-law
and I find myself obsessed with making
sure I beat her every week—I exhaust
Page 2
www.omca.us
Administrative Committee News - Continued
Meet Village Board Member – Mollie Ann Prasher, CMC
Our second featured member is
Village Board Member Mollie
Prasher.
When asked how long she has been a
clerk. Mollie replied, “Ten years.”
When asked what she did before
becoming a Clerk. Mollie responded,
“I was a Membership/Marketing
Director for the Licking County Family
YMCA”.
When we asked Mollie what her
favorite part of her job is. She
replied, “I like the daily diversity of
the position.”
On the flip side we asked Mollie what
her least favorite part of her job was.
Mollie responded “Batting clean-up.
Being brought in, after the decision
were made to clean-up the mess”.
We asked Mollie to tell us about her
most memorable Clerk moment. Her
response. “A resident called to ask if I
could do something about the
excessive number of flies in his yard
AND the resident who wanted to
know the maximum weight of a pet a
resident could own.” As you all
know, we can’t make these up. 
In her free time, Mollie is working on
becoming a roller derby team
member! That’s AMAZING! Good
Luck MOLLIE!
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
Slate of Officers for 2017
The Administrative Committee
presents the following names for
consideration at the 2017 Annual
Meeting to be held July 17, 2017
in Cleveland!
These include the seat of Vice
President plus two City and two
Village Board seats!
Nominations will also be taken
from the floor as long as criteria
for the candidacy have been met.
Candidates for Vice President:
Janice Bates – City of Tipp City
Amy Schenck – City of
Middletown
Membership Cards
Membership cards were
created and mailed the
beginning of January to all
active/current members. If
someone has not received
their membership card, they
should contact Janice Bates,
City of Tipp City via email at
[email protected] or
Kristina Jones, City of
Marysville at
[email protected]
for a replacement card.
City Board Candidates:
April Beggerow – City of
Reynoldsburg
Helen Dunlap – City of
Broadview Heights
Kristina Jones – City of
Marysville
Dee Werbrich – City of Moraine
Village Board Candidates
Rose Baxter – Village of Baltic
Stacey Task – Village of
Reminderville
Cast your vote for these very
important board seats.
Page 3
BOARD VACANCIES
The OMCA Executive
Committee currently has a
vacancy for a one year Village
Board seat and the Secretary
position for two years.
Please note candidates
interested in the Secretary
position is required to have
served on the Executive
Committee for three years. If
interested, please contact Molly
Kapeluck, MMC at
[email protected] or
at 330-896-6604. A letter from
your municipality showing their
support is also required.
Members will be sworn in at the
July Institute.
www.omca.us
Legislative Review Committee News
Senate Bill 331
Senate Bill 331 was passed this
month. It started out as a bill to
ensure that cities could not limit
where pet stores purchase puppies.
But, by the time the bill was passed,
additional amendments were added
to block cities from raising their
minimum wages and provide an
expedited process for AT&T to install
equipment needed to bring nextgeneration 5G wireless connectivity
to Ohio.
wireless facilities in order to
facilitate the deployment of
advanced wireless service
throughout the state."
The so-called Petland Bill, named
because Petland pushed for its
passage after Grove City officials
approved a local ordinance to block it
from buying dogs from large-scale
breeders, was fattened up by leaders
with a handful of amendments.
Other amendments to the Petland
Senate Bill 331 was strongly opposed
by animal-welfare advocates who
said it circumvented local control and
would allow Petland to purchase
puppies from unregulated and
unlicensed breeders. Republicans
made the bill tougher to vote against
by tacking on a bill that those same
advocates support -- making
bestiality a crime in Ohio.
Ohio is one of 11 states where sex
with animals is not specifically illegal,
and this would make it a seconddegree misdemeanor in Ohio. The
Senate passed this bill last week as a
separate measure.
Another amendment pushed by
AT&T would state that it is Ohio's
public policy to "expedite the
installation and operation of micro
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
During a Dayton Area City
Manager’s Association meeting
held on March 24, 2017, it was
reported that the Ohio Municipal
League remains neutral on this
issue. A copy of this letter will be
shared with the OMCA once
obtained.
bill include:
 Blocking cities from placing
requirements on companies
regarding work location,
schedules and benefits.
 Increasing the penalty for
participating in cockfighting to a
felony.
 Allowing a county humane
officer to live outside the county
where he or she is employed.
There are many local governments
concerned with this bill as an attack
on Home Rule and are discussing
challenging the bill on the basis of
constitutionality, particularly in the
area of Home Rule and the state
constitutional requirement for
single purpose bills. On concern to
some municipalities is the
restriction cities and village have
to regulate new wireless
facilities through the zoning
process. This legislation gives
public utility or cable operators
the right to install new poles up to
that have historically been serviced
via underground utilities.
