Russellville city clerk attains certification

Russellville city clerk Belinda Miller has been on the job for almost three years now, and she can now tout an added level of certification. Miller recently completed the Bama at Work Project Management Certificate Program.

Miller said she took the courses twice a year for the past three years, along with all of the conferences she has attended.

“It’s a required program, and it really betters my work and enhances how I do my job,” she said.

According to the program’s website, the workshops help build and sustain best practices for project management, develop project management skills and teach advanced project management.

Miller said she found the last workshop particularly interesting because participants learned about bonds, but she also enjoyed learning about taxes, shared revenue and disaster preparation.

“You learn things that you don’t normally think about in these classes and conferences, like what to do if there is an active shooter in the building,” Miller said.

She explained that the courses are really about beefing up what participants already know and enhancing that knowledge in the workforce, thereby increasing their efficiency.

In December, Miller said she will have worked for the city for nine years. She first started out working in the building department, but when the city clerk position opened up, she decided she would give it a shot.

“I already had a feel for how the job worked before I started, so it wasn’t too hard of a transition,” she said.

She earned her degree in office administration with a focus on accounting and said she always knew she would end up with an office job of some sort.

“I like being behind the scenes and helping the community and everything run as smoothly as I can,” Miller said.

As far as the city goes, Miller said she is in the top clerical position. In future professional development, Miller said there is a Master Municipal Clerk course she could take to further enhance her knowledge of the job. “I’ll probably end up pursuing that at some point.”