National Municipal Clerks Survey Summary
The MCCi and JustFOIA teams attend IIMC each year to personally connect with each municipal clerk. There is no doubt that we miss the conversations and nights out on the town. MCCi has a long-standing relationship with so many clerks. What started as a small survey to our existing clients, quickly expanded to a partnership with IIMC to check-in with all the municipal clerks! Through remote work and adjusting to the “new normal,” MCCi remains strong and available to support clerks across the country. The absence at the IIMC conference will be missed, but no doubt we will talk to you soon. We are stronger together.
So, why a survey to clerks? Simply, we want to know how you are doing and learn from each other.
For one week in April 2020, MCCi and JustFOIA captured critical statistics from municipal clerks as it relates to your COVID-19 response and current work environment. More than 1,100 people responded from all 50 states.
Municipal clerks are family to us! We will continue to support you by facilitating this information to learn from each other, pivot to the “new normal,” and prepare for the future – together.
More than 1,100 municipal clerks responded to the survey.
The regional breakdown is among the Southeast, Midwest, and West regions of the United States.
- 29% of respondents from the Midwest region
- 27% of respondents from the Southeast region
- 23% of respondents from the West region
- 13% of respondents from the Northeast region
- 8% of respondents from the Southwest region
The following questions were asked as part of the survey.
What is the status of your current working environment?
- 43% of respondents are working in the office but are closed to the public.
- 43% of respondents balance work remotely and in the office.
- 10% of respondents are completely working remotely.
- 3% of respondents did not change their work and maintain business as usual.
What is your current workload?
- 41% of respondents say things are calming down, resulting in time to focus on projects.
- 30% of respondents say they are too busy with new projects.
- 28% of respondents say there is no change in their work volume.
How are you juggling the additional distractions of working remotely?
- 40% of respondents have a quiet home, so it’s business as usual.
- 41% of respondents are maintaining normal business hours.
Additionally, 59% of respondents moved to Virtual Council Meetings.
Is your municipality’s technology set up for remote work?
- 44% of respondents have full access to operational systems.
- 27% of respondents have some access to operational systems.
- 29% of respondents need laptops for additional staff to work remotely.
What core processes need improvement to support remote work in the future?
- 68% of respondents need to improve signature-related processes.
- 45% of respondents need to improve meeting management.
- 35% of respondents need to streamline their accounts payable and finance processes.
- 29% of respondents need to improve citizen engagement in public forms.
What impact do you expect in your budget processes for your upcoming fiscal year?
- 70% of respondents expect budget cuts, delayed new hires, and the need to leverage technology.
What is the trend with your FOIA requests?
- 70% of respondents have experienced no change in the volume of FOIA or public records requests.
Most Common or Points of Interest to Open-Ended Responses
- The majority of municipal clerks continue to maintain an office presence.
- Many clerks are spending this time to further their education and prepare for projects to streamline operations.
- Zoom meetings trend with the most common way to communicate with staff and board/council.
- Some capital projects are on hold to allow software and automation upgrades.
- The biggest challenge continues to be access to digital systems and paper records.
