Sulphur Springs City Secretary Gale Roberts will be recognized in January at the Annual Texas Municipal Clerks Election Law Seminar in Frisco for completing the Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program.
Roberts over the last four years has not only been diligently working at her post at City Hall, but has also been studying and taking the course work needed to become a Texas Registered Municipal Clerk.
TMCCP is the only university-level professional education program for city clerks and city secretaries In Texas, and is the third oldest of such programs In the country. It is administered by the Texas Municipal Clerks Association. Inc., located at the University of North Texas. The certification program is recognized by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
Successful completion of TMCCP requires approximately 200 hours of individual home study and online homework; examinations over each of four courses; and attendance at eight 2-day seminars.
Roberts began work in the courses in January of 2015 and completed the course work for all four classes on Oct. 25. She received official notification this month that she is now officially qualified to use the Texas Registered Municipal Clerk designation.
Course 1, Public Management and Administration, is designed to sharpen managerial and administrative skills and provide an understanding of the scope of public administration. Records management, office communications, time management, and more general skills such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling are focused on.
Course 2, Understanding the City and Local Government Law, is designed provide a better understanding of how sociological and political nature of the community affects local administrators. Sections on municipal court administration and on Texas local government law help the improve knowledge and skills in serving the city council and providing administrative support to the municipal court. Information related to general law and home rule regulations, annexation, planning and zoning, and open meetings law is presented. This course also provides experience in using the Texas Municipal Law and Procedure Manual.
Course 3 is Context of local Government Finance, Revenue Sources, the Local Budget, Budget Cycle, Public Funds Investment and Ethics. Methods of the local government finance process, including budgeting and
revenue analysis, accounting and financial reporting, cash and debt management, and selected issues in financial management are covered. There is also a section related to the Public Funds Investment Act, which governs the investment of government funds in Texas, and offers a practical section on ethics for the purpose of providing local government officials with guidelines and strategies to build public trust and to hone their skills in exercising ethical judgment.
The final course required for TRMC certification is entitled Motivation, Public Relations, Supervision, Election Laws. This course concentrates on
skills such as media communication, motivation, and personnel management. A section on election administration emphasizes the city
secretary’s responsibilities in that area, and provides experience in using the Texas Municipal Election Law Manual.
The 69th Texas Legislature adopted H. B. 2092, which gives State sanction of the program and provides that certification will be issued to each person who successfully completes the program. H.B. 2092 also requires persons who certify in Texas to re-certify every five years.
Re-certification requires an additional 80 hours of professional development course work, including attendance at six 2-day seminars and a selection of educational opportunities to earn points towards re-certification.
Currently, hundreds of municipal clerks are enrolled in TMCCP and are working toward certification or re-certification. As of 2018, only 880
enrollees had completed the extensive certification program, according to the UNT.