A hearing will be held March 30 in
Summit County Common Pleas
Court on a temporary restraining
order and preliminary injunction
sought by 20 northeast Ohio cities
and villages who want to stop a new
state wireless equipment law.
Cities and villages must keep in
mind that they should continue to
follow their own right-of-way
ordinances. In the event local
ordinances do not exist or have a
time frame they can defer to the
Federal guidelines. These Federal
guidelines also apply to townships.
The key features of these guidelines
are:
 Shall not “unreasonably
discriminate” between providers
of “functionally equivalent
services”
 May not enact ordinances that
prohibit or have the effect of
prohibiting the provision of
personal wireless services
 Must act on any request to
construct or modify a facility
within a “reasonable period of
time”
 Denials must be in writing and
“supported by substantial
evidence”
 May not deny an application
over concerns regarding radio
frequency emissions, if the
application meets the FCC’s
radio frequency emissions
standards.
50’ in rights-of-way, even in areas
Page 4
www.omca.us
Membership Services Committee News
Amy Schneck, City of Middletown
Kristina Jones, City of Marysville
being presented her MMC Designation by Janice Bates
being presented her CMC Designation by Janice Bates
Congratulatons to our Newest CMC’s & MMC!
The OMCA would like to
Congratulate our newest CMC
recipients!!!
Congratulations to:
Christina Culek, CMC – Cuyahoga
County
Jennifer Delgado, CMC – City of
Dublin
Kristina Jones, CMC – City of
Marysville
Amy Schneck, MMC – City of
Middletown
Membership by the Numbers
OMCA Currently has 101 CMC’s
and 44 MMC’s!
Additionally as of April 1, 2017
the OMCA is 332 Members
Strong.
Let’s increase those figures to
over 400 members! All
members are challenged to
encourage former members to
renew their membership!
Remember, OMCA will find
newly elected or appointed
clerks or clerk treasurers a
mentor that will help them gain
the knowledge, courage and
heart needed to be their best in
their profession!
Minute Minder |Spring 2017
Page 5
48th Annual Municipal Clerk’s
Week
Get ready to celebrate the 48th
Annual Municipal Clerk’s week
May 7 – 13, 2017. Municipal
Clerk’s week is aimed at increasing
the public’s awareness of Municipal
Clerks and the vital services they
provide for the local government
and community.
The IIMC website has many forms,
posters and a sample proclamation
to use in advertising this important
week!
www.omca.us
Professional Development Committee News
2017 OMCA Annual Institute…Wizard of Oz
The Professional Development
Committee has been working
hard putting together some
amazing educational offerings
for our members.
In following the theme of the
Wizard of Oz, the Committe has
focused each day of the Institute
to correspond to one of the
lessons from Oz.
This year this Committee has
courses dedicated to those who are
also Clerk Treasurers and Fiscal
Officers!
Monday, July 17, 2017 (Heart)
“How to Give your life a Spring
Clean Makeover” Melanie Jatsek
Dr. Jane Long, IIMC Director of
Professional Development
For Clerk/Treasurers - Hands on
Session on Records Retention
(those taking the session are asked
to bring their schedules, this will
be different than the joint session
with the full group on Wednesday.)
Brigette Gatton Village of Bellville
Fiscal Officer
“All Inclusive Institute Outing” –
Good Time II
Wednesday, July 19, 2017 (Brain)
Records Retention, Pari Swift
Ethics, Susan Wilke
Legislative Update – Kent Scarrett,
OML Executive Director
MMC’s on the Move – Tour of the
Federal Reserve Building
For Clerks of Council – Shared
Services - Nancy Likens
“Relationship/Team Building”
Father Norm & Larry Vuillemin
For Clerk/Treasurers – Auditor of
States New Reporting System Representative from the State
Auditor’s Office
Annual Banquet & Swearing in of
President
Active Shooter and Body Camera
Usage -Cambridge Police
Department
Striving for Imperfection - Scott Q.
Marcus
Tuesday, July 18, 2017 (Courage)
For Clerks of Council – Community
Reinvestment Area/Economic
Development Tools - Tony
Brancatelli, Chair of the
Development, Planning and
Sustainability Committee for
Cleveland City Council
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
Heroine Epidemic - How it affects
our municipalities. The Alcohol,
Drug Addiction and Mental Health
Services Board
Page 6
The 80/20 Rule - Scott Q. Marcus -
Thursday, July 20, 2017 Final Class
Cost to attend the Annual
Institute is $275 if paid BEFORE
June 15!
www.omca.us
Ways and Means Committee News
House Sub Budget Bill Removes Centralized
Collection
The league has participated in
 Allows the Tax
On April 26, 2017 the OML
(Ohio Municipal League)
alerted its members that on
April 25, 2017 the House
Finance Committee approved
new language for a Substitute
Budget Bill that removed the
Governor’s proposed
centralized collection
languages and focuses on
properly funding the OBG for
a rebuild that will adequately
service the needs of the tax
filers that choose to use the
central portal while
preserving local control of
municipal revenue.
