City Clerk

City Clerk - Charter Officer

Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC) Municipal Clerks Manual and Resource Guild (06/22/2020 – current)

CHARTER OFFICER (City Charter, Sections 5.2)

The City Clerk is a charter officer appointed by the Board of Commissioners and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Commissioners. The City Clerk must be appointed based on executive, professional, and administrative qualifications with special reference to actual experience and knowledge with respect to the duties of the City Clerk's Office. The City Clerk must be a member and maintain membership in good standing of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) and the Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC), be a certified municipal clerk through IIMC, and maintain certification in good standing. With the approval of the Board of Commissioners, the City Clerk may appoint Deputy Clerks, who, when appointed, shall have such powers and authority as shall be conferred by the Board of Commissioners. The City Clerk is the Custodian of Public Records and is charged with their safety. The City Clerk is the Secretary ex-officio to the Civil Service Commission. The City Clerk shall give notice of City meetings, keep a journal of those meetings, authenticate by his/her signature and record in full in a book kept for that purpose all Ordinances and Resolutions, and perform other duties required by the Charter, Florida Statutes, or by Ordinance.

The City Clerk is the appointed municipal officer to serve as Custodian of Public Records and is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the office having public records or his or her designee (F.S., 119.011(5)). The Custodian of Public Records must provide safeguards to protect the contents of public records from unauthorized remote electronic access or alteration and to prevent the disclosure or modification of those portions of public records that are exempt or confidential from subsection of F.S. 119.07(1) or s. 24, Art. I of the State Constitution (F.S. 119.07(2)(b)).

INVESTIGATIONS (City Charter, Section 4.9)

The City Clerk is one of four Charter Officers that the Board of Commissioners can designate to investigate the City's internal affairs and report the findings to the Board of Commissioners.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

The City Clerk must keep abreast of new information and developments to be most effective, ensure that proper laws and procedures are followed, and continually strive to improve the administration of the affairs of the Office of the City Clerk. This involves participation in education programs, seminars, workshops, and the annual meetings of their state, provincial, county, and international professional organizations.

The City Clerk must keep abreast of changes in legislation and office technology. New statutes on public ethics, financial disclosure, and election laws must be closely monitored and observed. It is also important to be aware of changing trends and public opinion. The City Clerk has an obligation to serve faithfully the administrative authority of the municipality as well as the governing body.

CITY CLERK’S OFFICE

The City Clerk currently supervises two (2) full-time employees and is responsible for the lawful, effective, and efficient management of all City Clerk’s Office functions. This supervision includes ensuring that the City Clerk’s office functions are performed according to the applicable laws and that appropriate training is provided to the employees working in the City Clerk’s office  119.011(5)). The City Clerk’s office manages specific software to ensure compliance with public records and election laws (F.S. 119.07(2)(b)).

MUNICIPAL SECRETARY

• The City Clerk is the Municipal Secretary. In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Shall maintain custody of the city seal and affix the same to any paper or instrument as required by law.
  • Shall certify and attest to official documents such as ordinances, resolutions, and minutes, and apply the city seal.
  • Shall be the custodian of public records and be responsible for their safety.
  • Shall process public records requests.
  • Shall publish statutorily and code mandated advertisements such as public hearings for adoption of ordinances and election notices.
  • Shall record and index ordinances, charter amendments, and resolutions.
  • Shall manage updates to the City of Madeira Beach City Charter, Code of Ordinances, Land Development Regulations, and Comprehensive Plan, as required.

SECRETARY TO BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

• The City Clerk is the to the Board of Commissioners. In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Schedules meetings, when necessary, in coordination with the members of the Board of Commissioners, the City Attorney, and the City Manager.
  • Prepares and publishes meeting agendas and packets on the City’s website using electronic meeting management software. Prints copies of the meeting agenda packets for Board of Commissioners members who do not wish to receive them electronically. Post agendas on the City’s bulletin board.
  • Attends all meetings, transcribes meeting minutes, records Commission attendance, and records official actions and votes of the Board of Commissioners.
  • Prepares and publishes the Board of Commissioners' Meeting Schedule and Monthly and Annual Meeting Reports.
  • Prepares and advertises Board of Commissioner member vacancies required by City Charter, Section 2.2C.

CUSTODIAN OF PUBLIC RECORDS

• The City Clerk is the Custodian of Public Records (City Charter, Section 5.2); (F.S., 119.07(5)) and is charged with keeping their safety (City Charter, Section 5.2); (F.S. 119.07(2)(b)). In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Is the custodian of all public records, including meeting minutes, ordinances, resolutions, and contracts and agreements.
  • Serves as Records Manager Liaison Officer in managing, preserving, and disposing of public records according to state records retention requirements and public records laws, and ensuring compliance with records management requirements.
  • Manages public records requests, ensuring compliance by redacting confidential and exempt information, applying statutory requirements for redaction, and overseeing individuals inspecting and copying public records.
  • Provides annual public records training in records management practices and cybersecurity to the Board of Commissioners, Planning Commission, Civil Service Commission, and City staff.
  • Manages records management software for compliance with public records requests, electronic records document management, email archiving, and email security. This includes texts and social media posts.
  • Scans documents and securely stores them in an automated document system to capture, organize, and centralize digital documents to prevent unauthorized remote electronic access or alteration and to prevent the disclosure or modification of those portions of public records that are exempt or confidential as required by City Charter, Section 5.2; 07(2)(b).

