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Mission Statement As an Officer of the City, the City Secretary is appointed by the Mayor and City Commission. The Office of the City Secretary is committed to providing support services to the Mayor, City Commission, City Staff and the Citizens in a cost effective and efficient manner. Our mission is to render equal service to all while maintaining honesty, integrity and being ever mindful of neutrality and impartiality. Responsibilities The City Secretary and a combined staff of 6 accomplish this mission. The City Secretary implements the policies and procedures of the City Commission and City Management, and fulfills responsibilities in accordance with those policies and procedures. This office is credited with performing an array of duties including maintaining Advisory Board Memberships, Code of Ordinance Supplements, processing Permit Applications, preparing Proclamations and ceremonial items, and Publication of all Legal Notices. A primary task of the City Secretary is that of preparing agendas of City Commission meetings, compiling the back-up material and ensuring they meet the posting requirements pursuant to the Open Meetings Act. As added convenience to the constituents and business community, the agendas and the entire agenda packets are posted on the city’s official web site at www.mcallen.net by Friday afternoons prior to the Regular Meeting date. The City Secretary attends City Commission meetings, documents all action taken and produces minutes to preserve as official city documents. Conducting and overseeing the Mayoral and City Commission Elections is another primary task of the City Secretary along with conducting elections for the Public Utilities Board of Trustees. By attending annual seminars on Election Law presented by the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program, the City Secretary keeps abreast of any new election laws and procedures. A training session for election workers is conducted before every election based upon legislative changes and as required by Texas Election Code. The City Secretary continually work with the Hidalgo County Voter Registrar’s Office towards improving the voter registration system. The City Secretary proposes to continue with the voter education program already in place. The City Secretary will work closely with the County Elections Administrator to further educate the voters on the new touch-screen voting system and encourage voters to attain an acceptable comfort level. Another subject matter under this program would be the methods of voting (early voting by personal appearance, early voting by mail and voting on Election Day) and procedures in place pursuant to the Texas Election Code. As the Official Custodian of Records for the City, the City Secretary is responsible for administering a Records Management Program for the control of the city’s records and a disposition program pursuant to the V.T.C.A. Local Government Code. A Records Management Coordinator and her assistant review the many requests for destruction from the various city departments and ascertain that retention has been met pursuant to the respective departmental records control schedules. Small group trainings are conducted biannually and one-on-one trainings are conducted on an “as needed” basis. The maintenance of all official City records is vital; hence, an Imaging System provides for the preservation of the City’s permanent records. This system also enables the retrieval of records in a more efficient manner.
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