News Digest™ March 2014 The Premier Organization for Municipal Clerks Since 1947 We’re looking forward to seeing you in Milwaukee! Visit the Milwaukee Zoo, a place where everyone can laugh and learn - it’s a place to be amazed and inspired — a place where nature and wonder meet!
2014-2017 Board Candidates on page 36
Humboldt penguins mate for life. They are extremely social animals and are often found in groups. They are also great swimmers and can reach speeds up to 20 miles per hour.
Macaque Monkey Island Outdoor Elephant Exhibit IIMC STAFF DIRECTORY BOARD OF DIRECTORS News Digest™ ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT • Executive Director Marc Lemoine, MMC, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Professionalism [email protected] In Local Government Chris Shalby [email protected] PRESIDENT ELECT Through Education Brenda K. Young, MMC, Nashville, Indiana Volume LXV No. 3 ISSN: 0145-2290 • Office Manager [email protected] Denice Cox VICE PRESIDENT March 2014 [email protected] Monica Martinez Simmons, MMC, Seattle, Washington Published 11 times each year the News Digest • Finance Specialist [email protected]> is a publication of The International Institute of Municipal Clerks Janet Pantaleon IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT 8331 Utica Avenue, Suite 200 [email protected] Brenda M. Cirtin, MMC, Springfield, Missouri Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 [email protected] • Administrative Assistant Chris Shalby, Publisher Maria E. Miranda [email protected] DIRECTORS - 2014 EXPIRATION [email protected] Vincent Buttiglieri, MMC -- II, Township of Ocean, New Jersey Emily Maggard, Editor EDUCATION [email protected] Telephone: 909/944-4162 • (800/251-1639) Mary J. Kayser, MMC - IV, Garland, Texas • Associate Director of Education FAX: (909/944-8545) [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Roxanne Schneider, MMC - VI, Dysart, Iowa • Communications Coordinator [email protected] Founded in 1947, IIMC has more than 60 years of experience Kittie Kopitke, MMC - VII, Streamwood, Illinois improving the professionalism of Municipal Clerks. IIMC has more than 9,500 members representing towns, small • Verification Specialist [email protected] municipalities and large urban jurisdictions of more than Ashley Carroll Donna Geho, CMC -- VIII, Glenrock, Wyoming [email protected] several million people. [email protected] A portion of your annual membership dues goes toward Gail E. Pomroy, MMC -- X, Conception Bay South, NF, Canada publishing and distributing the monthly News Digest. MEMBERSHIP [email protected] • Director of Member Services Samantha Shippen, CMC -- XI, Seaford, East Sussex, UK Janis Daudt [email protected] IIMC is affiliated with 49 U.S., & Nine Canadian Associations. [email protected] National affiliations: DIRECTORS - 2015 EXPIRATION • Member Services Representative • ATAM (Portugal) • JOSZ (Hungary) Shawn Cullinane, MMC - I, Lindenhurst, New York Tammy Schultz • IAM (Israel) • SLCC (England) [email protected] • UDITE (Europe) • VVG (The Netherlands) [email protected] Kelly J. Lovette, MMC -- III, Goose Creek, South Carolina • IMASA (South Africa) • SOLAR (Scotland) Accounting & Association [email protected] • NAMCB (Bulgaria) • ADSO (England) • Software Group Patty Dupuis, MMC - IV, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana [email protected] Pilar Archer Inside… Terri Kowal, MMC - V, Auburn Hills, Michigan President’s Message...... 3 [email protected] [email protected] Going to the IIMC Annual Conference in Milwaukee?...... 4 Linda Rappe, MMC - VI, Kasson, Minnesota Computerized Business Solutions 45th Annual Municipal Clerks Week...... 5 [email protected] • Doug Griffith The Etiquette of Email...... 6 Lana McPherson, MMC - VII, De Soto, Kansas Flag Etiquette...... 8 [email protected] [email protected] How One Agency Handled a Tragedy as it Unfolded Live on Twitter...... 10 Joann Tilton, MMC - IX, Manteca, California Satellites Show ‘Total” California Water Storage at Near-Decade Low .....11 [email protected] New Jersey Program Marks Cars for Emergency Responders...... 12 Rural Canadian Town Offers ‘Google-Fast’ Broadband Service...... 14 Jaap Paans, MMC - XI, Rotterdam, the Netherlands How Boulder, Colorado, Prepared for ‘Torrential’ Rainfall...... 16 [email protected] Government Needs to Rethink How They Attract IT Talent...... 20 Ninety Years and Counting: A Short History of the Winter Games...... 21 DIRECTORS – 2016 EXPIRATION Conference Spread...... 22 Paul Bergeron, MMC, I, Nashua, New Hampshire CDC Report Flu Hit Younger Peope Particularly Hard This Season...... 24 [email protected], Los Angeles Recognized for Leadership in Kimberley Rau, MMC – II, Laurel, Maryland Energy Efficiency, Better Building Challenge...... 26 [email protected] Creating Sustainable Infrastructure in the Face of Extreme Weather...... 28 Lynnette Ogden, MMC – III, Millport, Alabama PSO Offers Enhanced Wind Choice Program...... 30 Salary and severance disclosure set bar for openness...... 32 [email protected] Accountability Doesn’t Stop With Leadership, It Starts There...... 33 Lanaii Benne, MMC – V, Franklin, Tennessee West Virginia Creek Runs Black After Catastrophic Coal Slurry Spill...... 34 [email protected] Candidates for the 2014-2017 IIMC Board of Directors...... 36 Nancy Vincent, MMC – VIII, Thornton, Colorado 2014 Annual Conference Education Highlight...... 40 www.iimc.com [email protected] Conference Discount Program & Membership Alice Attwood, CMC – IX, Tonasket, Washington Copyright 2014 by the Incentive Offer Plenty of Savings...... 41 [email protected] IIMC Registration Form • Delegate Information...... 42 International Institute of Municipal Clerks. Karla Graham, MMC – X, North Vancouver, BC, Canada Calendar of Events ...... 44 All rights reserved. [email protected]
2 March 2014 IIMC News Digest 3 Before I conclude my message, allow me to extend a Before I conclude my message, allow Until next month, Cheers from Winnipeg. from Parkland County, Alberta; and Debi Wilcox from Alberta; and Debi Wilcox from Parkland County, Region XI, there are two candidates, Ontario. In Whitby, Poole, MMC, from both from the United Kingdom: Bruce of CMC, from the Town Somerset and Samantha Shippen, via email to members Seaford. Ballots were distributed are in Region X or in Region X and Region XI. If you contact IIMC’s XI and have not received a ballot, please Daudt, by email at Director of Member Services, Janis Please [email protected] or by phone at 909-944-4162. and it only stays remember that it is your Organization, forget to vote. strong if you participate, so don’t bij IIMC!”) to our 464 warm IIMC greeting (“Welkom the Dutch Clerks new IIMC members from the VvG, VvG is the first Association in the Netherlands. The on under the bulk IIMC Region XI Association to sign pays the Association membership format; whereby, members. The VvG the IIMC annual dues for all of its and this believes in the value of IIMC membership, first-hand expe- strategy provides their members with rience of the benefits and advantages IIMC provides. Chairman of the VvG My thanks go out Arjan Oudbier, from Apeldoorn and Jaap Paans, MMC, IIMC Region XI Board of Director from Rotterdam, both of whom were instrumental in establishing this exciting partnership between IIMC and the VvG. I am excited for the future for I believe that this will be the first of many such partnerships between IIMC and Clerks associations from other countries in Region XI. It is a great way to ensure and provide all of continued growth and diversity, IIMC’s our members with new friends and pools of best practices and knowledge to share in. IIMC President, 2013-2014 IIMC President, President’s Message President’s MMC Lemoine, Marc Along with the acclimations, we are conducting elec- You will find biographical information on each will find biographical information You Like many non-profit organizations, IIMC has a Like many non-profit March 2014 March tions in two of our Regions – X (Canada) and XI (outside North America). The members that are competing for the position of Director in Region X are Doug Tymchyshyn candidate in this issue. At this time and in this column, candidate in this issue. At this time board members: I would like to congratulate our newest Region II – Drew Pavlica, MMC, Garfield, New Jersey; Region IV - Mary Ann Hess, MMC, Laurel, Mississippi; MMC, St. Francis, Wisconsin; Region VI — Anne Uecker, Summit, Missouri; Region VII – Denise Chisum, Lee’s Region VIII – Reneé Cantin, MMC, Alamogordo, New Mexico. And, a special congratulations to my good Buttiglieri, MMC, from the Township friend, Vincent has been Vinnie of Ocean in beautiful New Jersey. ascend President. He will new Vice acclaimed as IIMC’s seventh President from the Garden and become IIMC’s State in May of 2016. two-pronged governance model. The administration side model. The administration two-pronged governance staff seven professional members led consists of IIMC’s The policy side Chris Shalby. by our Executive Director, 22 Directors from consists of a Board of Directors with along with four 11 geographic Regions each of IIMC’s Board sets policy Executive Committee members. The and guidance. and provides organizational leadership term, with positions Board members serve a three-year have the sad task of staggered; therefore, every year we board members. But, saying goodbye to one-third of our brand new, we also have the happy task of welcoming positions. While new eager recruits to one-third of these start until the May Annual Conference, we terms don’t in five of those do know the incoming board members per vacancy Regions since there was only one candidate in these Regions. IIMC News Digest
Going to the IIMC Annual Conference in Milwaukee?
If you’ve been to an IIMC Annual Conference in the past, we’ve got to hand it to you! That is some commitment to continuing education and we are excited to see you again in Milwaukee, May 2014. If you’ve never attended an IIMC Annual Conference, then it’s time to go to “a great place on a great lake.” We hope you are able to make Milwaukee the first of many IIMC Conferences, and are excited to see you join your Municipal Clerk learning community! IIMC is getting the networking started early this year! Share a photo of yourself holding a sign demonstrating the reason you are attending the IIMC Annual Conference on the IIMC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/itsmyiimc.com) and/or on Twitter by using #iimc2014 and #seeyouinmilwaukee. It is one way to symbolically We can’t wait to see you in Milwaukee! support and promote the Municipal Clerk profession. © 2013 Laserfiche. Laserfiche
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4 March 2014 IIMC News DigestIIMC 45th Annual Municipal Clerks Week May 4 - 10, 2014
IIMC’s 45th Annual Municipal Clerks Week, to relevant information, and can return to the classroom to take place May 4 - May 10, 2014, will feature a week- increase their knowledge of these issues, to learn new long series of activities aimed at increasing the public’s material and sharpen old skills- all in order to give the awareness of Municipal Clerks and the vital services they best service possible! provide for local government and the community. IIMC has sponsored Municipal Although it is one of the oldest positions in local gov- Clerks Week since 1969. In 1984 ernment, few people realize the vital services Municipal and in 1994, Presidents Ronald and Deputy Clerks perform for their community. Primar- Reagan and Bill Clinton, respective- ily, they act as the cornerstone of their council. Do you ly, signed a Proclamation officially know what your Municipal Clerk does for your Commu- declaring Municipal Clerks Week nity? Here’s just a few of the many duties your Municipal the first full week of May and rec- Clerk may do: ognizing the essential role Munici- • Maintain the official council minutes, ordinance pal Clerks play in local government. books and all records and documents. During this week, Municipal Clerks throughout the world will host open • Index all official actions of council. houses and tours of the Municipal • Issue licenses and permits. Clerk’s office, visit local schools and • Process contracts and agreements. participate in other various events. • Keep community history and vital records. • Receive, distribute and file correspondence from citizens and other governmental agencies. You can find promotional materials for Munici- pal Clerk’s Week under the Membership tab> • Administer election, registration and voting. It Municipal Clerk’s Week at www.iimc.com. can take Municipal Clerks months to organize and prepare this key element in the democratic process See poster on page 35. which must be done correctly for the whole system to work! Where Nature and Wonder Meet… • Act as a key liaison between local government and its the Milwaukee Zoo citizens. • Handle significant financial responsibilities includ- ing preparation of tax rolls, special assessments and budgets. • Provide central services such as personnel, purchas- ing, etc. One of local government’s deep-rooted titles is the Municipal Clerk, and duties have expanded over the years. Today, modern technology assists with all of the increasing responsibilities. IIMC provides the tools to be sure all Municipal and Deputy Clerks can properly operate new computer applications, are current regard- ing the latest records management techniques and other
March 2014 5 The Etiquette of Email IIMC News DigestIIMC By Emily Maggard
As a Communications Coordinator, I send a lot of emails. Sometimes that is all I do, all day. I will send out a weekly IIMC E-brief, and then spend the rest of my • The person you are contacting is hard to reach. day answering inquiries to that mass email. I will surf the web looking for news articles of interest to Munici- • The person you are communicating with is in a pal Clerks, then email editors to obtain permission for different time zone/area of the world. reprints. I email professionals within our membership to • You need to send an electronic file, such as a docu- ask for interviews (see our “Ask the Clerk” features), or ment for a course, a spreadsheet full of data, or a to see if a longtime member would be interested in facili- rough draft of your paper. tating a session, convening, or scanning at the Annual • You need to distribute information to a large number Conference. I am an emailing fiend. of people quickly (for example, a memo that needs to All this aside, I had a question emailed to me which be sent to the entire office staff). led to a thought provoking experience, and ultimately, When to pick up the phone, this article. Jane M. Quinlan, CMC from the Village of or schedule a meeting? Oak Lawn, IL had a question on Athenian Dialogues. E-mail may not be the most effective communication tool IIMC has recently updated the Athenian policy, and when: though the answer was simple, I figured I’d better call Jane to ensure I explained everything clearly. If she had • Your message is long and/or complex, or requires further questions, a phone call would give her an oppor- additional discussion that would best be accom- tunity to ask them all at once. plished face-to-face. • Extremely confidential material is being sent. E-mail While speaking to Jane, she expressed surprise at is NEVER private, and may be subject to public getting a phone call, and this originally took me aback. record laws. Remember that your message could be The more I thought about it though, the more it seemed redirected on to other people without your knowl- Jane was right. Technology has simplified so many areas edge. A copy of your e-mail is stored on a server of our lives; it’s become natural to reach for tech before where it can be easily retrieved by interested per- the phone (yes, the phone has become “old school” now). sons, even when you have deleted the message and But should it be that way? think it floated away into the ether ages ago. When to E-mail? • Tone, emotion, sarcasm, humor and intent don’t E-mail is a suitable tool when: always translate so well in writing and your message could be easily misconstrued. If you aren’t sure you • You need a written record of the communication. would read what you wrote to someone’s face, then Records of e-mails can be valuable (vital even!) if do not send it as an email. you need to refer back to what someone articulated Remember: You can always make a phone call, and in a previous communication, provide some kind of follow it up with an email. This ensures your information corroboration (or under records retention regula- was understood, and you have a record of it. tions- check local laws!), or review the content of an important meeting, deadline, memo, etc. Continued on page 7 • You are sending a quick yes/no, or simple explanation.
