Florence earns designation as certified municipal clerk

Date: 1/4/2011

Jan. 3, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — Tom Florence, East Longmeadow's town clerk, treasurer and tax collector, recently qualified for a very prestigious distinction.

By, among other things, passing a 250-question exam, Florence has earned the Massachusetts Town Clerks' Association's (MTCA) Certified Massachusetts Municipal Clerk (CMMC) designation.

"It is very gratifying," Florence said. "For the people in town, it's good for them to know that things are being done right. I can take satisfaction in knowing that the residents know that their town clerk carries good credentials."

According to the MTCA, of the 301 town clerks in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, only 111, including Florence, have qualified for the designation since its creation 14 years ago. Only 91 of those 111 are currently active clerks.

"It's a very big honor for me," Florence said. "Less than 1/4 of the clerks in municipal governments in Massachusetts can say they have accomplished it."

Florence was able to garner the CMMC designation in fairly short order — about seven years. He said the quickest he knew of anyone being able to achieve CMMC status was five or six years.

Florence also holds the Certified Massachusetts Municipal Tax Collector designation, but said his newest honor means more.

"The clerks [designation] is definitely more gratifying," Florence said."It's much more involved. It was a lot more work,"

According to Florence, he answered 230 of the 250 questions on the test correctly. The test examines a clerk's knowledge of updated Massachusetts General Laws on subjects such as election procedures, vital records, political finance and public records.

Before taking the test, Florence had to qualify through a points system that measured his education and his experience as a clerk. On top of a bachelors degree and a masters degree, Florence took additional classes through the MTCA.

In addition to his position in the town of East Longmeadow's municipal government, Florence is a member of the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Collectors and Treasurers Association.