
UDITE WORKING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL CLERKS
Founded in 1947 and located in Southern California since the
mid-1970s, the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) is a
non-profit professional association with more than 15,000 members in
North America and 12 other countries, representing municipalities with
populations ranging from 1,000 to more than 10 million. IIMC prepares
its members to meet the challenges of the diverse role of the
municipal clerk by providing services and continuing professional
development opportunities in 46 permanent learning centres at colleges
and universities. IIMC offers a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC)
programme, a Master of Municipal Administration (MMA) program and
other opportunities for municipal clerks for members and the
government entities they serve. ICMI is governed by a 26-member Board
of Directors. Its current IIMC President is Lana McPherson, MMC, –
2019 - 2020
Territorial leaders are the hub of government, the direct link
between people in their communities and the government. They are the
historians of the community, as they are entrusted with the entire
recorded history of their municipality. There is no other office in
the municipal department that has so many contracts. The office of the
leader serves the mayor, the council, the city manager and all
administrative departments without exception.
All citizens call the clerk's office almost daily for services or
information. The clerk's job is not spectacular, but it requires
diplomacy, leadership, management, versatility, precision, patience,
communication skills, problem solving, tolerance and a love of
learning. It is true that the public does not realize the myriad of
skills required to do this work with precision, dignity and professionalism.
At the international level, the IIMC is affiliated to the
following associations: Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC - UK);
Administrative Democratic Services Officers (ADSO - UK); Vereniging
Van Griffiers (VVG - the Netherlands); Excello.Net (Belgium); IAM
(Israel); IMASA (South Africa), SOLAR (Scotland) and UDITE (Europe);
NBAMCB (Bulgaria); AMCTO (Ontario - Canada); PMA (Newfoundland -
Canada); AMCA (Alberta - Canada) and LGMA (British Columbia - Canada).
IIMC supports its international affiliations through regional and
conference grants. The IIMC Board of Directors is constantly looking
for ways to add value to these relationships as they are considered
extremely important and essential to the mission, purpose and vision
of IIMC. To this end, the IIMC has played a leading role in
organising three international symposia (2014, 2017 and 2019), the
first two of which were held in Brussels and the last in England.
Currently, the IIMC is working on the production of its fourth
colloquium in the Netherlands as well as a study abroad programme.
In the US, the IIMC congress that was due to take place in Saint
Louis this month (April) has unfortunately been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. With the current uncertainty and with no definitive
end in sight to travel restrictions, travel bans and combined with an
overall loss of confidence to convene in 2020, it became evident that
the Conference needed to be cancelled. On Thursday, April 9th, 2020,
the IIMC Board of Directors in conjunction with the 2020 St. Louis
Conference Host Committee officially decided to cancel the 2020 IIMC
Annual Conference. IIMC also voted to award the 2025 conference to St. Louis.
This is a tremendous disappointment regarding all those
participating in the Conference, from the Board to the Host Committee
to the attendees. Member safety was and always is our primary concern.
In the end, this was the right decision.