6 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
The Etiquette of Email…Continued from page 6
A Few More Things: • Who is your audience? How often does your audience of your e-mail. General, vague, or one word subjects use e-mail to communicate? Is this an email to a list such as “FYI,” “Question,” or “Hello” are not help- of volunteers for an election? Or is it to a supervisor, ful, and worse, don’t give the reader an idea of how like a City Manager? Those emails may have a differ- important your message is. It may even get filtered as ent tone. What do you want your audience to think or SPAM or junk. If your message is time sensitive, you assume about you? What kind of impression do you might want to include a date in your subject line, for want to make? How would you talk to him/her in a example, “Town Hall Meeting- Thurs, Dec 2.” You get social situation? e-mail all day. • Greetings and sign-offs. Always open with a greet- Which ones do you look at first? ing of some kind. You don’t want to abruptly start • Do you know when to Cc: and when to Bcc: people with the content of your e-mail; it is rude. The same in e-mails? Cc: means carbon copy and Bcc: means goes for a sign-off. You want to let your reader know blind carbon copy. You may want to send an email to the e-mail is closing by using something like “Best multiple people, perhaps a supervisor, or a committee Regards” or “Sincerely.” Are you using a signa- chair, and you don’t mind (and they don’t mind) every- ture block? You should. Think of it as an electronic one seeing each other’s email addresses. Perhaps you business card. It should have appropriate contact have some group work in the office, and one of your information, like your name, business address, co-workers is non-responsive to you. Copying your email address, and phone number, along with a legal supervisor on a “reminder” about said project might disclaimer if required by your municipality (is your motivate that co-worker to get the work done. email a public record?).Unless you need to utilize the municipality’s logo, don’t use one. Many email ad- Continued on page 9 dresses block pictures and only view items in HTML- meaning the internet will eat your picture. That quote you want to use? How attached are you to it? If the answer isn’t “so attached I need it to live,” cut that too. The less clutter, the better. • Be succinct. Not many people will read a long drawn out missive, and if they do, they may miss the point. If your message runs longer than a few paragraphs, consider editing your message down to only the vital items, or just including an attachment. • Watch your Ps and Qs; please and thank you goes a long way. Be sure to mean it! “Thank you for under- standing why I can’t stand it when you listen to that talentless hack Katy Perry while working on your spread sheets” is a bit petty. It’s not polite. However, “Thank you for keeping the music at your desk at a minimum volume. We sincerely appreciate the efforts made to make the office a distraction-free work environment for all.” “Thank you again” works better because it is devoid of blame, opinion, and thanks the receiver for fixing the problem (which was distraction, not “bad taste” in music). • Use a subject line in your e-mail. The subject line should be descriptive, and help articulate the point
March 2014 7 IIMC News Digest
Flag Etiquette By Emily Maggard
I was walking home last week, and on my way I passed a flagpole in front of a business. This business has an American flag flying, but the flag, most likely due to windy conditions, is frayed. It bothers me. The American flag is a symbol of freedom and prosperity. If you choose to fly that great symbol, upkeep is necessary. (g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on But perhaps the store owner doesn’t know what upkeep any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, entails? After all, not everyone outside of the military letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any and certain government officials and/or employees are nature. familiar with these. (h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for To make this all easily understood and accessible, I receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything. have copied the US Code in regard to the American flag below: (i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be 4 U.S. Code § 8 - Respect for flag embroidered on such articles as cushions or handker- No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the chiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and designed for temporary use and discard. Advertis- organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a ing signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard mark of honor. from which the flag is flown. (a) The flag should never be displayed with the union (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be of extreme danger to life or property. affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. (b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such The flag represents a living country and is itself as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise. considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin (c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near but always aloft and free. the heart. (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always It is also worth noting that there are times when it arranged with the blue above, the white in the is appropriate to lower the flag, or have it at half- staff. middle, and the red below, should be used for cover- The website www.halfstaff.org/ keeps a list of US holidays ing a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the plat- where it would be appropriate to lower the flag to half- form, and for decoration in general. staff. You can even get a widget for website integration, (e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or receive alerts. or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way. (f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling. 8 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
The Etiquette of Email…Continued from page 7
Blind copying e-mails to a group of people can be ben- • As a general rule, you want to avoid informal “text eficial (or when it is actually a legal issue) for your speak,” regardless of your audience. This means email list to have each other’s e-mail addresses. In that you will want to avoid using terms like “LOL” or : this case, the only e-mail address that will be observ- emoticons- “ ”. Email has replaced formal business able to all recipients is the one listed in the To: field. writing; think of your emails as no different than any If you’d prefer that none of the addresses be visible, business letter. You wouldn’t put a smiley face in a you can put your own address in the To: field and use business letter, would you? Bcc: for all other addresses. Make a note though, someone who is blind copied can hit “reply all” and What other e-mail dos and don’ts do you have to send a reply to everyone, divulging that they were share? Is there anything I’ve missed? Anything you’d like included in the original message. to contribute? Please feel free to share them on the IIMC • Proofread before hitting that send button. Ever send Facebook page (www.facebook.com/itsmyiimc), and mark an email and realize you’ve misspelled the Mayor’s your comment with #emailetiquette. name, or a simple word, or were unclear about key information? We’ve all done it, and then felt like an idiot. Editing your work saves you future embarrass- ment and ensures you are clear in your message. You 68th Annual Conference may want to read your writing out loud. While read- ing in your head, your brain likes to fill in what you Milwaukee, WI meant rather than what you wrote. Sunday, May 18 thru Thursday, May 22, 2014
March 2014 9 How One Agency Handled a Tragedy IIMC News DigestIIMC as it Unfolded Live on Twitter By By Paul W. Taylor
“Mother unwittingly live-tweets husband’s fatal He tweeted back, “@ScanCouver sorry. Not yet.” crash.” With characteristic tabloid economy, the headline “It was the one moment in my career that I lied,” in the New York Post captured the tragedy and irony of a says Finn, “but it was to protect someone from finding story at the confluence of a heartbreaking highway colli- out on social media that a loved one was involved in an sion and the immediacy of social media. accident.” Last year, a record 72 percent of adults who are Finn, the incident commander and other troopers online used social networking sites, according to the Pew working the case soon realized the Twitter inquiry; Research Center. But of all the sites, from Facebook and calls to 911 from the wife of the deceased and a passing LinkedIn to Instagram and Pinterest, it is Twitter that motorist who took pictures of the scene had put them has done more to change how we get news and informa- in a really tight spot. “All we needed is for [that] person tion in real time. The use of Twitter has doubled since to tweet out a picture of the husband’s car and our job 2010, according to Pew. In that time, the microblog- [would have] been compromised,” Finn says. ging service has grown from a simple tool for posting updates - personal and professional - to a critical device They worked quickly to expedite the identification for informing the public about major events. Sometimes, process and sent two investigators to Johnson’s home though, live-tweeting a news update touches someone to notify her in person that her husband Craig had been very personally. killed. Soon after the notification, she tweeted, “it’s him. He died.” That was clearly the case for Caran Johnson from Vancouver, Wash. She made a hobby of tweeting 911 Finn says he’s still working through the incident. calls, traffic alerts and other incidents picked up from “I don’t see anything changing for me,” he says. “If this the county police scanner under the Twitter handle @ situation were to happen again right now, I would still do ScanCouver. the same thing.” When she heard a fatal head-on crash was blocking This may seem like an extreme case for public agen- Interstate 205 one afternoon, she quickly tweeted it out cies that use social media to link to press releases and and retweeted messages about the incident from local build awareness. But there are lessons here that apply media, the state Department of Transportation and a equally to civilian agencies. Twitter account administered by District 5 of the Wash- Washington State Patrol had only authorized the use ington State Patrol. of Twitter for the first time last May, following its grow- Trooper Will Finn, a public information officer (PIO), ing public popularity, but had crafted a clear purpose for managed the district’s account (@wspd5pio). He got using it. The patrol also had a culture and discipline that the first call about the I-205 crash at 1:57 p.m. and informed the use of social media even in unforeseen or immediately began tweeting about the collision, advis- extreme situations. From the beginning, Finn knew the ing motorists to avoid the area. Finn continued regular distinction between official and personal and kept the updates and was about to send out photos from the scene two separate. Moreover, the agency trusted its PIOs to when he received a message from @ScanCouver asking exercise judgment. If your agency does not and cannot, it whether he had a description of the vehicles. Interest probably has the wrong people working social media. piqued, he checked her feed. She was tweeting that her This column was originally published by Governing. husband drives home on I-205, was not answering his This story was reprinted with permission and can be found at: www. phone and was missing. emergencymgmt.com/training/Tragedy-Unfolded-Live-on-Twitter.html
10 March 2014 Satellites Show ‘Total’ California IIMC News DigestIIMC Water Storage at Near-Decade Low
Advisory from UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling finds statewide averages of snow, surface water and soil moisture near 10-year lows. Threat of multi-year epoch of unsustainable groundwater depletion imminent if drought continues.
Updates to satellite data show that California’s growing threat to groundwater supplies in the Central Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins are at near Valley, and highlighting the urgent need to manage them decade-low water storage levels. These and other sustainably. Groundwater is typically viewed as a stra- findings on the State’s dwindling water resources were tegic reserve that supplements sparse surface water documented in an advisory report released today from supplies in times of drought. the UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling (UCCHM) at the By combining their satellite-based estimates of 10 University of California, Irvine. years (October 2003 – November 2013) of Central Valley Responding to Governor Jerry Brown’s recent decla- groundwater storage changes with long-term estimates ration of a drought emergency in California, a team of of groundwater losses from the U. S. Geological Survey, UCCHM researchers has updated its research on the the researchers noted that steep declines in groundwater state’s two largest river basins, and the source of most storage are typical during droughts, when Central Valley its water. The region also encompasses the Central farmers are forced to rely more heavily on groundwater Valley, the most productive agriculture region in the to meet irrigation demands. country. The Central Valley depends entirely on the The advisory report underscores that the rates of surface and groundwater resources within the river declining groundwater storage during drought almost basins to meet its irrigation needs and to produce food always outstrip rates of groundwater replenishment for the nation. during wet periods, and raises fears about the impact of Using satellite data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery long-term groundwater depletion on sustaining a reliable and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, the research- water supply in the current, record-setting drought. The ers, led by UCCHM Director and UC Irvine Professor Jay team’s previous 2011 study estimated that the Central Famiglietti, found that as of November 2013, total water Valley lost 20 cubic kilometers of groundwater during the storage in the river basins -- the combination of all of the 2006-2010 drought. snow, surface water, soil moisture and groundwater, and Historically, drought conditions and groundwater an integrated measure of basin-wide water availability depletion in the Central Valley are responsible for wide- -- had declined to its lowest point in nearly a decade. spread land subsidence, reductions in planted acreage, GRACE data for the record-dry 2013-2014 winter months higher food costs and ecological damage. were not yet available for analysis. Famiglietti notes that if the drought continues The data show particularly steep water losses “Central Valley groundwater levels will fall to all-time between November 2011 and November 2013, the early lows.” Stephanie Castle, a UCCHM researcher who phase of the current drought. Famiglietti and fellow contributed to the report, believes that groundwater UCCHM researchers estimate that the basins have supplies should be more actively managed. Castle states already lost 10 cubic kilometers of fresh water in each of the last two years -- equivalent to virtually all of that “the path of groundwater use that we are on threat- California’s urban and household water use each year. ens the sustainability of future water supplies for all “That’s the steepest decline in total water storage that Californians.” She noted that several communities within we’ve seen in California since the GRACE mission was the state are on track to run out of water within the next launched in 2002,” Famiglietti said. few months. The researchers noted that snowpack, surface water Download the report at www.ucchm.org/publications and soil moisture storage in the river basins were all at their lowest points in nearly a decade, illustrating a Continued on page 13
March 2014 11 IIMC News Digest
New Jersey Program Marks Cars for Emergency Responders by J.B. Wogan
The state’s Yellow Dot program allows counties, cities and towns to offer car decals that tell emergency respond- ers that critical health information is stored in the motorist’s glove compartment.
