Meeting people best part of deputy city clerk’s job
For most of her last two years, Dianna Layne was often the first person people met as they entered Winchester City Hall.
As deputy city clerk and administrative assistant for City Manager Matt Belcher, Layne sees about everyone who comes to city hall, whether they are there about an issue or to pay their property taxes.
Though she has always lived in Winchester, Layne said she has gotten to know the community and its residents better since she has worked for the city.
“To me, the greatest thing is the variety of people,” Layne said. “A friend told me when I got the job, you will really get to know the people of Winchester. I’ve really expanded the people I know. I feel like I know so much more now.”
Working primarily in the city manager’s office, Layne handles a variety of tasks from preparing correspondence for Belcher, designing programs, sending emails for Mayor Ed Burtner’s e-line as well as serving as City Clerk Joy Curtis’ backup.
She also prepares the announcements for the public access channel and uploads videos of local church services and other local programs.
“This is free advertising we do for churches or more,” she said. “All they have to do is email it to me.
The same goes for videos. Presently they show services from a half-dozen churches as well as the city commission and fiscal court meetings. As long as they bring a DVD, it can go on the channel.
Those tasks just scratch the surface.
“I take all the complaints about potholes or speeders,” she said. “I’m helping the mayor with the Christmas parade. The code enforcement, I do the liens and the billing for that. I’m the secretary for the revenue sharing committee. It’s lots of things.”
The variety and unknown are two of the great things about the job, she said.
“It doesn’t get boring,” she said. “You don’t know who will come in or what problems they bring. My passion in life is to help people, so I like that challenge.”