RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin’s Town Clerk Kelsey Jensen sits at her desk in Town Hall on William Street and displays her certified municipal clerk certificate.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(Aug. 29, 2019) Kelsey Jensen blazed her own trail to become not just Berlin’s town clerk, but a certified municipal clerk with the credentials to back it up.

Jensen, 30, of Ocean Pines, came to Worcester County nearly nine years ago after graduating from Frostburg University in 2011 with a degree in social work. She began working as a courtroom clerk for the Circuit Court of Worcester County, and later received a master’s degree in business from the University of Maryland University College in 2018.

Three years ago, Jensen saw an opening for a position with the Town of Berlin, and started doing administrative work. But after expressing an interest, Jensen began her training to receive certification to become a municipal clerk.

Jensen said it typically takes three years to get certified, but she was able to do it in about two years because of her education and court experience. Throughout her training, she attended clerks institutes and conferences in order to receive the 50 experience points and 60 education points needed to complete the certification.

As a town clerk, Jensen said she sees herself as a “behind-the-scenes person.” She is responsible for several duties including working with public records, ordinances and administrative support.

“Basically we are preserving the history of the town when we manage our records properly, and training for that is necessary,“ she said.

She also emphasized the need to “keep us in compliance with Public Information Act [and] Open Meetings Act.”

Jensen said accuracy and transparency are key when it comes to taking meeting minutes.

“We try to keep action minutes, not word for word, but it is also important to have some information around the action so in 100 years if someone looks back and wonders why something is in place, we have a little information around it,” Jensen said.

The job is not without its challenges, Jensen said, one of which was the recent agreement annexing roughly seven acres near the intersection of Route 50 and North Main Street for a proposed gas station and convenience store. Shortly after it was approved, resident Jeff Smith launched a petition for a referendum.

“So, not only was it the first annexation I’ve seen, but it was the first petition to an annexation,” she said.

Jensen belongs to the Maryland Municipal Clerks Association, which meets quarterly, and serves as a source from which its members can get advice should some unfamiliar situation arise.

“It’s just nice that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time,” she said.

With the association’s guidance, Jensen worked to implement a system for public comment at Town Council meetings when the need arose earlier this year during the fiscal year 2020 budget process.

“I think that’s when we were getting a lot of questions,” she said. “People weren’t sure when they could speak up during the meetings and express their opinions.”