• Assistant city clerks are vital.young pretty clerk image by Ales Masner from Fotolia.com
  
  City clerks serve a vital role in a city's operation. City clerks must make sure that all of the paperwork created by town hall is put in order and properly filed. They help streamline the efficiency of city business. Assistant city clerks will assist proper city clerks in all of their duties.
  
  

Assistance to City Clerk

• Assistant city clerks generally perform much of the administrative jobs under a city clerk. For example, if the city clerk has to make 300 copies of a press release, the assistant city clerk will often be the one sent down to the copy room. Assistant city clerks will arrange and file paperwork based on instructions from the city clerk. Assistant city clerks also act as a backup to the main city clerk as necessary, allowing the city clerk to take sick or vacation time.
  
  

Training

• New city office employees will require training. The assistant city clerk will help ensure that these employees are trained. Training can include proper work methods, such as where to file paperwork, the location of all office equipment, legal and safety hazards to avoid and any other vital and important training. Assistant city clerks will also periodically test these employees to make sure they are well trained. Poorly trained employees can be a liability. For example, an employee that doesn't understand the proper method of speaking with the media may create a public relations disaster.
  
  

Prepare Reports

• Assistant city clerks must prepare regular reports on the city's progress. These reports may be on city budgeting, spending, school programs, construction projects and anything else that is vital to the function of the city. Assistant city clerks can expect to write hundreds of these reports. The mayor and his committees will use this vital information to make important decisions for their city. Miscellaneous reports will also be typed up by the assistant clerk including communications between offices, City Council reports, ceremonial resolutions, commendations, statements made by the mayor and any other statement made by city hall.
  
  

Public Relations

• Working directly with the public may also be necessary. Assistant city clerks may be asked to answer questions or complaints by the public who visit the city hall office. These complaints must be sent to the division that has received the complaint, such as public transportation. These complaints can help that division make important operation decisions. Assistant city clerks may have to go out into the public to perform surveys or interviews in order to get public poll information to gauge how well the public is responding to the city's activities.