Singer gave the example of a someone involved in a car accident who happens to be on blood thinner for a heart condition. Emergency responders would want to know that the medication could make it difficult for the person’s blood to clot. The first state to establish a yellow dot program was Connecticut in 2002, according to Anne S. Teigen, a senior policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Unlike New Jersey, Connecticut’s program began as administrative policy through its department of motor vehicles. Counties throughout the country have established yellow dot programs throughout the past decade, but the advent of state laws in support Drivers in New Jersey may soon notice new yellow decals of the programs is relatively new. Six states considered on the backs of vehicles. Gov. Chris Christie signed a law bills to create yellow dot programs through their depart- Jan. 23 that allows counties and municipalities to estab- ments of transportation in 2012, but only Tennessee lish a Yellow Dot program -- a simple, low-tech system enacted a law. New Jersey appears to be the second to for documenting people’s medical conditions and notify- pass a law establishing yellow dot programs, Teigen ing emergency response personnel that the information is says. stored in the vehicle. It’s unclear how often the program helps emergency “In many cases, certainly in an emergency, people get responders at the scene of an accident. The Forecaster, excited, they get upset, sometimes they forget what a Maine newspaper, documented an incident last year they’re on or they may be incapacitated or not know what in which an 83-year-old tennis player suffered a heart they’re on,” says state Sen. Robert Singer, who co-spon- attack and head injury. Responders found his vehicle sored the legislation. with the yellow dot decal and quickly located his health The bill allows counties, cities and towns to set up their information, which detailed his heart arrhythmia, clotting own Yellow Dot programs. While each local program may condition and blood thinner medication. “The program vary, the core elements would be the same: saved my life,” the man told the newspaper. Jonathan • a yellow decal placed on the driver’s side rear Adkins, the deputy executive director of the Governors window Highway Safety Association, says his group is highly supportive of yellow dot programs because “it is a low- • a card with health information placed inside a yellow cost tool to keep older drivers safe.” Adkins says he envelope stored in a glove compartment expects more states and localities to adopt yellow dot The health card would include emergency contacts, programs in the future. any pre-existing conditions, medications, the name and The New Jersey legislation, which passed last year, contact information for the driver’s physician, and more. enjoyed bipartisan support. Singer, a Republican, Continued on page 13 12 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
Satellites Show ‘Total” California Water Storage…Continued from page 11 New Jersey Program Marks Cars…Continued from page 12
Press Release on EurekAlert introduced the Senate version of the bill along with Richard Codey, a Democrat. In the Senate, 39 voted in favor the bill, with only one lawmaker not voting. In the General Assembly, 65 voted in favor and 7 voted against. The only real controversy, Singer says, was whether to establish a state program, or leave it to the localities. “It just made it more economical to be handled at the city and county level,” he says. Counties and towns already have offices of aging that deal with residents in their 60s and older -- the population Singer had in mind in when drafting the legislation. The New Jersey Office of Legislative Services noted that the program could incur a net negative cost to localities, Cumulative groundwater losses (cubic km and million acre-ft) in California’s Valley since 1962. depending on how many people choose to get the yellow The red line shows data from USGS calibrated groundwater model simulations from 1962- 2003. The green line shows satellite-based estimates of groundwater storage losses produced decals. However, the legislation allows localities charge by the UCCHM at UC Irvine. Background colors represent periods of drought (white), of variable an administrative fee to offset any associated costs. to dry conditions (grey), of variable to wet conditions (light blue) and wet conditions (blue). Groundwater depletion mostly occurs during drought; and progressive droughts are lowering This article was reprinted with permission from www.governing.com. groundwater storage to unsustainable levels. After Figure B9 from USGS Professional Paper The original article can be found at: www.governing.com/news/head- 1766. USGS data courtesy of Claudia Faunt. Satellite data courtesy of NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. lines/gov-new-jersey-program-marks-cars-for-emergency-responders.html
Media Contacts: Callie Brazil Prof. Jay Famiglietti Communications & Director, UC Center Outreach Coordinator for Hydrologic Modeling UC Center for [email protected] Hydrologic Modeling @JayFamiglietti [email protected] @TheUCCHM (949) 824-3068
About the UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling: The UCCHM is a University of California system-wide research center formed to address California, national and international water issues. Its mission is to develop state-of-the-art models, remote sensing analyses, data products and data management to support research and sustainable water management on both local and global levels. UCCHM findings inform state, regional, national and international leaders, and advise decision-makers at all levels, on the future of water availability. For more information, please visit www.ucchm.org. Follow @ TheUCCHM on Twitter, Facebook (www.facebook.com/ UCCHM) and at our blog site, Be Water, My Friend (www.bewaterblog.org/).
UCCHM Press Release #5: California Water Storage at Near-Decade Low
March 2014 13 Rural Canadian Town Offers IIMC News DigestIIMC ‘Google-Fast’ Broadband Service by John Sepulvado Government partnership group O-NET in the small town of Olds is offering Internet download speeds of one gig per second with the goal of servicing all of the town’s 8,500 residents in 2014.
When Norm McInnis was growing up, the town of Olds profit company started by the Town of Olds and other was just another sleepy stitch in Canada’s wheat and stakeholders. barley breadbasket. The big difference between O-NET and Google is price But now this agricultural hamlet can be known as the and profit: O-NET is charging customers $51 (US) for town that rivals Google. broadband internet service, while Google is charging “This is far beyond what Google is doing in Kansas City,” Kansas City residents $70. said McInnis, Olds’ Chief Administrative Officer. Meanwhile, all the profits from O-NET get routed back to Kansas City, of course, is where Google launched Fiber, the city to be used for other projects. a broadband service offering TV and Internet service “The ability to generate revenue is amazing,” McInnis with download speeds of one gig per second. Those same said. “We will be keeping money in our community.” download speeds are now being offered by O-NET, a for Broadband as a Utility After other service providers refused to do business in Olds, community leaders got together to try and find W another solution. Members from the town, the local NE college, the agricultural association and the chamber of commerce joined together to come up with a plan. At the time, there was worry that businesses would leave Olds for other areas with faster Internet speeds, McInnis said. “We knew broadband is as essential as a pipe water and waste water,” McInnis said. “This is a utility. We saw faster broadband was happening in bigger centers, and we knew we were going to have make calculated risks.” With that ‘broadband as a utility’ mindset, O-NET was created about 12 years ago by a group of volunteers, explained Nathan Kusiek, O-NET’s director of customer experience. While technically a for-profit enterprise, O-NET turns all profits over to a not-for-profit created, in part, by the Town of Olds. That money is then reinvested in the town. “We’re a community owned project,” added Kusiek. “People support that. There are yard signs all over town saying ‘we switched to O-NET.’ It’s something to be proud of.” Continued on page 15
14 March 2014 Cities Seize Momentum…Continued from page 15
IIMC News Digest
Rural Canadian Town Offers…Continued from page 14
O-NET is a dark fiber network that connects to the Alberta SuperNet, a larger infrastructure system created by the provincial government. Chattanooga also features co-op type broadband service offering download speeds of a gigabit per second, prompting civic leaders to rebrand the Tennessee munici- pality “Gig-City.” “The technical differences between what we’re doing and what Chattanooga, and the others are doing, is that we’re entrenching our cables in the ground, and they will use power poles,” said Kusiek. “That’s about it. The bigger difference is we’re a small rural community that is trying to take its independence back.” A Model for Rural US Towns Since O-NET launched last year, Kusiek estimates he’s gotten about a call per week from officials in other rural towns looking to emulate Olds’ success. “I tell them it took a lot of hard work,” Kusiek said. Initially, Kusiek said projections for O-NET included a 30 percent usage rate within Olds. To help entice new customers, O-NET decided to offer the gig per second download rate “to blow the competition out of the water,” Kusiek said. Now, O-NET projects its usage rate will surpass 50 percent over the next five years, although Kusiek added the dream goal is 100 percent. For such a small rural town, O-NET is a huge victory. Kusiek said it shows a path for other rural towns look- ing to improve Internet speed, while lowering costs to consumers and making money for the municipality. Not that it’s an easy task. In order to offer the service, O-NET had a heap of red- tape to cut through, including applying and receiving a television broadcast license from the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), while garnering support from the community and busi- ness groups. “At the early stages, it was difficult,” said Norm McIn- nis. “First, people don’t understand broadband. Then, the licensing…other companies wouldn’t come and play. We had companies on the verge of leaving because they couldn’t transfer their computer files quickly.” “But,” McInnis continued, “this can be replicated in any community…that’s what I tell people when they call and ask, ‘How’d you guys do that?’”
March 2014 15 IIMC News Digest
How Boulder, Colorado, Prepared for ‘Torrential’ Rainfall By Elaine Pittman
It’s no secret that Boulder, Colorado, was likely to 6,181 acres, leaving a burn scar that greatly increased experience a major flash flood at some point. Located the likelihood of flash flooding because of a lack of plants at the base of the Rocky Mountains, the city rests up and undergrowth to trap moisture. These natural disas- against a canyon from which a creek runs through ters created a more prepared city and county, and while Boulder, nearly cutting it in half. The Boulder Creek has four lives were lost in Boulder during the 2013 flooding, been called the No. 1 flash flood risk in Colorado, and the lessons and initiatives from past disasters proved 15 creeks with flood plains affect more than 15 percent immeasurably valuable. of the city. Cementing the likelihood of a major event, “Since the Fourmile fire, a tremendous amount of in 2004, the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Natural community education and also government preparedness Hazards Center listed a flash flood in Boulder as one of went into flooding because the burn scar created a very six “disasters waiting to happen” in the U.S. unique flash flooding risk that normally isn’t there,” said Mike Chard, director of the Boulder Office of Emergency Management. In early September, the National Weather Service told Boulder’s emergency managers that monsoon season was coming and how it could affect the area. Then the weather pattern developed and heavy saturation was headed for Colorado’s Front Range. “The scenario was set for the 11th with what the Weather Service says is our worst-case scenario, which is an upslope storm where it’s piling up against the mountains,” said Dan Barber, deputy director of Boulder’s Emergency Manage- ment Office.