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS

• The City Clerk serves as the Election Official and Qualifying Officer for the City of Madeira Beach elections. In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Serves as the Election Official and Qualifying Officer.
  • Prepares and makes the candidate application packets available to the public before the qualifying period begins.
  • Works closely with the candidates to ensure compliance with qualifying requirements.
  • Assists candidates in fulfilling their legal obligations throughout the election process, from pre-planning and certification of results to filing final campaign disclosure documents electronically using campaign finance software.
  • Prepares and advertises election notices, charter amendments, and ballot language with the assistance of the City Attorney. Ensures Spanish translation of all required notices.
  • Administers Oath of Office to the Board of Commissioners.

EX-OFFICIO SECRETARY

• Secretary ex-officio to the Civil Service Commission (City Charter, Section 5.2). In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Is the secretary ex-officio of the Civil Service Commission.
  • Schedules meetings, when necessary, in coordination with the Civil Service Commission members, City Manager, City Attorney, and the city’s human resources staff.
  • Prepares and publishes meeting agendas and packets for the Civil Service Commission on the City’s website using electronic meeting management software. Print copies of the meeting agenda packets for Commission members who do not want to receive them electronically. Posts meeting agendas on the City’s bulletin board.
  • Attends all meetings, transcribes meeting minutes, records attendance, and records official actions and votes of the Civil Service Commission.
  • Administers Oath of Office to Civil Service Commission members.
  • Prepares and publishes the Civil Service Commission Annual Meeting Report.

HEARING OFFICER CLERK

• The City Clerk serves as the Hearing Officer Clerk in employee post-termination hearings (Ordinance 2025-03). In this role, the City Clerk:
  • Manages the administrative tasks associated with the hearings presided over by a hearing officer or multiple hearing officers to assist the hearing officers in conducting smooth, efficient proceedings.
  • When multiple hearing officers are involved, assign cases on a rotational basis to ensure that officers receive about the same number of cases.
  • Maintains all hearing documents and transcripts for record keeping.

OTHER DUTIES

• Other Responsibilities of the City Clerk include:
  • Maintain City board and committee appointment rosters, prepare meeting agendas for board appointments, and advertise board appointment vacancies. Prepares and publishes board member vacancies.
  • Prepares, manages, and monitors the annual budget for the Board of Commissioners and City Clerk.
  • Prepares Proclamations for the Mayor’s signature.
  • Serves as the Florida Commission on Ethics Organization Coordinator and updates filer information for elected officials, the Planning Commission, and City employees using the Electronic Financial Disclosure Management System (EFDMS) on the Florida Commission on Ethics website.
  • Provides Sunshine Law, Ethics, Public Records Law, Parliamentary, and Cybersecurity training to the Board of Commissioners, Planning Commission, Civil Service Commission, and City staff.
  • Notary Public Services.
  • Performs other duties assigned by the City Charter, City Code of Ordinances, City Manager, and Board of Commissioners.

SOFTWARE

• Software managed by the City Clerk’s Office to ensure compliance with public records laws throughout the Organization (F.S. 119.07(2)(b)).
  • Municode Meeting & Agenda Management Software - A Microsoft Word-based platform that helps create agendas and packets electronically and stores them safely on a public portal for transparency and easy access. https://madeirabeach-fl.municodemeetings.com/
  • Easy Vote Solutions Software – Makes filing election campaign reports easy through the Easy Campaign Finance Portal. Provides transparency to the public. https://cityofmadeirabeachfl.easyvotecampaignfinance.com/home/publicfilings
  • JustFOIA Software – A public records tracking software to manage public records requests, ensuring compliance by redacting confidential and exempt information, applying statutory requirements for redaction, and overseeing individuals inspecting and copying public records.
  • Laserfiche – An Automation and document management system to securely capture, organize, and centralize digital documents. An enterprise content management (ECM) platform that allows organizations to digitally manage documents, automate workflows, and streamline business processes through features like customizable forms, no-code development tools, and AI-powered capabilities, enabling efficient document storage, retrieval, and routing across the organization, all while maintaining data security and accessibility. Public Portal: https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/Welcome.aspx?repo=r-a9b9ccd6&preview=EQ9FtF2&ref=designer
  • Barracuda Archiving Solution – A cloud-based solution that securely stores and manages entire email history, allowing for easy access to past emails, meeting compliance requirements, and facilitating e-discovery needs by providing powerful search and retrieval capabilities for public records requests, all while minimizing data storage on the primary email server; essentially acting as a tamper-proof repository for archived emails that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, from any device.
  • Barracuda Email Gateway Defense for Email Security – A cloud-based email security service that filters all inbound and outbound email traffic, protecting against threats like spam, viruses, phishing attacks, and malware by utilizing advanced filtering techniques, including content analysis, reputation checks, and sandboxing, before delivering emails to users; essentially acting as a security barrier to prevent malicious emails from reaching internal systems.
  • Aclarian Financial Software – Software managed by the Finance Department and utilized by all departments - A cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (EFP) solution to streamline financial processes like budgeting, purchasing, payment processing, and reporting, focusing on automating workflows, eliminating manual data entry, and protecting confidential and exempt financial information.

CITY CLERK CODE OF ETHICS

The City Clerk is a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) and Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC) and is bound by the Code of Ethics):

1. To uphold constitutional government and the laws of the community.
2. To conduct their public and private life as to be an example to their fellow citizens.
3. To impart to their profession those standards of quality and integrity that the conduct of the affairs of their office shall be above reproach and merit public confidence in their community.
4. To be ever mindful of their neutrality and impartiality, rendering service to all and to extend the same treatment you wish to receive yourself.
5. To record that which is true and preserve that which is entrusted to them as if it were their own.
6. To strive constantly to improve the administration of the affairs of their office consistent with applicable laws and through sound management practices to produce continued progress and so fulfill my responsibilities to my community and others.