Mission Statement
The Mission of the City Clerk’s Office is to provide quality support and assistance to the City Council, and to the citizens of Monte Vista. This includes maintaining a courteous, service-oriented team of professionals that will join hands in partnership with the community and council. We are committed to innovative processes, delivering information management, and preserving the City’s history.
Responsibilities
The role of the city clerk originates back to ancient civilizations when scribes would document the business of government. Civilization involves the proper execution and operation of government to truly serve the people’s needs, and city clerks have always helped record the proceedings of government to ensure that its legal processes are executed properly.
As the United States has grown over the past few centuries from a handful of towns to the thousands of modern cities we know today, the role of the city clerk has evolved along with the growth of our population and shifts in technological progress. Today, the city clerk is literally the glue that holds many cities together. Through their records management, documentation of city council meetings, and public-facing service roles, city clerks wear many hats.
The role of City Clerk comes with the weight of much responsibility, reverence, and service that makes it a job unlike any other in the United States.
I Feel rightfully honored and privileged to serve your city in this role.
- Documenting and facilitating city council meetings. City clerks help run city council meetings, prepare and distribute agendas, take minutes, and publicize all information which is required to be publicized by the law.
- Document and publish ordinances and resolutions. City clerks help ensure that the process of creating an ordinance or resolution follows any legal procedures and processes. They help create the documents, distribute them for amendments and revisions, and publish them for the public to see when such documents are subject to public inspection, public release, and open records laws.
- Public records management. To ensure transparency, city clerks are tasked with properly maintaining public records and handling any open records requests.
- Records retention management. City clerks organize, maintain, archive, and delete records according to Colorado law and the city’s records retention schedule (which cities are required to have).
- Contract, bidding, and request for proposal (RFP) coordination. While a purchasing department or other employee may handle more day-to-day technical details pertaining to bids, city clerks (especially at smaller cities) will often have a hand in helping create, distribute, and coordinate communication related to bidding.
- Licenses, permits, and payments. City clerks serves as the point of contact for issuing licenses and permits, collecting payments related to licenses and permits, and managing these business records, liquor licenses, special events, and vendors.
- Ethics filings. City clerks handle the collection and management of documents related to ethics filings for political candidates including campaign contributions and financial disclosure.
- Elections. City clerks qualify candidates and help coordinate election information, communication, and processes.
- Planning and zoning. City clerks may serve as the Planning and Zoning Administrator for a city.
- Annexations. City Clerks may hold responsibility for the filing, reporting, and maintaining of annexation documents.
- PIO. City Clerk also is the Public Information Officer.
- Municipal court clerk. The City Clerk also serve in the role of municipal court clerk. This includes managing court records, financial administration of fines and penalties, and officiating over court paperwork.
Unita Vance, CMC
City Clerk
Phone: 719-852-6171
Deputy Clerk
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 719-852-1201
City Clerk Quick Links