And though few may have expected what the National As the emergency situation played out, so did the Weather Service described as “biblical rainfall amounts” city and county’s strategies. Here’s a look at how Boulder in the second week of September, Boulder was prepared weathered the storm. for the flash flooding that followed the torrential rainfall Internal policies have shifted the city and county — the city and county’s engineers, scientists and emer- Emergency Management Office from a planning and gency managers had been preparing for decades. preparatory function into also a predictive function, Mitigation and preparedness efforts can be traced Chard said, so when there’s a possibility for an intense back to a series of events: The flood of 1969 led the city storm, the emergency management staff follows the to adopt flood plain regulations after four days of rainfall severe weather protocol and mans the EOC to main- drenched the area with more than nine inches of water. tain situational awareness. This allows the office to be Then in 1976, the Big Thompson flood served as a lesson prepared to supply first responders with vital information for all Colorado communities that are at risk of flash in case the situation gets to the point where they need flooding. Over a four-hour period, up to 12 inches of rain to step in and make public safety-related decisions like came down in the mountains near Estes Park, causing whether to evacuate an area. the state’s deadliest flash flood — 143 people were killed Having a scalable logistics and resource mobiliza- and another 150 injured. And in 2010, to the west of tion system also proved to be key. Boulder Emergency Boulder, the Fourmile Canyon fire burned 169 homes and Continued on page 17
16 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
How Boulder, Colorado Prepared…Continued from page 16
Management was in the process of building the system Going further back, flood plain regulations were before the 2010 Fourmile fire, and many lessons learned adopted in response to the flood of 1969, said Katie from that event helped improve processes, helping it to Knapp, the city’s engineering project manager. In be able to scale to the level needed during the flooding. addition, Boulder joined the National Flood Insur- Denzl, the resource mobilization and logistics section ance Program in 1978, and its regulations exceed the chief, filled 422 orders, many of which requested multiple program’s minimum standards. The city requires, for resources. The outside aid agencies were accustomed example, that residential structures are elevated two to working on large-scale events and were ordering feet above the base flood water elevation, whereas the hundreds of port-a-potties, thousands of pallets of water national standard is to be at the base flood elevation. and even a circus tent (to be a briefing room for the inci- Boulder also is a class six in the program’s Commu- dent management team). nity Rating System, an incentive program that lowers “From a local level, our system has to be very scal- flood insurance premiums. And those efforts seem to be able to order everything from ink pens for our EOC to paying off. “The city has more flood insurance policies multimillion dollar orders for equipment and staff,” Denzl than any other community in the state,” Knapp said, but said. she didn’t have exact numbers. Within Boulder, a flood management program has The area within the 100-year flood plain at the great- been in place for more than 30 years, and since 1997, the est risk for life and property damage was established as city has spent about $45 million on mitigation projects, a high hazard zone. The city doesn’t allow any structures which include floodgates, underpasses and storm sewer that are intended for human occupancy in that zone, and improvements. it looks to acquire property there when possible. The
Continued on page 18
March 2014 17 IIMC News Digest
How Boulder, Colorado Prepared…Continued from page 17 buildings are removed and overbank grading allows addi- “In the past it was a challenge to try to explain tional capacity for floodwaters, said Knapp. to people that even though we haven’t had a big flood Another mitigation project is a system of multiuse recently, we do have flood plains, there is a high risk trails that run along the creek corridors kind of like a and we do have regulations that you to have to follow,” linear park area. Called the Greenways, the trail system she said. People would build their homes just outside of allows the creeks area to have additional water capacity the 100-year flood plain so they could have a basement, while also providing recreation areas, improving storm and they would push back against the building elevation water drainage and protecting resources. Being multiuse requirements. “Now that we’ve actually experienced a allows for numerous funding opportunities, Knapp said; big flood event, I have had a few people come up to me adding underpasses, for example, crosses into transpor- and say, ‘I didn’t want to comply with these flood plain tation, so multiple objectives can be met by each Green- regulations at the time, but I am glad I did; the measures ways project. I put in helped save my house,’” Knapp said. “I think now that we’ve had this flood, people are going to take it Boulder’s combination of projects and initiatives more seriously than they did in the past.” through the decades proved invaluable to the city during the flooding. “You have many bridges and roadways that This is key because one of the most dangerous may have overtopped or were cut off at some point but aspects of a flash flood is that it doesn’t allow for much are standing today because of those mitigation efforts,” lead time. “We have to shift operations from identifying Chard said. “The mitigation efforts were paramount to and gathering information to making decisions about response and recovery.” public safety all within about an hour,” Chard said. “If peak flow is achieved in about 20 to 30 minutes, flooding As the city and county move forward with recovery, will start about 20 minutes after that. So we have a very lessons learned will continue to shape a better prepared narrow window of time.” community. As of press time, the Boulder Office of Emer- gency Management had not completed an after-action And that’s what was done on Sept. 11. The severe report, but “things went well for us,” said Chard. The weather protocol was implemented at 11 a.m. and by office will examine the early warning systems, opera- 4:00, “we knew we were in trouble,” Chard said. The tional command structures, how the EOC interfaced, and more than nine inches of rain that fell on Sept. 12 was the quality of communication and information sharing. a record for a single day; instead of issuing evacuation orders, alerts told residents to climb to safety. One issue that stuck out was the need for communi- ties to have their own sheltering and unmet needs plan. Numerous alerting methods were used to get the During this event, the American Red Cross was strapped message out — sirens blared; the Everbridge mass noti- for resources and, along with other aid organizations, fication system sent texts, calls and emails to residents; couldn’t get into the affected areas for some time. “We the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency have been working to build that into our response plan,” Alerts were used; and messages were distributed via Chard said. social media. In this case, the flooding was widespread so messaging wasn’t needed for just select groups of In addition, some of the stream and rain gauges were at-risk residents. But if the flooding had been threaten- washed away. Barber said they will look into replacing ing specific areas, Boulder was prepared with hazard- them and determining if they need to be in different loca- specific alerting polygons. Chard said that in many cases, tions as well as the possibility of adding them farther up people draw a large polygon on a map and alert people the canyons. within that polygon, into the thousands in some cases, The city has been holding open houses in differ- and getting the message to that large of an audience can ent neighborhoods to show residents the flood plain cause a delay in the system. maps and identify where flooding occurred. At future “We created polygons with residents that were meetings, Knapp would like to incorporate stations to specific to high flood-prone areas with crafted messaging provide people information on how they can protect their that was unique to that area,” he said. “So the fire chief property as well as help them with personal emergency or sheriff could say, ‘Give me polygon 17 with message planning. Continued on page 19
18 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
How Boulder, Colorado Prepared…Continued from page 18 two,’ and the dispatcher would pull it up and off it would what’s happening on the ground. They look for trends, go.” Chard said, instead of responding to every post. He said Aside from sending information out to residents, a the model is to triangulate data — if a topic is seen three new role in the EOC was created to provide situational or more times, they start to track and verify the informa- awareness based on what people were posting online. tion before moving forward on it. The E-Sponder monitors, filters and disseminates social Another tool aiding awareness is a network of rain media information in Boulder’s EOC. “For example, and stream gauges that was installed by the Urban Drain- college kids were playing in the water and we were able age and Flood Control District, an independent agency to see it happening online,” said Amy Danzl, an emer- that has been assisting Colorado local governments with gency management specialist with the office. “What was drainage and flood control programs since 1969. The really good for us was we could see the levels of water gauges feed real-time information to officials and also immediately.” Watching social media posts about the send an alarm if the water reaches predetermined levels. flood also helped the EOC follow the public sentiment. Chard said they read the rain gauges for homes that are Danzl said the same time the e-sponder observed that at the bottom of the canyons to help determine peak flow messages were becoming negative on Twitter and people and if residents need to be warned about a possible flash were getting scared, the EOC received information that flood. the situation was getting worse. “Knowing the tempo of “We also use the stream gauges to verify the flow the public gives us and our public information officers a that will be happening in the creek and then that is good better idea on how to respond and frame the message,” information to give to our city of Boulder partners and she said. stakeholders to say, ‘Here’s what we are predicting will Building situational awareness using social media come your way,’” he said. also helps to push information to first responders about Continued on page 27
March 2014 19 Government Needs to Rethink IIMC News DigestIIMC How They Attract IT Talent by Steve Towns
Most agencies can’t match private-sector pay, analysts to figure out how technology can be used to and governments can no longer depend on superior make government programs work better. benefits packages as a recruiting tool. Competing with private industry for these employees The tech sector’s recovery from the Great Reces- can be tough. Most agencies can’t match private-sector sion is good news everywhere but within government IT pay, and governments can no longer depend on superior departments. When the economy tanked, one of the few benefits packages as a recruiting tool. Generous pension bright spots was a surge in the number of skilled tech- and health-care packages are being retooled and vest- nology workers applying for public-sector jobs. But with ing periods are being stretched to a decade or more—far private companies hiring again, governments are strug- longer than many young IT workers expect to spend gling to compete for IT talent. at one job. In light of these realities, it is important to To make matters worse, a good chunk of the public- consider these questions as you remake your technology sector IT workforce is poised to leave. The sour economy workforce: delayed the long-predicted baby boomer retirement wave, Are you flexible? A growing number of jurisdictions but it’s still coming. Many state and local IT departments have removed IT staff from the civil service system, will see a quarter to a third of their employees become giving agencies more leeway on pay and job classifica- eligible for retirement in the next few years—the ratio tions. Some CIOs contend that strict civil service employ- is as much as half in some places. Financial uncertainty ment rules simply are incompatible with modern IT that kept these workers on the job over the past few staffing. The reality may not be quite so dramatic, but years is easing, and changes to pensions may help push implementing merit-based employment certainly makes them out the door. it easier to build the IT organization you need. Also, Once they’re gone, they won’t be easy to replace. highly qualified IT professionals may not want to work Austin, Texas, CIO Stephen Elkins recently told Govern- full time. How friendly are your policies toward part-time ment Technology (Governing’s sister publication) that it or temporary workers? Do you allow telecommuting? takes the city an average of 240 days to fill an open tech- Can your employees use their personal smartphones and nology position. The story is similar in Boston, Nashville, other devices at work? Phoenix and San Antonio. Are you interesting? Public agencies can’t match Luckily, agencies probably won’t need to replace the cool factor of Silicon Valley tech giants. But you retirees one-to-one. Software and systems that used may be more interesting than you think. Government to be created and maintained by teams of government IT departments tend to be involved in major state- or employees now can be purchased as a service from community-wide projects, offering employees on-the- commercial vendors. State and local CIOs are certainly job experience that may take years longer to acquire moving to these services where they can. in the commercial sector. Don’t be shy about publiciz- ing major—and intriguing—initiatives. There may be a Still, IT departments need some level of in-house fair number of people who’ll spend a few years at your expertise, both to run systems they can’t or won’t agency to build their résumé—just don’t expect them to outsource and to keep contractors honest. They’ll also spend a lifetime in government employment. need to attract employees with new skill sets, such as data scientists to create insight from the mountains of Continued on page 25 information collected by public agencies and business
20 March 2014 Ninety Years and Counting: IIMC News DigestIIMC A Short History of the Winter Games by Lindsay Krasnoff
Ninety years ago, a week-long winter sports 1920s have used the quadrennial competitions to make “prelude” to the 1924 Paris Summer Games was held statements or advance their domestic or international in Chamonix, France, a commune tucked away in the agendas. Athletes at times utilize their moment in the southeastern French Alps. This celebration of snow and spotlight to advance a political cause. Joy has mixed with ice was later renamed the first “Winter Games” by the tragedy. However, some of the more memorable Olym- International Olympic Committee (IOC). The father of pic moments are unrelated to winning the gold medal. the modern Olympic movement, Frenchman Pierre de Sometimes they are the excitement of watching compel- Coubertin, wanted the Olympics to incorporate as wide ling competitions. Sometimes they are illustrations of an an athletic field as possible. Games played on snow or athlete -- or a country -- overcoming personal or physical ice, however, initially presented a challenge. By 1909, hurdles. At the end of the day, the Olympics offer us the technological advances enabled the production of artifi- chance to better understand other countries and cultures cial ice. Yet, de Coubertin felt that it was unrealistic to through the shared commonality of sports and the inter- expect science to produce artificial snow of sufficient section of the human mind and body -- sports diplomacy quality and quantity to last long enough to permit ski at its most fundamental level. competitions over multiple days. “Thus, ice skating,” he wrote, “is the only one of the three big winter sports that About the Author: could have a place within the Olympics.” Lindsay Krasnoff is a historian in the State Department’s One world war later, this viewpoint changed. In Office of the Historian. Her academic research focuses on 1921, the IOC decided to include winter sports in the sports history. Olympic fold. The following year, Chamonix was selected See more at: http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/02/08/ninety-years-and- for its resort capacities: facilities, communications lines, counting-short-history-winter-games#sthash.xISveS1N.dpuf and a guarantee of snow. Despite several weather- and This story was originally from the U.S. State Department at: construction-related setbacks, the games opened on http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/02/08/ninety-years-and-counting-short- January 25, 1924. Over the next 11 days, 258 athletes history-winter-games and used with permission. from 16 nations competed in 16 events. U.S. speed skater Charles Jewtraw was the first champion of the games in the 500m race. Figure skater Beatrix Loughran was the first female American athlete to medal at a 16th Annual MCEF Walk/Run Winter Games, and one of just eleven female athletes to participate at Chamonix. While the Olympic movement still stands as a symbol of international peace, much has changed since then. Each successive Olympiad is larger than the preceding one. Today, over 3,000 amateur and professional athletes compete for medals in dozens of events, whereas in 1924 all participants were amateurs. The increased presence and reach of international media enables most corners of the globe to watch the festivities and competitions. During the twentieth century, mediatization of the Don’t forget those walking and running clothes and join everyone Olympics politicized the Games. Countries since the for a fun event on Sunday morning, May 18th, 2014.
March 2014 21 IIMC News Digest
Take a journey from the Great Lakes to the Caribbean when you step into the Reiman Aquarium.
Ten tanks represent the changes along the way from Milwaukee to Miami. 68th Annual Conference Begin in the fresh waters of Lake Michigan, moving past the Great Lakes Milwaukee, WI and into the St. Lawrence Seaway, where fresh water meets the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean. Finish your journey by going southward to the Sunday, May 18 thru Florida Keys and finally to the Caribbean Sea. Thursday, May 22, 2014 When was the last time you reached out and touched a shark? Take your journey even further by actually touching fish in our Touch Tank area and studying sea life in our Underwater Labs.