The language will:
 Appropriate $24
million to rebuilding
the OBG
 Remove the municipal
net profit busines filing
from the Ohio Revised
Code Section 57 and
reinstates it back into
ORC 718
 Preserves the optional
use of the OBG for
business filers
 Removes the 1%
service fee to
municipalities
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
Commissioner to
charge a user fee up to
one percent (1%) of
the tax due on the
return or one thousand
dollars, whichever is
less, to business filers
that use the rebuilt
portal
 Taxes collected
through the Gateway
are guarenteed to be
distributed to
municipalities at least
bi-monthly
 Filings will continue to
flow to municipalities
through the Gateway
preserving auditing
and compliance
authorities of
municipalities
 The rebuilt Gateway is
to be ready January 1,
2019
Regarding the language to
repeal the throwback rule, an
omnibus amendment to the
Budget will be adopted by the
House Finance Committee the
beginning of May. The final
proposal will be sent to the
full House for a vote and then
sent to the Senate.
Page 7
interested parties meetings
with legislators regarding
consequences, intentional
and unintentional, to the
repeal process and they
believe that language may be
added to the omnibus
amendment and altering the
"as introduced" version of the
proposal.
The Senate will have a few
short weeks to incorporate
their changes before the
Budget is passed. Please keep
in touch with your legislators
and ask for their support in
preserving local control of
municipal revenues and to
not support budget changes
that will further reduce local
revenues.
Article taken from the April
26, 2017 Ohio Municipal
League (OML) eblast.
www.omca.us
Region V. News
Region V Meeting
Membership Info
Below is the breakdown of IIMC
membership information for
Ohio as of August 1, 2017:
Total Ohio IIMC membership:
178
Total OH CMCs : 100
Total OH MMCs: 44
If you are working on your
certification and are not a
member of IIMC, please contact
me as soon as possible. There
are membership requirements
before IIMC can award your
certification.
The Michigan Association of
Municipal Clerks hosted a Region
V Meeting in Grand Rapids,
Michigan March 2 – 4, 2017 at
the Amway Grand Hotel. There
were 70 clerks in attendance
from the Region. The conference
was outstanding and the hotel
was beautiful.
The IIMC 2022 Annual
Conference will be held at this
hotel so it was nice to view it and
the area before the conference.
The attendees were treated to a
great speaker on Friday evening
who spoke about burnout and
leadership. We had
entertainment during our dinner
Friday night and IIMC President,
Vinny Buttilglieri won the
painting that was painted during
dinner.
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
The Region Meeting was held
Saturday morning followed by a
Roundtable Discussion on topics
related to the Municipal Clerk
profession.
During the business meeting, the
Region voted to submit a
Resolution of Support to IIMC VP
Candidate Lana McPherson,
MMC of DeSoto, Kansas.
Any member of IIMC can serve
on an IIMC Committee. If you
are interested in serving on any
of the committees, please let
me know. This is a great
opportunity to learn more about
IIMC and network with your
fellow Clerks.
I would like to thank the
Michigan Association of
Municipal Clerks for hosting a
wonderful Region V meeting and
I would also like to thank the
Ohio Clerks who traveled to
attend the meeting.
I appreciate all of your support.
If you have any questions or
need assistance, I am just a
phone call or email away. Please
contact me!!
Page 8
Mary Johnston, MMC,
IIMC Region V Director
614.901.6410
[email protected]
www.omca.us
International Institute of Municipal Clerks News
IIMC 71st Annual Conference – Passport to Education
The 2017 IIMC Annual Conference
will be held May 21 -24 in the
beautiful city of Montreal, Canada.
There are 643 delegates and 67
guests registered for this
Conference!
This is more than expected during
the early planning stages. The
hotels, city and conference
education sessions look
outstanding! Class titles include;
Uncrapify Your Life, The
Authenticity Challenge: How to Fly
Your Freak Flag, The Fear Factor:
Minimizing Fear to Realize Your
Goals, The Importance of
Emotional Intelligance in the
Workplace, Threatening People,
Threatening Times: Municipal
Safety Through Strategy, Records
Management Health = Public
Information Effectiveness,
Communicate with Attitude!, The
Clerk as the Public Information
Officer and many many more!!!!
