Customer Service Specialist

The position supports core City Clerk functions including elections, licensing, records support, cashiering and payment processing, meeting support, and public information while also assisting with centralized navigation and operational coordination across City departments. Employees in this role operate in a highly interactive environment requiring adaptability, professionalism, sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to manage frequent interruptions and competing priorities while maintaining effective public service.

 

Essential Job Functions

Public & Customer Service 

• Serve as a primary, public-facing contact at City Hall and provide courteous, accurate service to residents, businesses, elected officials, staff, and visitors.
• Manage incoming calls for City Hall and designated departmental lines. 
• Respond to in-person, phone, and electronic inquiries and direct customers to the proper staff, department, or resource. 
• Provide general information on City services, municipal procedures, elections, licensing, meetings, and other public-facing processes. Assist staff and customers with basic navigation of online systems and procedures.
• Issue recycle center permits and passport photos, and process related payments.
• Maintain professionalism, accuracy, and confidentiality in all interactions while balancing frequent interruptions and competing priorities.

Clerk’s Office Operational Support

• Provide clerical and administrative support for agendas, notices, meeting materials, public postings, records coordination, licensing, and elections.
• Assist with organizing, scanning, filing, and managing electronic and physical records according to retention requirements.
• Acknowledge and route public records requests to appropriate staff for review and response in accordance with established procedures.
• Support the Common Council and boards, committees, and commissions with meeting preparation and documentation. Assist with tracking appointments, vacancies, and related documentation.
• Use municipal software systems related to elections, licensing, cashiering, records management, agendas, and communication.
• Help update forms, templates, website content, and public information materials.
• Provide clerical support for recurring processes, shared administrative tasks, seasonal workloads, and multi-department operations.
• Assist with payroll support, purchase card documentation, accounts payable, and other routine clerical processes for specifically assigned departments in accordance with established procedures and supervisory discretion.
• Coordinate communication and follow-up with staff, departments, vendors, agencies, and the public.
• Participate in cross-training to support continuity of operations.

Elections & Licensing Support

• Support voter registration, absentee voting, and other election activities under the direction of Clerk’s Office staff.
• Enter and maintain voter and election information in WisVote, MyVote, and other systems.
• Assist with absentee ballot processing, election preparation, Election Day operations, and election-night reporting and the processing, organization, proofing, routing, and maintenance of election forms, absentee materials, voter documentation, and related election records in accordance with established procedures, confidentiality requirements, and chain-of-custody expectations.
• Process license and permit applications, review submissions for completeness, enter information into OpenGov and other designated systems, and provide status updates in accordance with established procedures.
• Process payments for licenses, permits, and related fees.

Municipal Intake & Transaction Processing

• Receive and process applications, payments, correspondence, and service requests.
•  Accept and process payments for licenses, permits, citations, passport photos, miscellaneous municipal transactions, and limited property tax collection support while maintaining cash drawer accuracy, receipting, balancing, and reconciliation in accordance with established procedures.
• Provide general guidance on forms and procedures while routing specialized inquiries to appropriate departments.
• Coordinate City vehicle checkout and revaluation appointment scheduling.

Records, Documents & Administrative Processing

• Scan, upload, organize, index, and maintain electronic and physical records in accordance with established procedures and records retention requirements.
• Prepare and distribute correspondence, notices, labels, and mailings.
• Assist with incoming and outgoing mail, postage machine operation, and supplies.
• Support historical scanning and records clean-up projects.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

 

Requirements of Work

High School Diploma with two years of administrative, clerical, customer service, or public-facing office experience; or any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the following knowledge, skills, and abilities. Experience working in a municipal office, Clerk’s Office, public sector environment, or high-interaction customer service environment preferred:

Knowledge of:

• General municipal government operations, departmental functions, and public service practices.
• Customer service principles and techniques applicable to a public-facing municipal environment.
• General office procedures, clerical practices, records handling procedures, document organization methods, and administrative support processes.
• Municipal support functions related to elections, licensing, public meetings, records management, cashiering, and related Clerk’s Office operational processes.
• Public sector laws, procedures, and confidentiality requirements applicable to assigned duties, including general familiarity with election laws, licensing laws, public records laws, and open meetings laws.
• Cashiering, receipting, and transactional processing practices related to licenses, permits, property taxes, citations, and miscellaneous municipal payments.
• Microsoft Office Suite applications and municipal software systems utilized within the Clerk’s Office and front counter environment.
• Standard business English, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and professional correspondence practices.
• Modern office equipment, communication systems, and general administrative technology utilized within municipal office operations.

Ability to:

• Provide professional, courteous, and effective customer service to residents, elected officials, staff, outside agencies, business owners, and the public in a highly interactive municipal environment.
• Work effectively both independently and collaboratively within a team-oriented environment while supporting shared operational responsibilities and public-facing municipal functions.
• Maintain accuracy, organization, responsiveness, and attention to detail in processing records, forms, payments, and correspondence while managing frequent interruptions, competing priorities, simultaneous customer interactions, and changing operational demands.
• Prioritize tasks, manage workload demands, and adapt to seasonal operational cycles, election periods, licensing workflows, and other recurring municipal processes.
• Learn, utilize, and adapt to specialized municipal software systems, operational procedures, administrative workflows, and evolving departmental processes.
• Understand and follow established policies, procedures, records handling practices, confidentiality requirements, and operational workflows applicable to assigned duties.
• Exercise sound judgment in responding to public inquiries, routing requests, recognizing when issues should be escalated, and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive information, records, financial data, and election-related materials.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with coworkers, departments, elected officials, outside agencies, and members of the public from varied cultural, linguistic, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds using tact, patience, diplomacy, and professionalism.
• Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing.

Skill in:

• Customer service, public interaction, front counter operations, and maintaining effective working relationships with residents, staff, elected officials, outside agencies, business owners, and the public.
• Organization, prioritization, multitasking, and management of simultaneous operational demands, interruptions, customer interactions, and competing deadlines while maintaining professionalism, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Clerical processing, data entry, records support, document organization, cashiering, correspondence preparation, and related administrative support activities.
• Utilization of office technology, municipal software systems, communication platforms, and administrative tools utilized within Clerk’s Office and front counter operations.
• Listening, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication while responding to public inquiries, routing requests, and supporting day-to-day municipal operations.
• Monitoring work for accuracy, quality, completeness, confidentiality, and compliance with established procedures and operational expectations.
• Exercising sound judgment, adaptability, professionalism, and responsiveness within a highly interactive, interruption-driven municipal environment.
• Supporting collaborative operational workflows and maintaining effective coordination across assigned municipal functions and departments.

 

Other Job Functions

The physical demands described below are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is primarily performed in an office environment. The position requires sufficient hand-eye coordination to operate computers, phones, and standard office equipment. Specific vision abilities include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• While performing the duties of this position, the employee frequently is required to communicate verbally, hear, use hands and fingers to operate office equipment, and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee may occasionally be required to stand, walk, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, or maintain balance while performing job duties.
• The employee must occasionally lift, carry, and move materials or equipment weighing up to 25 pounds. 

The above is intended to describe the general content of the requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements.

 

The City of Sun Prairie is committed to advancing equity, honoring our diverse identity, and creating an inclusive culture.  These serve as our guiding principles every day in all that we do.  Keep us accountable to this mission and join us in this commitment to a thriving Sun Prairie, as you live, work, and play.  If you need an accommodation during the hiring process, please contact Human Resources at 608-825-1174 or HumanResources@cityofsunprairie.com.