QUICK FACTS Lake Michigan Tank: The largest of our tanks holds 75,000 gallons of water and is home to many species including Rainbow Trout, Lake Stur- geon, Buffalo Fish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Long Nose Gar, Bowfin, Paddlefish, White Bass, Walleye, Common Carp, Shovelnose Sturgeon, and Freshwater Drum. The Great Lakes Composite Tank: Home to species like Yellow Perch, Smallmouth Bass, and Blue Gill. St. Lawrence Brackish Tank: Brackish water is usually found where rivers meet the ocean. The force of a river drives freshwater far out to sea, while the influence of tides pushes ocean water a long way up river. It includes Killifish, Pin Fish, and Blue Crab. Invasive Carp Tank: This area focuses on the growing challenge posed by invasive species and illustrates the pathway that invasive species travel to get to the Great Lakes. Thankfully, this is one of the only places in Wiscon- sin – for now – where you will come in contact with Asian Carp such as Bighead and Silver Carp. Northeast Atlantic Tank: This tank holds 8,000 gallons of water and contains a variety of fish that are commonly found within this part of the ocean such as Black Sea Bass, Flounder, Striped Bass, and Scup. Jellyfish Tank: This “lunar experience” is home to our Moon Jellies and a favorite for visitors of all ages. Proud Sponsor of Education Programs and Speakers
2014 Annual Conference Sponsors
22 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
Florida Keys Tank: The 6,000-gallon tank resembles a colony of Mangrove roots that are home to many Southern aquatic species. Featured species include Rock Beauty Angelfish, Gray Angelfish, White Grunt, High Hat, and Blue Striped Grunt. Caribbean Invasive Tank: Home to various fish, Black Edge Moray Eel, and the dangerous Lion Fish. It is native to the Pacific Ocean, but has become a destructive predator in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Seahorse Tank: The tank showcases varieties of Seahorses, Arrow Crab, Cleaner Shrimp, and Horseshoe Crab. Caribbean Tank: The centerpiece of the Reiman Aquarium, this area features a walkthrough tunnel running through 65,000 gallons of salt water. The tank is home to species like the Porcupine Puffer Fish, Permit, Black Durgon, Squirrel Fish, Blue Striped Grunt, Yellowtail Snapper, Atlantic Spadefish, Pork Fish, French Grunt, Blue Tang, Lookdown, French Angelfish, Hogfish, Smallmouth Grunt, Blue Runner, and White Grunt. Weekend Public Interaction Dives in the Carib- bean Tunnel are most Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. (Dives subject to staff and volunteer availability). The Touch Tanks: The colder freshwater side (around 60 degrees) is home to Lake Sturgeon, while the salt water side (closer to 80 degrees) contains Sting Rays, Bamboo Sharks, Starfish and at times Sea Stars and Pencil Urchins. The Stingrays barbs have all been trimmed and Bamboo sharks pose no threat to humans. The Underwater Labs: This exhibit features a “submarine” split up into 3 pods and staged as an underwater laboratory where you can explore and study like real scientists. Human Underwater Lab - Learn about diving and the gear required to support human life underwater. The pod features a working Periscope from a naval vessel that provides a live view of the world above. Ichthyology Lab – Gain knowledge of fish biology, as well some strange defenses some fish have against predators. Water Quality Lab – Discover more about the life sustaining importance of water quality worldwide.
P R E M I E R
March 2014 23 CDC Reports Flu Hit Younger People IIMC News DigestIIMC Particularly Hard This Season Vaccination lowered risk of having to go to the doctor by about 60 percent for people of all ages
This influenza season was particularly hard on U.S. flu surveillance data suggests that flu activity younger- and middle-age adults, the Centers for Disease is likely to continue for a number of weeks, especially in Control and Prevention reported in today’s Morbidity and places where activity started later in the season. Some Mortality Weekly Report. People age 18-64 represented states that saw earlier increases in flu activity are now 61 percent of all hospitalizations from influenza—up seeing decreases. Other states are still seeing high levels from the previous three seasons when this age group of flu activity or continued increases in activity. represented only about 35 percent of all such hospital- While flu is responsible for serious illness and death izations. Influenza deaths followed the same pattern; every season, the people who are most affected can vary more deaths than usual occurred in this younger age by season and by the predominant influenza virus. The group. currently circulating H1N1 virus emerged in 2009 to trigger a pandemic, which was notable for high rates of hospitalization and death in younger- and middle-aged people. While H1N1 viruses have continued to circulate since the pandemic, this is the first season since the pandemic they have been predominant in the U.S. Once again, the virus is causing severe illness in younger- and middle-aged people. Approximately 61 percent of flu hospitalizations so far this season have occurred among persons aged 18-64 years. Last season, when influenza A (H3N2) viruses were the predominant circulating viruses, people 18 to 64 years accounted for only 35 percent of hospitaliza- tions. During the pandemic season of 2009-2010, people A nurse administers an intramuscular injection into the left shoulder muscle of a 13-year old 18 to 64 years old accounted for about 56 percent of boy as his mother looks on. Photo Credit: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hospitalizations. Hospitalization rates have also been affected. While A second report in this week’s MMWR showed rates are still highest among people 65 and older (50.9 that influenza vaccination offered substantial protec- per 100,000), people 50 to 64 years now have the tion against the flu this season, reducing a vaccinated second-highest hospitalization rate (38.7 per 100,000), person’s risk of having to go to the doctor for flu illness followed by children 0-4 years old (35.9 per 100,000). by about 60 percent across all ages. During the pandemic, people 50 to 64 years also had the “Flu hospitalizations and deaths in people younger- second-highest hospitalization rate. Note that hospital- and middle-aged adults is a sad and difficult reminder ization rates are cumulative and thus will continue to that flu can be serious for anyone, not just the very increase this season. young and old; and that everyone should be vaccinated,” Influenza deaths this season are following a pattern said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “The a similar to the pandemic. People 25 years to 64 years good news is that this season’s vaccine is doing its job, of age have accounted for about 60 percent of flu deaths protecting people across all age groups.” Continued on page 25
24 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
CDC Reports Flu Hit Younger People…Continued from page 24 this season compared with 18 percent, 30 percent, estimates from Canada for 2013-14 published recently. and 47 percent for the three previous seasons, respec- While flu vaccine can vary in how well it works, tively. During 2009-2010, people 25 years to 64 years vaccination offers the best protection currently available accounted for an estimated 63 percent of deaths. against influenza infection. CDC recommends that every- “Younger people may feel that influenza is not a one 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine. threat to them, but this season underscores that flu “We are committed to the development of better flu can be a serious disease for anyone,” said Dr. Frieden. vaccines, but existing flu vaccines are the best preventive “It’s important that everyone get vaccinated. It’s also tool available now. This season vaccinated people were important to remember that some people who get vacci- substantially better off than people who did not get vacci- nated may still get sick, and we need to use our second nated. The season is still ongoing. If you haven’t yet, you line of defense against flu: antiviral drugs to treat flu should still get vaccinated,” said Dr. Frieden. illness. People at high risk of complications should seek treatment if they get a flu-like illness. Their doctors More information available at: www.hhs.gov/ may prescribe antiviral drugs if it looks like they have This information was found at: www.cdc.gov influenza.” People at high risk for flu complications include pregnant women, people with asthma, diabetes or heart disease, people who are morbidly obese and people older than 65 or children younger than 5 years, but especially 68th Annual Conference those younger than 2 years. A full list of high risk factors Milwaukee, WI and antiviral treatment guidance is available on the CDC website. More information about flu vaccine and how well Sunday, May 18 thru it works also is available. Thursday, May 22, 2014 Flu Vaccine Best Tool Available In the flu vaccine effectiveness (VE) study, CDC Government Needs to Rethink How They Attract…Continued from page 20 looked at data from 2,319 children and adults enrolled Are you connected? Some agencies are work- in the U.S. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (Flu VE) ing closely with local colleges on internship programs Network from December 2, 2013 to January 23, 2014. that create a pipeline of new IT employees. Others are They found that flu vaccine reduced the risk of having to holding “hackathon” events that involve local software go to the doctor for flu illness by an estimated 61 percent developers in solving government or community prob- across all ages. The study also looked at VE by age lems. These events can result in usable applications, but group and found that the vaccine provided similar levels just as important, they can burnish your cool factor and of protection against influenza infection across all ages. introduce your agency to a creative and skilled group of VE point estimates against influenza A and B viruses potential employees. Another interesting tactic comes by age group ranged from 52 percent for people 65 and from the federal government. The Presidential Innovation older to 67 percent for children 6 months to 17 years. Fellows program, launched in 2012, brings private-sector Protection against the predominant H1N1 virus was even technologists to Washington, D.C., for six-month stints to slightly better for older people; VE against H1N1 was work on government projects. Can you develop your own estimated to be 56 percent in people 65 and older and 62 version? percent in people 50 to 64 years of age. All findings were statistically significant. How state and local IT agencies answer these ques- tions could determine their success—especially as baby The interim VE estimates this season are compa- boomers leave the public workforce and new technology rable to results from studies during other seasons when demands continue to pile up. the viruses in the vaccine have been well-matched with circulating influenza viruses and are similar to interim This article was originally found at: www.governing.com
March 2014 25 Los Angeles Recognized for IIMC News DigestIIMC Leadership in Energy Efficiency, Better Buildings Challenge By LA Better Buildings Challenge
As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to is on track to save about $175,000 in energy costs per double energy productivity by 2030, the Energy Depart- year. ment Wednesday recognized the city of Los Angeles, “Los Angeles is one of the most energy efficient and Calif., for its leadership in the Department’s Better Build- economically competitive big cities in the country,” said ings Challenge – helping the city save on energy costs Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “In partnership with and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Through the Better DOE, through the Better Buildings Challenge, the City, Buildings Challenge, Los Angeles has pledged to reduce businesses, utilities and the real estate community have the energy intensity for 30 million square feet of city- come together to save energy and create economic oppor- owned and private buildings by 20 percent by 2020. tunity for residents.” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency In 2011, President Obama launched the Better Kathleen Hogan joined with Los Angeles’s Sustainability Buildings Challenge to catalyze revolutionary change Chief, Matt Peterson recently toured the Los Angeles in energy use and achieve record-breaking energy bill Central Library, which has reduced its energy costs by 20 savings. More than 120 organizations – including a percent through the Better Buildings Challenge. diverse set of public and private sector partners from “Energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective local governments, school districts and universities to options to save businesses, governments and homeown- commercial real estate, healthcare and manufacturing ers money while creating jobs and protecting communi- – are partnering with the Energy Department to achieve ties nationwide,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for portfolio-wide energy savings and share successful strat- Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan. “Through the Better egies that maximize efficiency. In addition, the Better Buildings Challenge, cities like Los Angeles are commit- Buildings Challenge includes a network of Financial and ting to real change – breaking through barriers and Utility Allies to assist partners in overcoming financial achieving tremendous energy savings.” and data access barriers across the marketplace. As part of the Better Buildings Challenge, Los Better Buildings Challenge partners are actively Angeles is working to benchmark 250 of the city’s most deploying energy efficiency projects across their entire energy-intensive facilities and develop a plan to improve building portfolios and updating data on energy use and building performance by 2020. More than 25 owners of energy savings, including more than 7,700 facilities to large commercial buildings, including Transwestern, date. Of these, more than 1,300 have reduced energy Kaiser Permanente of Southern California Kilroy Realty, intensity by 20 percent or more, while another 2,100 and Children’s Hospital of LA, have joined the Challenge have reduced energy intensity by at least 10 percent and are reporting their results annually to help others since their baseline years. Over the first year of the save money and energy. Better Buildings Challenge, these partners have also Each year, the 500,000 square foot Los Ange- completed more than 50 showcase projects that highlight les Central Library uses approximately seven million innovative, cost-effective energy saving strategies. Better kilowatt hours – equivalent to the annual electricity Buildings Challenge Financial Allies have also extended consumption of about 600 households. Through the Chal- more than $1.1 billion in private financing for energy lenge, Los Angeles has retrofitted the library, including efficiency improvements. replacing an aging roof with a cool roof, updating the Find more information about the LA Better Buildings HVAC system and replacing old lighting with new, energy Challenge visit: www.LA-BBC.com. efficient bulbs. As a result of these upgrades, the library
26 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
How Boulder, Colorado Prepared…Continued from page 19
The collaboration with the National Weather Service, situation happened in Jamestown, and the mountain Urban Drainage’s meteorological firm, and city and communities supported one another as they had been county hydrologists all create a coordinated and informed training to do. Chard said they were able to open shel- response. Another entity that plays into this is the Multi- ters, deal with unmet needs and provide safe sites for Agency Coordination group. Composed of government, people who were coming out of the valleys and to the nonprofit and private organizations, Denzl said the group high points. has been meeting for many years and the participants are The mountain community leaders also partnered with depth trained to work in the EOC. The group is orga- the Boulder County Amateur Radio Emergency Services, nized into sections, like infrastructure and community and 80 people have been trained in ham radio operation services, and its members were advised on Sept. 9 that in the last two years. The flooding took out telephone because of the ground saturation and weather predictions poles but communication links remained between the to be available in case the situation escalated — they ham radio operators and Boulder EOC. are the “foundation of the EOC,” according to the office’s website. “We were able to maintain effective communications back and forth from the hills to the valley, which was Another group that aids coordination was developed critical in being able to tell people what’s happening, after the Fourmile Canyon Fire. The Intermountain Alli- what we can get you and find out what they needed,” ance ties together six mountain communities with the Chard said. “We were able to air drop in resources and Boulder Emergency Management Office, and the plan- coordinate that with the people who were up there ning effort for the past two years has been around an through ham radio — it was a pretty incredible coordina- event that cuts the cities off from the plains where the tion effort.” resources are, said Chard. And that’s what happened during the September flooding. The town of Lyons was This was originally published on the Emergency Management website widely publicized for being cut off from outside aid at www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Boulder-Colo-Prepared-Biblical- after roads and highways were washed out. The same Rainfall.html
