town clerks

One of the most difficult to parse aspects of municipal operations involves the office of the town clerk or town clerk-tax collector. These elected officials often have a statutorily defined “deputy” who works in their office, along with a number of municipal employees. The interaction of various statutes can lead to great confusion about the working relationship between the elected official, deputy, employees, and other boards and bodies in the municipality. This issue’s Legal Q&A will clarify some of those relationships. 

City and Town Clerks perform many roles  - elections, motor vehicle registrations, vital records, dog licensing, and collecting municipal fees just to name a few.

We all have the same common goal of representing the best interest of the residents of the great state of New Hampshire.

Oh goodness,, what a year we have had!

Our office in Northumberland went by guidance from our Emergency Services Director, Aaron Gibson during COVID. We closed the building in March and I waited on customers in the parking lot outside of my door until July. I lost 50 pounds from running all day! We opened in July by appointment only and offered drop box, mail, and online payments.

From birth to death, and all the car registrations in-between, there are few municipal officials with as much public visibility as the town/city clerk. Their roles are so varied that there is no single place in the statutes to find a comprehensive list of the clerk's duties. Instead, one must go to numerous statutes including the motor vehicle laws, election laws, vital statistics, planning and land use laws, libraries, and the budget law. That means that, in many cities and towns across New Hampshire the town/city clerk is the face of the community, especially at election time.

Dogs are especially fortunate—at least that is how it must seem to the thousands of New Hampshire cats who, unlike their dog friends, do not get to experience the privilege of being licensed by their human owners. You see, while the law allows a municipality to require the licensing of cats it does not require licensing as it does for dogs. At just four months of age, a dog is eligible for an official license from the town or city it lives in and can proudly show off its shiny license tag to its less fortunate feline friends!