Shawn Vincent will start as the new City of Uniontown Clerk on April 29.
Vincent, 50, lives near Uniontown and operates a small cow/calf farm.
He graduated from high school in Manhattan, KS, and is currently working on a bachelor’s degree.
Vincent said he has 23 years of military experience (retired) with over 10 years in human resources. and over three years as a liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He was a motor grader operator for Bourbon County for over two years, before that.
He has three children Joshua, Allison (“A.J.”) and Arwin (who passed away in 2018), and has lived in Bourbon County for seven years.
“I am retired military and have enjoyed the peace of living in the country, I moved here from Austin, TX,” he said.
The transition to a new clerk.
Sally Johnson, who has been the clerk for 11 years will be training Vincent full-time until the week of May 20, then will continue training part-time “and do other things that have been put on the back burner until the end of the year,” she said.
The city clerk position is complex, she said.
“Per the League of Kansas Municipalities City Officials Manual: The city clerk’s list of responsibilities can also vary dramatically from city to city. In most cities, city clerks are expected to administer records management, assist the governing body in complying with the Kansas Open Meetings Act, assist the city’s records custodian with complying with the Kansa Open Records Act, provide the official correspondence for the city, provide an accurate and complete account of the city’s financial position, and act as a public relations officer on behalf of the City.”
Johnson said there are more duties: “K.S.A. 13-518 established the following as the duties of the city clerk in cities of the first class: attend all meetings of the council; keep a record of the proceedings; record all official acts of the clerk and attest them when necessary; keep and preserve the official records of the city; keep and preserve the corporate seal of the city; keep and preserve all public records, papers, and documents not belonging to any other office; administer oaths; and keep a correct account of the financial affairs of the city treasurer.”
“We are a city of the third class, so as city clerk here you do all of the above and utility clerk, court clerk, human resources, public information officer, oversee animal control and custodial employees, and anything else that is deemed necessary,” she said.
Johnson was hired May 14, 2013 and this will be her retirement as city clerk, she said.
“I am not retiring completely,” she said. ” I will continue working part-time somewhere. I plan on getting my substitute teacher certificate and work when I want and enjoy time off when I don’t want to work.”