Officials Training: Iowa – Now March 6th
MAPA, in partnership with Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, will host a training for Elected and Appointed Officials on Thursday, March 6, at the Treynor Community Center. This training session will provide understanding of open meetings, open records, and effective meetings by using parliamentary procedures. (This session, scheduled originally for Thursday, February 13, was postponed due to inclement weather.)
Register Now!
Agenda:
- Registration & Networking: 5:00 – 5:30p
- Open Meetings & Records: 5:30 – 6:30p
- 15 Min Break
- Running Effective Meetings: 6:45 – 7:45p
Attendees may choose to attend all or a portion of the training. Light dinner provided.
The session will cover the following key areas:
Open Meetings/Open Records:
- Overview of Iowa’s Open Meetings & Open Records Law (Chapter 21 & 22 of the Iowa Code)
- Requirements for public notice, agenda posting, and minute-keeping.
- Procedures for conducting open and closed sessions, including legal justifications for closed meetings and the necessity of returning to open session for final actions
- Guidelines for handling public records requests, including response times, permissible fees, and exemptions.
- Best practices for maintaining and supervising public records to ensure compliance
Parliamentary Procedures:
- Introduction to parliamentary procedures to facilitate orderly and efficient meetings.
- Key concepts such as motions, voting methods, and meeting types.
- Conflict of interest policies
- This training aims to equip officials with the knowledge and skills necessary to uphold transparency, accountability, and effective governance in their roles.
Presenter Information:
Sara Shonrock is a Community Development Field Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development as well as the Institute Director for the Iowa Municipal Professionals Institute and Academy. Sara has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute and a Bachelor’s degree from Iowa State.
Sara is an Iowa native who spent a decade of her career working in local and state government in Minnesota before moving back to Ames to work for Iowa State Extension and Outreach. Sara is a dedicated public servant with extensive experience in municipal government and housing and a passion for training and educating government officials and employees.
Please register no later than Friday, February 28. For questions or concerns, please contact Elizabeth Zeller, ezeller@mapacog.org or 402-444-6866, ext. 3210