MMC case studies
MMC · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) is the advanced credential offered by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), the professional association for city, town, and county clerks, primarily in the United States and Canada. It is designed for clerks who already hold the Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation and want to demonstrate mastery across the full scope of the role: statutory duties and open-government law, records management and retention, election administration, budgeting and fiscal oversight, meeting administration and parliamentary procedure, ethics, and public communication. The MMC case studies are 5 cases and about 4,583 words.
1The Unnoticed Contract and the Abstention That Changed the Vote
A seven-member city council operates under a charter requiring a majority of the full council (four affirmative votes) to adopt an ordinance or award a contract, and a quorum of four to conduct business. The mayor votes only to break a tie.
917 words, about 5 min2The Litigation Hold Arrives the Same Morning as the Records Request
A city clerk's office has a staff of three. On Monday morning the clerk receives four items: (1) a reporter's request for 'all emails and text messages between the mayor and the city administrator from January 1 to March 31 concerning the waterfront developer'; (2) a litigation hold notice from the city attorney covering all records about the waterfront project; (3) a request from the public works director to destroy 2019 p-card receipts whose three-year retention period has expired; and (4) a complaint that the mayor conducts city business by text on a personal phone and that his messaging app auto-deletes messages after 30 days.
962 words, about 5 min3The Candidate Dies Twelve Days Out
A city of 42,000 holds a special election on a $38 million bond measure and one at-large council seat. Ballots were mailed 29 days before election day, and 3,100 have already been returned.
902 words, about 5 min4The Mid-Year Shortfall and the Four Separate Truck Orders
A town's adopted general fund budget is 24.6 million. Six months in, sales tax receipts are running 9 percent below projection, a 620,000 shortfall, and the utility fund transfer will come in 200,000 under budget.
924 words, about 5 min5The Vendor Spouse, the Delayed Record, and the Missing Minutes
The city clerk's spouse is a regional sales manager for the vendor that supplies the city's agenda-management and records software. The contract, $85,000 a year for five years, is up for renewal, and the clerk sits on the three-person evaluation committee as the records subject-matter expert.
878 words, about 4 min