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Communities throughout the United States have during and after a natural or man-made disaster, commu- been faced with unique climatic conditions over the past nities not only need a designated emergency operations several years, some of the most dramatic and destructive center (EOC), but they also need to have an EOC that being hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and floods. operates 24/7, can accommodate at least a dozen state All in all, the past two years have had some of the agencies in a central command center, includes state-of- most extreme storms to hit the country. In October 2012, art technology, and has a hardened infrastructure that Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast with such power it can withstand more than 250 mph wind loads and redun- was later declared the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. dant systems that will sustain the facility for a minimum history with damages estimated to be more than $68 of 72 hours. billion. There was the EF-5 tornado that tore through The technology planning for these types of facilities Oklahoma in May 2013, killing 24 people and clearing a is key to the public safety staff’s success in operating path 1.3 miles wide and 17 miles long. In June 2013, 19 these facilities while responding to an event. Commu- firefighters were killed battling a blaze outside Phoenix, nications with outside agencies and the general public Ariz., that raged for nearly two weeks. In August 2013, as well as receiving information from other agencies one of the largest wildfires in California’s history threat- depends on utility providers for general phone and ened Yosemite National Park and burned through more Internet connectivity. It is imperative to provide diverse than 235,000 acres. In September 2013, torrential rains connectivity from multiple providers who, ideally, arrive fell in Colorado dumping 17 inches in some parts of the at the building from different roads, directions and differ- state and destroying more than 1,500 homes. ent points in the city or county from where the build- To protect citizens and help ensure community resil- ing resides. In addition to the commercial providers, a iency during these extreme weather events, federal offi- prepared facility will also enlist ham radio operators who cials and state and local communities have realized the can provide communications to the outside world if utility need for sustainable critical infrastructure. Critical infra- connectivity is lost. structure includes systems and assets, whether physical Audio visual and voice data planning is essential to or virtual, so vital to the community that the incapacity the successful dissemination of information to agency or destruction of such systems and assets would have responders and event staff. Communication of event situ- a debilitating impact on the security, economy, public ations graphically, textually and audibly is a prerequisite health or safety, or any combination of those matters. to a successful operation. Each of these systems will The concept of community resiliency evolves from require detailed planning for power and connectivity to the need for sustainable, survivable infrastructure. It maintain the lines of quick, efficient communications. includes the need to strengthen existing buildings and Security is an important consideration for the facil- systems such as roadways and bridges, electrical power, ity and staff. Security starts with the exterior site and water and sanitary distribution, and communications moves into the facilities in layers. The security system systems. It also includes the design and/or identification provides adequate protection of the EOC staff and of redundant pathways for infrastructure systems, and in emergency responding agencies to allow them to do their the case of flood-prone areas, the relocation or elevation jobs without disruption. The design should include crime of living and working space within existing utility corri- prevention through environmental design concepts to dors and building structure. take advantage of as many passive security measures as To meet this need and provide communities with possible. Electronic access control and video surveillance a central organizing and communication point before, Continued on page 29
28 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
Creating Sustainable Infrastructure…Continued from page 28 should also be deployed to provide enhanced detection tornadoes spun off from strong thunderstorms, the and monitoring. premise of protection from large storm surges — such The EOC should be configured to eliminate nonessen- as Hurricane Katrina that produced a storm surge of 20 tial pedestrian traffic or at least have the capabilities to to 30 feet in Florida in 2005 — is being realized as a do so under emergency operations. Consideration should real threat. Such a demand results in unique structural be given to limiting the number of entrances (consistent elements; a premise we can only understand when we with life safety codes), and providing for a reception area envision a series of 20-foot waves repeatedly striking a that’s screened from the main part of the EOC. building over a sustained period. It is, in that respect, difficult to envision such a magnitude of impact upon a There should be areas of secured parking to ensure building, much less to design for it. that key personnel have a place to park their vehicles and enter the building without the threat of the general Technology Systems and Redundancy public blocking access or taking their space during emer- Similar to redundancy needs for whole communities, gency operations. From this point there should be safe there’s a need to design redundancy in the EOC for all secure passage to the building entrance point for a 24/7 critical power, data, security, communications and audio operation. visual systems. Surviving the “10,000-Year Storm” In the case of an EOC located on an island, the Surviving the “10,000-year storm” is what the mandate of survivability is the need to not only have the Monroe County, Fla., Board of Commissioners and its building survive, but to have it remain fully operational Department of Emergency Management had in mind as the island floods. This mandated the inclusion of dual when they embarked on a program to establish a new, emergency generators, each fully capable of providing stand-alone EOC. 100 percent of electrical demand, based on the learned experience that emergency generators, when placed As a result of its unique location on the island of in continued operations over a sustained period, have Marathon, situated halfway between Key West and Key demonstrated a regrettable propensity to fail. The loss Largo, the facility is designed to face storm forces of a of electrical service, even for a short duration, quickly magnitude greater than those typically impacting an EOC renders a facility unusable, particularly in structures that structure. To compound the complexity of the project, the are entirely sealed, with no natural light, nor natural air state, through the Division of Emergency Management, movement. These are expensive decisions, which are mandated that the structure be capable of withstanding difficult for taxpayers and the general public to accept forces beyond those of a Category 5 storm or even the when we are in a period of economic stress, yet impera- greater storm designation of “near absolute” by introduc- tive if the facility is to be capable of functioning for its ing a new criteria designated as the “10,000-year storm” intended and critical purpose. or, as the expression goes, “off the scale.” With this structure, Monroe County both addresses Criteria included storm surge waves of 18 to 20 feet, the unique criteria related to its geographical location, flooding over the island for a sustained period, as well as as well as providing emergency services during periods wind loading of 205 mph and 225 mph for a three-second of extreme weather. This building endeavors to address gust. protection and survivability issues in an appropriate, This structure is elevated 23 feet above the existing secure and cost-effective manner. grade of 100 feet and is situated on a base pad approxi- mately four feet above grade, creating an area utilized I.S.K. Reeves is the president of Architects Design Group, a national for the protection of emergency response vehicles during architecture firm that specializes in the design of public safety and relatively minor storm events. To achieve access to the emergency operations centers. elevated building, vertical circulation elements had to be protected from the hydrostatic pressure of storm surge This story was reprinted with permission from: waves, as well as the sustained wind loading, to provide a safe means of access and/or egress. www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Creating-Sustainable-Infrastructure- Extreme-Weather.html While Florida has a long history of hurricanes and
March 2014 29 PSO Offers Enhanced IIMC News DigestIIMC Wind Choice Program
Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) has Commercial and industrial customers can enroll made it easier for customers to take advantage of Okla- using the same methods as residential customers, or by homa wind energy, and at a lower cost. contacting their PSO account representative. PSO has reduced the cost of its WindChoice program PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: by more than 40 percent and is also offering custom- AEP), is an electric utility company serving approxi- ers more flexibility on the amount of wind energy they mately 540,000 customers in eastern and southwestern purchase. WindChoice is a voluntary program that allows Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa, PSO has 4,269 megawatts of customers to buy Oklahoma wind power for all or a generating capacity, and is a significant provider of wind portion of their energy needs. energy in the state. News releases and other informa- WindChoice is available to PSO’s residential, commer- tion about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at cial and industrial customers – including municipalities, PSOklahoma.com. governmental organizations, school districts and educa- American Electric Power is one of the largest elec- tional institutions. tric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to “PSO is pleased to now offer customers even better more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks options through the WindChoice program,” said Bobby among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, Mouser, PSO’s Director of Customer Services and owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity Marketing. “By providing a lower price and greater flex- in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity ibility, we’re making it easier than ever for our customers transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that to take advantage of and promote the tremendous energy includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage trans- resource that is our Oklahoma wind.” mission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indi- With WindChoice, customers who sign up to partici- rectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand pate may choose how much of their energy usage is in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected trans- supplied by Oklahoma-produced wind power. They may mission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. purchase part or all of their monthly electricity in 100 states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent kilowatt-hour blocks or as a percentage of their total of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission monthly billed usage. system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units A typical PSO residential customer could subscribe operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in almost half of their usage for just an extra $5 a month. Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in The electricity generated for PSO’s WindChoice Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, program comes from the Minco Wind Farm, a 99-mega- Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern watt facility in western Oklahoma which is dedicated to Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and supplying power for the program. east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. Eligible residential customers can sign up online for WindChoice at PSOklahoma.com/WindChoice, or by calling the PSO customer solutions center, toll-free, at 1-888-216-3523.
30 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
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Return flier and check payable to MCEF to: MCEF Treasurer 410 Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 For credit card payments call IIMC at 909-944-4162 March 2014 31 News from Alberta, Canada
IIMC News DigestIIMC Salary and severance disclosure sets bar for openness
Salary and severance disclosure sets bar for openness and a reduction in the number of public sector managers The Redford government reinforced its commitment by 10 per cent over three years. to transparency and accountability today by putting its Under the Building Alberta Plan, our government is public service compensation disclosure policy into action. investing in families and communities, living within our Salary, benefit and severance amounts for govern- means, and opening new markets for Alberta’s resources ment employees with base salaries of more than to ensure we’re able to fund the services Albertans told $100,000 in 2012 and 2013 are now available online us matter most to them. We will continue to deliver the (http://bit.ly/1bo7fVQ). Where applicable, an employee’s responsible change Albertans voted for. contract and termination agreement will also be posted. Statement from Premier Redford “By sharing this information today, we’re further A statement from Premier Redford following the U.S. demonstrating our commitment to openness and account- State Department’s Final Supplemental Environmental ability. We will continue to set new standards for infor- Impact Statement: mation sharing just like we’ve done with our open data “We welcome the State Department’s thorough envi- portal, whistleblower protections, and travel and expense ronmental analysis of the Keystone XL pipeline project. disclosure requirements.” “The findings are consistent with the analysis - Don Scott, Associate Minister of Accountability, Alberta has put on the table in our various face-to-face Transparency and Transformation meetings with key decision makers in Washington and In the future, compensation disclosure updates will our submissions made on this important file. I’m pleased be posted online in June and December. The salary base that by respecting and actively participating in the amount will be adjusted according to the annual change process, our input has been accepted and understood. in the Alberta Consumer Price Index. Information posted “It also recognizes Alberta’s progressive environmen- on the site is generated directly from government finan- tal initiatives which position our province as leader in cial systems. responsible energy development. There is no doubt that When this policy was originally announced in Decem- Alberta’s commitment to environmental management ber, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation called it “a big firmly positions us as the safest, most secure and respon- win for taxpayers,” and said that “Alberta’s new sunshine sible energy supplier to the U.S. list is now the gold-standard example for other jurisdic- “The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact tions to follow.” Statement is an important step toward approval of a Agencies, boards and commissions are expected to pipeline that will build our economic partnership with our adopt a similar policy for their organizations. Govern- friends in the U.S. and help foster North American energy ment will work with these organizations to help them security and independence. meet the intent of the policy. “We have been clear that opening new markets is job As announced in Budget 2013, the government one for our government, as it will ensure fairer prices for is living within its means by challenging every dollar the resources every Albertan owns, allowing us to invest government spends through the results-based budgeting in building a stronger, more secure Alberta. process and leading by example with an eight per cent MLA pay cut; a three-year management salary freeze, Continued on page 33
32 March 2014 Accountability Doesn’t Stop IIMC News DigestIIMC With Leadership, It Starts There By Sam Silverstein
How many times have we heard of someone in a poli- her accountable for the actions of their entire team. If the tician’s office doing something wrong and the politician, actions are less than acceptable it is the leaders fault. the leader, saying he or she had no knowledge of the They hired wrong, trained wrong, and communicated wrongdoing? Maybe it was an office that was broken into what is done or not done in their office wrong. It always in an attempt to steal information from an adversary, or comes back to the leader. If the leader doesn’t like that maybe it was just a lane closing on a bridge to cause traf- then they shouldn’t step up to lead. Leaders have a fic in a community where the local mayor didn’t support responsibility to everyone that they lead. the governor. The leader tries to get off by claiming igno- We need to keep our commitments to the people rance. Slick move, but I don’t think it holds water. around us and so do the leaders in our society, compa- A leader’s accountability to the people he/she serves nies, and government. Don’t let anyone get away with, doesn’t stop at their door. It starts there. The leader is “It was someone on my team and I wasn’t aware of that.” responsible to establish the standards by which their Accountability starts with the leader and can never be campaign or office does business. They are responsible dismissed or excused. to communicate, “This is how we do things here.” There Reprinted from: www.samsilverstein.com should be no doubt in anyone’s mind about whether a particular choice is acceptable or not. If the leader isn’t ethical, honest, transparent and authentic then how can Jelly Belly Visitor Center you expect their staff to be? Conversely, if the leader is doing the right things, then they are responsible to let A sweet world their staff know what the leader believes, what their of delight awaits mission is and what is Non-Negotiable™ in their office. you at the Jelly It simply isn’t acceptable for the culture of the office Belly Visitor of a politician or any leader to tolerate anything less then Center. Located in what is right and just. We all know what that is. The Pleasant Prairie, problem is that we let the end justify the means. I want Wisconsin, near to follow someone who is better then me, inspires me, Kenosha. who stands up for what is right and gives me a personal The Visitor Center target to shoot for. If I elect someone, I will hold him or features full- throttle fun on the FREE Jelly Belly News from Alberta…Continued from page 32 Express Train Tour. Visitors “Alberta has always respected the U.S. decision- take a tour of our making process and we expect the President’s final deci- warehouse (really, it’s fun!) and taste the original sion will be based on science and fact, as confirmed in gourmet Jelly Belly® jelly bean. The 25-30 minute today’s Final Environmental Impact Statement.” train ride makes stops at a variety of stations with large video monitors explaining candy making, how Jelly Belly beans went into outerspace and more.
