What is a Municipal Clerk?
Early Beginnings
The Municipal Clerk is the oldest of public servants in local government, along with the tax collector. The profession traces back before Biblical times. For example, the modern Hebrew translation of Town Clerk is "Mazkir Ha'ir" which literally translated, means city or town "Reminder." The early keepers of archives were often called "Remembrancers", and before writing came into use, their memory served as the public record. In the eighth century, the Frankish Kings of France depended on the Mayor of the Palace to perform all manner of clerical and administrative tasks for the King including collecting taxes and fees, publishing documents, keeping state records and assisting in the enforcement of the King's justice.
Historical Summary
Over the years municipal clerks have become the hub of government, the direct line between the inhabitants of their community and their government. The clerk is the historian of the community, for the entire recorded history of the town (city) and its people is in his or her care.
Professor William Bennett Munro, political scientist, 1934: "No other office in municipal service has so many contacts. It serves the mayor, the city council, the city manager (when there is one), and all administrative departments without exception. All of them call upon it, almost daily, for some service or information. Its work is not spectacular, but it demands versatility, alertness, accuracy, and no end of patience. The public does not realize how many loose ends of city administration this office pulls together.
The Development of the Municipal Clerk's Role in America
When the early colonists came to America they set up forms of local government to which they had been accustomed, and the office of clerk was one of the first to be established. When the colonists first settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they quickly appointed a person to act as recorder. That person kept all the vital records for birth, marriages and deaths for the church, as well as various other records of appointments, deeds, meetings and the election of officers at the annual town meeting. The settlers were well aware of the importance of keeping accurate written records of their agreements and actions including grants of land, regulations governing animals, the collections of taxes and the expenditure of town funds. State statutes have formalized many of the duties first delegated by vote of the town and has added others.
Between 1742 and 1756 the town clerk was responsible for maintaining residency records to substantiate a person's voting rights. The town clerk was required to administer and record the oath of office taken by town officials. By 1776, the town clerk was empowered to call town meetings to elect selectmen if a majority of the selectmen had moved from the town or were absent in the service of the country.
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