IIMC & Montreal
When the IIMC Board of Directors
chose Montreal as the site for the
2017 Annual Conference, it was
with the intent of holding a firstclass conerence in a first-class
international city, without traveling
too far, and being mindful of
budgets and costs.
For four days, delegates will be
immersed in a unique blend of
European and English cultures.
Whether in an open air setting, or
in a traditional classroom
environment the education will be
Minute Minder |Spring 2017
inspiring. Montreal is the perfect
classroom – magnificent, dynamic
and absorbed in its own creativity,
beauty and charm.
In Montreal, delegates will hear
keynote speakers who will provide
humor and insight to provoke
thought and to strengthen job
skills. There will be Academies,
Athenian Dialogues and more than
42 concurrent sessions to
invigorate and educate.
There will also be plenty of time to
network with colleague from
throughout the world. And what
better place to explore networking
opportunities than to visit the city’s
most picturesque districts,
neighborhood markets, boutiques,
restaurants and café’s that radiate
the soul of Montreal.
HAWAII Fundraiser
Sponsored by the IIMC Foundation
and American Legal, this education
fundraiser can land you in beautiful
Hawaii! Support IIMC education
programs and win a trip for two to
Hawaii including airfare, and a
week’s hotel stay in Waikiki Beach.
With tickets at $20 each or 3 for
$50..take the chance! It’s for a
good cause…furthering clerks’
education through scholorships and
IIMC education programs.
Additional information can be
found on the IIMC website!
Article taken in part from the IIMC
2017 Preliminary Program.
Page 9
www.omca.us
What’s New
Happy Birthday!!
The OMCA would like to wish the
following Clerks a very Happy
Birthday!
Tami Kelly – April 3
Gwendolyn Franklin – April 4
Janine Carter – April 5
Nicky Grommeck – April 5
Kathi Schonauer = April 5
Sharon Cassler – April 6
Mary Ann Eaton – April 6
Harold Gwin – April 6
Kathy Hoskinson – April 7
Mary Ann Meola – April 8
Karla Richards – April 8
Misty Cheshire – April 10
Jeffrey Roberson – April 10
Stacy Task – April 12
Terry McDonald – April 13
Bernice Schreiber – April 13
Melissa Pruszynski – April 15
Valencia Marrow – April 17
Cathleen Nagorski – April 17
April McMillen – April 25
Irene Fulton – April 27
Chris Kerby – May 2
Charlotte Weaver – May 6
Karen Miller – May 8
Amber Rathburn – May 11
Natalie Stillion Grable – May 13
Carrie Ayers – May 16
Amy Ossman – May 16
Tracy Simons – May 16
Greg Ayers – May 18
Kayla Holbrook – May 19
Claudia Brown – May 24
Jessica Everson – May 26
Michelle Johnson – May 27
Lenore Pikus – May 29
Mavis Yourchuck – May 31
Josephine Arceci – June 1
Roberta Staugler – June 1
Florence Bohdan – June 3
Janice Bates – June 4
Lorrie Clevenger – June 4
Sally Briggs – June 6
Minute Minder | Spring 2017
Ashley Elrod – June 6
Cheryl Drew – June 7
Michelle Blazak – June 11
Ashley Burgess – June 11
Amy Day – June 12
Patricia Constance – June 13
Dana Schroeder – June 13
Anthony Rodgers – June 14
Barb Ortiz – June 15
Peggy Howald – June 17
Lisa Sugg – June 17
Susan Clendenin – June 22
Margaret Litner – June 22
Nyla Burick – June 27
Luann O’Hara – June 27
Deborah Hutton – June 30
Voting is Now Open...
The Clerk of the Year Committee
has received nominations for 5
very deserving clerks. Voting
will begin May 1 and will be
open through May 26.
Voting is once again being
conducted online via Survey
Monkey. The link will be sent
soon regarding voting! Don’t
delete...read the bios of the
candidates and cast your vote!!!
Clerks in Action!
Clerks shoulder an array of
diversified tasks including:
 Agenda Management
 Document Management
 Records Management
 Process Public Records
Requests
 Codification
 Many, many more!!
With such a wide array of tasks and
responsibilities, the Clerk often
serves as the primary touch-point
between all other offices within
government organization !
Page 10
What is an Athenian
Dialogue
Dialogues are conversations that go
beyond the usual knowledge recall
and application process. Exploring
leadership principles and practice
while drawing on the insights
contained in a book that all
participants have read.
IIMC members who complete 10
dialogues will become a “Fellow”
and will receive a certificate and
lapel pin. To learn more about
becoming a society member, go to
www.iimc.com, click on the
Education tab and select Athenian
Leadership Society.
www.omca.us