March 2014 33 West Virginia Creek Runs Black IIMC News DigestIIMC After Catastrophic Coal Slurry Spill By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams staff writer
Third such spill from Patriot Coal plant likely to ‘wipe the stream out’
Waters are running black for roughly six miles in such as iron, manganese, aluminum, and selenium that West Virginia’s Fields Creek after more than 100,000 “are likely more toxic” than either Crude MCHM or poly- gallons of toxic coal slurry poured into the waterway ethylene glycol. from a Patriot Coal processing facility Tuesday. Noting the irony of the spill coming on the heels of “This is a big deal, this is a significant slurry spill,” the Elk River disaster, many reacted online: said Secretary Randy Huffman of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection at a news conference Tues- day evening. “When this much coal slurry goes into the stream, it wipes the stream out.” The spill comes just one month after the Elk River disaster, when 10,000 gallons of coal cleaning deter- gent Crude MCHM leaked into the river, contaminating the water supply for millions of residents living in and around the capital, Charleston. Emergency officials said Tuesday that a “smaller amount of the slurry” had already traveled from the creek to the Kanawha River near the town of Chesapeake, West Virginia. Chesapeake is situated roughly 13 miles south along the Kanawha River from Charleston. “This has had significant, adverse environmental impact to Fields Creek and an unknown amount of impact to the Kanawha River,” Huffman said of Tuesday’s spill which occurred at Patriot Coal’s Kanawha Eagle operation. The spill was reportedly caused by a malfunction of a valve inside the slurry line. And although the valve broke sometime between 2:30 and 5:30 Tuesday morn- ing, Patriot Coal did not call the DEP to alert them of the leak until 7:40 Tuesday morning, the Charleston Gazette quoted Huffman as saying. Unlike the Elk River spill, which occurred a mile and There are some conflicting reports as to whether a half upstream from the intake pipes for regional water the slurry contains Crude MCHM or another chemical, utility West Virginia American Water, there are no water polyethylene glycol. Regardless, the Gazette reports, the intakes directly downstream from where the spill took slurry contains a variety of substances and heavy metals Continued on page 35
34 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
West Virginia Creek Runs Black…Continued from page 34 place. Officials with the utility issued a statement Tues- day saying the latest spill will not impact their regional drinking water plant in Charleston. The Charleston Gazette continues: This is at least the third incident...since 2010 at the Kanawha Eagle cite. In late November, black water was discharged into South Hollow Stream, and ended up in Fields Creek. The company was fined $663. In October of 2010, there was a slurry line break that discharged into Spicelick and Joes Creek, impacting about 3 miles of stream. The company was fined $22,400. Observers noted that the spill was the one of three fossil fuel related disasters to occur within a 24 hour period, in addition to a Pennsylvania fracking well explo- sion and a natural gas pipeline explosion and fire in North Dakota.
This article originally appeared at: www.commondreams.org/
l Clerk’s Week icipa 201 un 4 M
M ay 4 – 10
March 2014 35 IIMC News Digest
Candidates For The 2014 - 2017 International Institute of Municipal Clerks Board of Directors
The following Municipal Clerks have announced their intention to seek office on the 2014 - 2017 IIMC Board of Directors. There is one candidate for the office of Vice President. That individual will succeed to the office of Vice President at the Annual Business Meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2014 during the Annual Conference in Milwaukee, WI. There are five Candidates, one for each vacancy in Regions II, IV, VI, VII and VIII. There are two candidates each in Region X (Canada) and XI (Outside North America). IIMC Headquarters has certified these candidates. Since there is only one Candidate for each Region, other than Regions X and XI, these Candidates will be declared elected at the Conference in Milwaukee, WI, in May 2014. Per IIMC’s Policy, if there are two or more candidates, IIMC conducts a Region election 30 or more days prior to the beginning of the Annual Conference. Full Members, Additional Full Members and Honorary Members can vote for Region Director. Election results are announced at the Annual Business Meeting.
Vincent Buttiglieri, MMC Candidate for Vice President Municipal Clerk, Township of Ocean, New Jersey
It is with great pleasure that I announce my candidacy for Vice President of the Inter- national Institute of Municipal Clerks. My enthusiasm for our profession and the IIMC was immediate. I attended my first conference in Whistler, British Columbia and have attended eight in total, culminating in 2013 in beautiful Atlantic City, New Jersey- my home state! The educa- tional and networking components at these events are invaluable for our continued growth. I have had the pleasure to serve both the Municipal Clerks Association of New Jersey and the IIMC in many capaci- ties. I have served as President of the MCANJ and as the Fundraising Chairperson of the 2013 IIMC Conference. I have proudly served as a member of the IIMC Board of Directors representing Region 2, as well as serving on the IIMC Conference Planning Committee and the Public Relations and Marketing Committee. My vision for a successful IIMC future includes focusing on ways to continue membership growth, use technology to enhance learning capabilities for all our members, expand our on-line services and maintain our positive financial situation. I look forward to working with you, the staff and supporters so that we may help IIMC reach even greater heights.
Andrew Pavlica, MMC Candidate for Region II City Clerk/Deputy City Manager, Garfield, New Jersey
“Drew” Pavlica has been Garfield City Clerk since 1987 – a more than 26-year stretch of service, during which he has never missed a Council Meeting. Drew is a Past-President of the Municipal Clerks Association of New Jersey, the Bergen County Municipal Clerks Association, the Garfield YMCA and the Garfield Rotary Club. During his year as MCANJ President, he organized a successful Dinner Celebration of the 85th Anniversary of the MCANJ. In 2014, Drew was given the charge to update the written History of the MCANJ. Continued on page 37
36 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
Andrew Pavlica, MMC (continued)
Drew has been a Member and Chairman of several MCANJ Committees, including chairing the vital Education Committee which oversees the New Jersey IIMC Institute at Rutgers University. He has compiled a two-volume Compendium of Ceremonial Resolutions and Proclamations which have proven to be a useful tool to Municipal Clerks throughout New Jersey and elsewhere. Drew created and currently administers the MCANJ Facebook Page. He has attended IIMC Conferences in Saint Paul, New Orleans, Chicago, Nashville, Portland and Atlantic City. Drew was a member of the New Jersey Committee of last year’s IIMC Conference in Atlantic City and co-chaired the New Jersey Fundraising Sub-Committee of that Conference.
Mary Ann Hess, MMC City Clerk/Finance Director Candidate for Region IV Laurel, Mississippi
Since February 2000, Mary Ann Hess has been the City Clerk/Finance Director for the City of Laurel, Mississippi (pop. 18,300). Her main job duties include preparing and administering a $50 million budget for the City of Laurel, conducting the City of Laurel elections, supervising a staff of professionals – purchasing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, grants and privilege licenses. Hess has worked in city government for the past 19 years and was the first Laurel employee to obtain the Master Municipal Clerk designation. Prior to becoming the City Clerk/Finance Director in Laurel, Mary Ann served as the City Clerk/Finance Director in Greenville, Mississippi for 5 years. Her other job experience includes working as a Manage- ment Consultant for the State of Tennessee in Nashville for five years. Mary Ann is a graduate of the University of Mississippi where she received her Master and Bachelor degrees in Business Administration. She is also a Past State President of the Mississippi Municipal Clerks and Collectors Asso- ciation, Mississippi City/County Management Association and the Mississippi Association of Parliamentarians. She also served two years on the IIMC Legislative Committee.
Anne B. Uecker, MMC City Clerk/Treasurer Candidate for Region VI St. Francis, Wisconsin
I have been an active member of Wisconsin Municipal Clerk’s Association (WMCA) since 1990. My career started with the Village of Hustisford in 1989 and I have been the City Clerk/ Treasurer for the City of St. Francis since May 1992. I have served as the District 5 Secretary, WMCA Secretary, WMCA Treasurer, WMCA 1st Vice President and President of the WMCA. I have served on several committees and proudly chair the Professional Education Committee. I have been a member of IIMC since 1992 and received the MMC designation September 30, 2005. I was also inducted into the Athenian Fellow- ship Society in May 2011 at the IIMC Conference in Nashville. I also am serving as the Host Clerk and Committee Co-Chair for the 2014 IIMC Conference to be held in Milwaukee in May, 2014.
Continued on page 38
March 2014 37 IIMC News Digest
Candidates For The 2014 - 2017 IIMC Board of Directors (continued)
Denise R. Chisum, MMC City Clerk, Lee’s Summit, Missouri Candidate for Region VII
Denise Chisum, MMC, joined the City of Lee’s Summit in 1985 and was appointed City Clerk in 1991. In 1995, Chisum became a Certified Municipal Clerk. She served in all offices of the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association (MoCCFOA), becoming President in 2001-2002, where she initiated and facilitated a state certification program, which adheres to IIMC standards and guidelines. One of the first Missouri Professional City Clerks in 2003, she earned MMC status in 2009. Chisum served on the Host Committee for the 2001 IIMC Conference in Kansas City, welcoming delegates as MoCCFOA president. From 2009-2013, she served on the Missouri Municipal League Board of Directors. In 2007, she was named MoCCFOA “OUTSTANDING CLERK OF THE YEAR.” For the City of Lee’s Summit, Chisum initiated training on minutes and customer service and developed a “paper- less packet” process. She speaks to various organizations about government and city history. She helped develop the City’s Citizens Leadership Academy for citizens interested in learning about municipal government. The City’s 2015 Sesquicentennial celebration will include a history book that Chisum helped write. Chisum has two daughters and five wonderful grandchildren.
Renee Cantin, CMC City Clerk, Alamogordo, New Mexico Candidate for Region VIII
I started in local government as Deputy Clerk for the Village of Columbus, New Mexico in October 2000, and was appointed as the Clerk-Treasurer one month later until April of 2006 when I came to the City of Alamogordo as the City Clerk. I have served the New Mexico Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers Association (NMMC- FOA) as the Fundraising Committee Chairman (2003-2005); the Education Committee (2005-2009); Chaired the Educa- tion Committee (2010 & 2011). As of October 2012, I am serving as the Immediate Past President of NMMCFOA. I have administered 10 Elections and assisted with putting together the Election School for New Mexico. I was instru- mental in bringing the Clerk’s 101 class to our First Year Clerks; teaching on what a Clerk’s Role is, meeting adminis- tration, resolutions and ordinances. I obtained my CMC in October of 2006 and am currently working toward my Master Municipal Clerk Certification. In my spare time, I’m a very active member of the White Sands Rotary Club having served as the Treasurer, Secretary, Director and, currently, as President-Elect. I received two highly honored Paul Harris Fellows from Rotary International and I was also named the Professional Person of the Year Award for 2013.
Doug Tymchyshyn Manager, Legislative and Administrative Services Candidate for Region X Parkland County, Alberta, Canada For seventeen years, Doug Tymchyshyn has devoted his life to community service with the majority of his municipal clerk career spent managing the Legislative and Administrative Services Department for Parkland County.
Continued on page 39
38 March 2014 IIMC News Digest
Doug Tymchyshyn (continued) Working in a complex environment, Doug is involved in many activities where his expertise is shared with Council, County departments and the public. These activities involve secretariat duties for Council, quasi-judicial boards and committees; administration and formulation of statutes, bylaws, and policies; records management and access and privacy programs; and elections, petitions and census. Doug’s passionate support for transparent government was accentuated by the launch of video streaming of Coun- cil meetings, and access to agendas and minutes on the County’s website. His next goal will increase that transpar- ency by giving the public website access to County bylaws and policies. Doug earned his Certified Local Government Manager designation from the Society of Local Government Managers of Alberta. He also graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta’s Local Government Studies program. He has been an active member of the Alberta Municipal Clerks Association for thirteen years and enjoys the plea- sure of serving the Association Executive for five years as Vice President, President and now Past President.
Debi A. Wilcox Town Clerk, Whitby, Ontario, Canada Candidate for Region X
Debi Wilcox is currently the Town Clerk for the Town of Whitby, Ontario and brings over 31 years of municipal experience to her role. She holds a Masters of Public Administration, an Executive Masters in Municipal Management and Diploma in Public Administration, along with the prestigious Certified Municipal Officer and Certified Municipal Manager III designa- tions. She has held many roles within the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, including Board Director, Zone 4 Chair and member on various Committees. She was also the co-creator of The New Municipal Manager training program. For the past year she has been a member of the IIMC Education & Professional Development Committee. Debi has a strong sense of her role as a Municipal Clerk and has mentored many along the way. She is considered an expert in parliamentary procedures, currently studying to become a Professional Parliamen- tarian. She has been a keynote speaker on a variety of topics; including records, access and privacy, writing policies, time management and Clerks 101. Debi believes that learning and developing as a Clerk never stops. She is a strong advocate of open, transparent government, believing that citizen engagement is paramount.
