Barrington Assistant Town Clerk Finishes Institute Training

Barrington's Assistant to the Town Clerk, Merrie DeSisto, has completed her third year of studies at the New England Municipal Clerks’ Institute & Academy at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire.  

Year three is the final year of the Institute program. It continues its emphasis on public relations, parliamentary procedure, decision-making, personal development, management, computers, public speaking and professionalism.  

“But the networking is the best,” said DeSisto, who has been in her present position for three years and for seven years in the Town Clerk’s office in Barrington.

“There is always something that we face, and it’s great to have other clerks to talk to about issues,” said DeSisto, who is also a member of the RI Town and City Clerks’ Association. 

The Plymouth State-based institute assists clerks in developing and maintaining the high level of administrative expertise needed for the successful operation of increasingly complex municipal governments. Completion of the three-year Institute program entitles graduates to apply for the International Institute of Municipal Clerks’ coveted Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation.

NEMCI&A is the only program of its kind in the country that is run exclusively by and for city and town clerks and their office staff. It began under the direction of the Rhode Island Department of Community Affairs and the guidance of the New England Association of City and Town Clerks.

More than 500 cities and towns have sent clerks to the institute over its 39-year history.