Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (June 15/05) - Rankin Inlet SAO John Hodgson has been awarded the prestigious Certified Municipal Officer (CMO) designation from the Ontario Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers.

Hodgson will be presented with his plaque and official designation at the 67th annual conference of the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario at Richmond Hill, Ontario, on June 13.

There are only four recipients of the CMO designation this year.

Hodgson says the Ontario association sets the bar of competency where it feels is deserving of the highest designation a municipal clerk or town manager can obtain.

He says in order to obtain the designation, and earn the right to have the CMO letters behind your name, a number of competencies must be proven.

"You need to provide physical proof that you've had work published in the municipal world and performed indicated tasks such as hiring, firing, budget preparation and managing and policy writing, among many others," says Hodgson.

"It takes a few years to put this together, and then it goes to two separate boards to be reviewed by a committee of your peers to decide if you've met the criteria."

The CMO designation is not an easy one to obtain.

A clerk can obtain the first level (Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers designation) through college or distance education.

After that, another three years must be spent as a municipal officer before the letters can actually be used.

The CMO designation then takes far longer to obtain, as a manager must be able to handle almost any possible function in a municipality.

"Getting this designation means a lot to me.

"A lot of people in my profession never reach this level because it's such an onerous job to meet the set criteria.

"When I look at it, it's really a kind of flashback on everything I've done during my 25 years in the municipal field.

"That being said, there's a fair amount of pride involved, as well, in receiving the designation."