Bruce Poole, MMC Parish Clerk, Somerset, England Candidate for Region XI
Currently works for three small Parish Councils located in the County of Somerset England where he has served for 25 years, 11 years and 10 years respectively. Obtained a BA (Hons) Degree in Local Policy as a Mature (very) Student in 2010 and is a Founder Member and Fellow of the Institute of Local Council Management. Currently he is the only MMC in the UK. He has been a member of the National Executive (2004-2008) and Past President of the Society of Local Council Clerks (2010-2011). In 2011 he received the Society’s Outstanding Contribution Award. He is Chairman of the Somerset Branch Chairman of Clerks and the National Convener for the SLCC Mentoring Programme. He forms part of a team that provides Employment Support to the sector and also undertakes the training of newly appointed clerks. On the international front he was vice-chairman of the IIMC Program Review and Certification Committee (2012- 13) whilst this year he has the privilege of being the Chairman which he has found challenging especially when orga- nizing teleconferences across the various time zones. He is married to Ann with whom they share 5 children and 7 grandchildren plus two surrogate grandchildren. Continued on page 40
March 2014 39 IIMC News Digest
Candidates For The 2014 - 2017 IIMC Board of Directors (continued)
Samantha J. Shippen, CMC Clerk, Seaford, East Sussex, England Candidate for Region XI
Having been your Region XI Director for the past three years, I welcome your support in continuing to represent you for a further three year term and assist in the implementation of our goals and develop the region further. During the past three years, I have worked with others in the region to develop and launch the Region XI Management Committee, increase membership and develop a Region XI Action Plan. My contribution during IIMC Board meetings, I have been able to influence changes that benefit both the region and wider membership of IIMC, bringing an understanding of issues as they affect international members. I am the Clerk for Seaford Town Council in East Sussex, England; have been in local government for more 29 years and a clerk for 16 of those. I bring with me over 10 years of experience of sector representation at a national level having served on the Society of Local Council Clerks National Executive from 2003 until 2010 including Vice Chairman (2006/07) and Chairman (2007/10); Chairman of the Institute of Local concil Management since its creation and as a national officer – External Affairs since 2010. I can be contacted at [email protected] 2014 Annual Conference Highlight Is Technology Undermining Our Ability To Effectively Communicate? u Faith Wood Are you ready to discover how powerful your non-verbals are Facilitator in strengthening human interactions? During this session, Inspiring Minds Consulting, Ltd, Airdrie, AB, Canada we will explore the value of non-verbal communications – the assumptions, interpretations and evaluations that are Sunday, May 18, 2014 • 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. being inferred from your day to day communiques. We will Fee: $179.00 focus on how to improve the effectiveness of electronic com- munication in the absence of face time.
The digital revolution has given us new tools to meet people At the end of this session, you will have the ability to influ- and stay in touch. It’s also changed the way we relate to each ence positive and productive non-face time dialogues using other — at home and at work. the new electronic mediums. Cell phones, smartphones, e-mail, tablets, Skype, Face- book, Twitter, and a wide range of other tools provide us with immediate and constant access to friends, family and Faith Wood, Facilitator and Influence Trainer, has over two co-workers. But fewer and fewer people are using these decades of experience swaying human behaviour. Her 14 tools to actually talk to each other. Instead, they are texting, years as a Canadian Peace Officer coupled with a Master’s in emailing, posting, tweeting and instant messaging. For more Neurolinguistic Psychology; not to mention her proficiency and more of us, technology may actually be damaging our in negotiation allows her to offer a unique understanding relationships with others. Within the Municipal Clerk profes- and interpretation of interpersonal conflict and change man- sion, this is particularly true with the need to facilitate Board agement. Change your mind…change your experience. Development (Councils) and respond to both internal and Faith believes we have the ability to engineer our own external requests and dialogues. future, to become great, to realize our full potential, and E-mailing, posting, tweeting, instant messaging and texting to change our life. Are You Ready to Unleash the Power of eliminate eye contact, posture, vocal nuances and other Faith? physical and audio cues people rely on when building trust and establishing social relationships. The ability to under- Pre-registration and payment of a $179.00 fee is required to stand and use non-verbal communication is a powerful tool attend this Academy session. In order to receive certifica- in helping connect with others, express what we really mean, tion points, each participant is required to complete an assessment within 30 days of the session. navigate challenging personal situations, and build trust.
40 March 2014 Conference Discount Program
IIMC News DigestIIMC & Membership Incentive Offer Plenty of Savings
There are several ways you and your municipality can save The first Delegate pays the Early Bird price of $575.00 (pro- money on the Delegate Registration Fee. To qualify, you vided they register on or before 04/04/14), and will be able MUST BE AN IIMC MEMBER and fit in one of the following to take advantage of the First Timer and Region discounts, categories. should they apply.
1) EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT Any additional Delegates from the same municipality will Delegates who register for the IIMC Annual Conference pay a flat rate of $475.00. That’s at least a hundred dollars in in Milwaukee by April 4, 2014 will receive the Early Bird savings! discounted registration cost of $575.00. After April 4, 2014 No other discounts (First Timer or Region) can apply to the costs will go up to $ 625.00. Delegates are welcome to uti- Delegates paying $475.00. lize the FIRST TIMER and REGION 6 & 7 discounts in collabo- ration with the EARLY BIRD discount, if applicable. NOTE: Discounts apply ONLY to the full Conference Del- egate Registration Fee and not to any other Conference 2) $50.00 DISCOUNT FOR FIRST-TIMERS category or area. Discounts DO NOT apply to Retirees, A FIRST-TIMER is an IIMC Member who has NEVER ATTENDED Guests, Non-Members, Institute Directors, Exhibitors, an IIMC Annual Conference. If Milwaukee will be your FIRST Single-Day Registration, Individual Tickets, All-Confer- IIMC CONFERENCE, you will receive a $50.00 discount off ence Event, Meal Functions, etc. of the Delegate Registration Fee. If the Region Discount applies, you may use it in conjunction with the First Timer DELEGATES CAN AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCT THEIR DISCOUNT discount. ON THEIR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM.
3) $50.00 DISCOUNT FOR REGIONS 6 and 7 MEMBERS Help us make the 2014 Conference in Milwaukee the largest IIMC Conference ever! If you are a Municipal Clerk in Region 6 (IA, MN, WI), or Region 7 (IL, KS, MO), you will receive a $50.00 discount off of the Delegate Registration Fee. If the First Timer Discount applies, you may use it in conjunction with the Region dis- count.
4) DISCOUNT FOR REGION X MEMBERS When in Milwaukee If you are a Region X (Canada) Member, your Delegate Reg- Be sure to visit… istration Fee is $460.00, no other discounts (First Timer or Region) will apply.
5) DISCOUNT FOR REGION XI MEMBERS If you are a Region XI (Outside North America) member, your Delegate registration fee is $395.00. No other discounts (First Timer or Region) apply.
6) SAVE DOLLARS ON ADDITIONAL ACADEMIES – NEW! If you attend more than one Academy, you can save an addi- tional $50.00 for each Academy thereafter, applicable only after paying the initial cost of $179.00.
7) MULTIPLE DELEGATE DISCOUNT Discovery World connects innovation, science, technology Any Municipality that sends two or more Delegates to the and the environment with exploration and learning through Conference receives extra savings! interactive exhibits and experiential learning programs. Read more about this wonderful world on pages 22 & 23.
March 2014 41 IIMC News Digest IIMC Registration Form • Delegate Information
Print or type all information First Name ______Last/Surname ______CMC ______MMC ______First IIMC Conf. ( Y/ N) Home Phone ( ) ______First Name or Nickname to appear on badge ______Job Title/Position ______Municipality ______State/Province ______Country______Mailing Address ______City______ZIP/Postal Code ______Work Phone ______FAX ______E-mail ______Please check box if you need special assistance (physically challenged, etc.) Type of Assistance Type of Assistance ______Discount Program (circle) Deduct discounts on this form prior to Total before submiting payment to IIMC. 2 or more Academies, save an additional $50.00 for each additional Academy registration. No.______@ $50.00 $______• First Timer Yes No $50.00 • Region 6 or 7 Member Yes No $50.00 GUEST INFORMATION (IIMC Members Cannot Register As Guests) Name ______First name to appear on badge ______Municipality ______State/Province ______Country______
REGISTRATION FEES IN U.S. DOLLARS (Payment must be received by 4/04/14) On or Before After DELEGATE PACKAGE (Payment must be received by 4/04/14) No. 4/04/14 4/04/14 Total IIMC Member/Associate ______@ $575.00 $625.00 $ ______IIMC Retired Member* ______@ $195.00 $245.00 $ ______Multiple Delegate*-Name(s) ______@ $475.00 $ ______IIMC Region X* (Canada) ______@ $460.00 $510.00 $ ______IIMC Region XI* (Outside North America) No Other Discounts Apply ______@ $395.00 $445.00 $ ______Non-Member ______@ $695.00 $745.00 $ ______Guest Package ______@ $265.00 $315.00 $ ______
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES (All costs in U.S. Dollars) Saturday, May 17 - Academy Seminars • The Art of Delegating: Get More Of the Important Stuff Done Well ______@ $179.00 $ ______• Effective Groups: Local Government Facilitation Techniques ______@ $179.00 $ ______• Understanding and Promoting Ethical Leadership ______@ $179.00 $ ______• Grant Writing Strategies: A Skill Building Workshop ______@ $179.00 $ ______Saturday, May 17 - Athenian Dialogue • The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Francis Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey ______@ $100.00 $ ______Sunday, May 18 - Athenian Dialogue • Jack Kennedy - Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews ______@ $100.00 $ ______Sunday, May 18 - Academy Seminars • Is Technology Undermining Our Ability To Effectively Communicate? ______@ $179.00 $ ______• Negotiating Skills Every Municipal Clerk Needs To Know ______@ $179.00 $ ______• Understanding and Influencing Others ______@ $204.00 $ ______• The Gumbo Analysis of Diversity ______@ $179.00 $ ______Sunday, May 18 • MCEF WALK/RUN ______@ $25.00 $ ______All Week • “Explore Milwaukee” MCEF fundraiser ______@ $30.00 $ ______*No other discounts apply
Submit Registration Form with payment by check/money order credit card (in U.S. funds) by above dates. Apply All Discounts $ ______Payment must accompany registration form. Do not mail and FAX same registration form. TOTAL $ ______CHECK ENCLOSED PAYABLE TO IIMC
American Express /Visa /Mastercard # ______Total Amt. Charged $ ______Expiration Date ______Card Holder’s Signature ______
You can FAX this Form to IIMC at 909/944-8545 OR mail to IIMC, 8331 Utica Avenue, Suite 200, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 postmarked by May 5, 2014. If you miss this deadline, please bring this Form and payment with you to the Conference Registration Desk at the WISCONSIN CENTER. WI Used by 93% of all US Courts
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March 12-14, 2014 July 13 -17, 2014 Utah Municipal Clerk’s Academy- University of Utah Cornell Institute-CMC Institute& MMC Academy- Ithaca, NY March 12-14, 2014 July 14-18 and July 21-23, 2014 KS CCMFOA Spring Conference- Wichita, KS Iowa Institute: Gateway Hotel and Conference Center - Ames, IA April 10-11, 2014 July 23-25, 2014 Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program’s Records Management/HR Practices Iowa Academy: Gateway Hotel and Conference Center- Ames, IA Seminar- McAllen, TX August 21-23, 2014 April 22-24, 2014 NCAMC Annual Conference- Wrightsville Beacher, NC Ohio Spring Institute- Dublin, Ohio October 12 - 17, 2014 May 13, 2014 FACC 2014 Fall Certification Academy @ the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary- SC Municipal Finance Officers, Clerks and Treasurers Association Spring Academy All Lake Mary, FL Day @ Columbia Conference Center October 14 - 17, 2014 May 18 -22, 2014 SC Municipal Finance Officers, Clerks and Treasurers Association Annual Academy and IIMC Annual Conference- Milwaukee, WI Conference@ Hyatt Regency June 8 -11, 2014 November 3-7, 2014 FACC 2014 Summer Academy- St. Augustine, FL KS/IIMC Certification Institute- Wichita, KS June 19-20, 2014 November 6-7, 2014 Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program’s Public Funds Investment KS/IIMC Master Clerks Academy- Wichita, KS Seminar- Tyler, TX
Ed2Go- an Online Alternative Did you know IIMC has approved online courses through ed2go? Courses completed through ed2go will earn 1 CMC Experience point per 6 hours or 1 MMC Advanced Education point per 6 hours. Each course is approximately 24 hours long. For a list of approved course offerings, please see a listing available on the IIMC website at iimc.com> Home > Education > Online Learning Opportunities > Ed2Go. The ed2go network consists of more than 1,800 top colleges, universities, and other organizations. Each ed2go course can be taken from home or the office, as they are taken completely online over a 6 week period. Each course will be led by a well- qualified instructor, and through an accredited college in your area. Once enrolled, students will be able to engage with their classmates, post questions and comments, and take quizzes that are automatically graded upon completion. Upon successful completion of the course assess- ment, a certificate will be awarded. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Education Department at IIMC Headquarters.
68th Annual Conference 69th Annual Conference 70th Annual Conference 71st Annual Conference Milwaukee, WI Hartford, CT Omaha, NE Montreal, Canada Sunday, May 18 thru Sunday, May 17 thru Sunday, May 22 thru Sunday, May 21 thru Thursday, May 22, 2014 Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Thursday, May 24, 2017