Smooth transition
by Mike Kroll
Anita
Carlton, who has served as Galesburg city clerk for more than 25 years,
announced Tuesday that she will retire at the conclusion of her present term at
the beginning of May 2009. Almost simultaneously deputy clerk Kelli Bennewitz announced her intention to run for this office in
the April 2009 consolidated election. Bennewitz is
looking to fill some big shoes here as Carlton is not only the current longest
serving elected official in Galesburg but also among the longest serving city
clerks in the state.
Carlton had
worked in the city election office since 1975 when in 1983 then-mayor Jerry
Miller appointed her to fill the vacant city clerk position. "It was a
wonderful opportunity for me to take on additional responsibilities," noted
Carlton, "and it meant an immediate pay raise of over $10,000." She was
initially elected city clerk in 1985 and reelected in each of the five
elections since. "I never had competition but received the highest number of
votes in each election." Over the course of her long career Carlton has worked
with five mayors, six city managers, five city treasurers and 40 city council
members. For over a quarter century Carlton has stood as one of the few
constants in Galesburg's city hall.
City clerk is
one of but two full-time elected positions in Galesburg (the other being city
treasurer) and they are unique in that neither answers to either the city
manager of the city council, but solely to the voters of the city. While the
city clerk works closely with both the city council and regular city staff the
office has independent responsibilities as defined by both state statute and
city ordinance. In addition to maintaining the official records of the city and
recording all the actions of the city council the city clerk is also
responsible for fire and police pension records; registration of pets,
contractors, rental properties and alarm system; cemetary
records; maintaining the city codes; and serving as the city's freedom of
information and ethics officer. The city clerk also functions as township clerk
and is therefore responsible for all the township's official paperwork as well.
Bennewitz joined the city clerk's office in
2003 as deputy city clerk with the intention being to one day become city clerk
herself. "When Anita hired me we talked about this transition and how she would
insure that I was fully prepared to step into this job when the time came for
her to retire," commented Bennewitz. A native of
Galesburg, Bennewitz only left briefly to attend college,
she is married to Galesburg High School English teacher and former local
broadcaster Brad Bennewitz and together they are
raising their family of two children here. Before being hired by Carlton she
worked for almost15 years at the Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce and she has
been active in local civic groups including the Altrusa
Club and the United Way.
"I have
been somewhat of a pioneer among city clerks in Illinois in that I was the
first to send my deputy for training to qualify her as a Certified Municipal
Clerk," explained Carlton. "I sent Kelli to the International Institute of
Municipal Clerks for the required training to become certified and since then
she has completed the three year process of attaining the status of Registered
Municipal Clerk through the Municipal Clerks of Illinois. Since other city
clerks have seen Kelli go through this training process it is now becoming more
common to find deputy city clerks participating in this training and this must
be seen as a good development."
Carlton
herself has been a Master
Municipal Clerk since 2000 and a longstanding member and multiple office holder
within the Municipal Clerks of Illinois group. "I believe that I was the
eleventh clerk in Illinois to attain the MMC status, the highest level of
professional recognition for city clerks and I am proud to have served on the
Training Institute committee as elected by my peers and appointed by the
governor. The role of a city clerk is much more than just taking minutes at
city council meetings and it has steadily increased during my time in office.
It is important that someone in this position be properly trained and prepared
for the responsibilities of this office and I am proud to say that I have done
everything I could to prepare Kelli for this job. Kelli has the experience,
education and personal characteristics necessary to be an effective and
professional city clerk and I will be proud to see her follow in my footsteps."
In the
press release announcing her candidacy Bennewitz
wrote: "I have enjoyed working for the City of Galesburg for the past several
years. The City Clerk's office plays an important role in city operations. We
help link the public, City staff and the City Council. I am prepared for
this great responsibility."
Bennewitz began this training process almost
immediately upon being hired. In January 2004, less than two months after being
hired, she attended her first training and she is now both a Registered and
Certified Municipal Clerk. As Carlton's deputy Bennewitz
has been actively involved in all aspects of the city clerks office and has
stood in for Carlton at city council meetings as needed never missing a beat.
"I have worked with Anita to accomplish a number of innovations in this office,
like the use of a cash register," explained Bennewitz.
"The clerk's office handles a variety of payments and previously we hand wrote
receipts. The cash register provides a better record of transactions and is
more secure."
While
Carlton has been at the forefront among city clerks in Illinois in the
transition to greater use of technology and the electronic storage of documents
this is a process that both she and Bennewitz stress
must be a key priority for continued improvement in the near future. "Our
continued movement toward more electronic document storage is important for
reasons of both convenience and security," explained Bennewitz.
"A tremendous volume of city paperwork goes through this office and we must
maintain originals of all official documents so we can never become paperless.
However, through imaging and other electronic means we now store all those
documents in computer accessible form and are working backwards as time permits
to digitize older city documents and include them in the system. This enables
us to better serve both city officials and the public, and after all that's the
reason we are here."
It's not
for nothing that the city clerk is also the freedom of information office for
the city. While other areas of city hall are sometimes less than eager or
cooperative in making information easily available to the public and press the
city clerk's office has always had an open door policy, literally. "We want
citizens to feel free to approach us with questions about the city, maintaining
those records for everyone's use is the reason this office exists," said Bennewitz. We like to assist citizens whether they are
seeking a liquor license or information about city codes or ordinances. We have
worked hard to make as much information available on the Internet as practical
and I intend to go even further after I am elected city clerk. I would like to
see it possible for citizens to not only get more information on-line, make
applications on-line but also conveniently make payments on-line as well. While
we will always be here to answer questions and help people in person I want to
embrace the extended convenience offered by creative use of the Internet."
"I am
absolutely confident that my training under Anita has prepared me for the
challenges and stress of this job," added Bennewitz.
"I have been in public service my entire adult life since college and I enjoy
that role. As city clerk I will be able to help improve my hometown and serve
my neighbors. I pledge to efficiently and cost effectively make service my top
priority and to insure that everyone who deals with the Galesburg city clerk's
office is treated with the courtesy and respect they have come to expect under
Anita."
10/30/08