The Municipal Clerk is the oldest of public servants in local government and in Durham it’s more than just land records, dog licenses, fish and game licenses. The Town Clerk is responsible for vital records (birth, deaths and marriages), permits, recording of town meeting minutes, maintaining agendas and minutes of the boards and commissions as well as the town proceedings book and elections. I
n addition to our traditional responsibilities, we are also the FOI liaison, manager of the Government Intern Program, Notary Public, Web Master for the town's website and Information Technology Coordinator. Continuing in the tradition of community service, assisting in educating our youth is very important. The clerk welcomes Korn School third graders to our office every year. During this visit students not only gain information about the operations of the office, and a tour of our vault, but they are also given insight into the beginnings of our wonderful Town and literally hold a piece of that history in their hands. In addition, the Town Clerk manages the Government Internship Program which hires a Durham student, either a senior at CRHS or a college student, to work at town hall every summer. This program helps the student gain insight into the workings of town government. We have organized and participated in activities to benefit the community, such as Town Meeting Moderator Training, Justice of the Peace Training, Freedom of Information Seminar, United Way, National Passport Day in the USA, and Rabies Clinics. The Clerk applies annually for the Historic Preservation Grant issued by the State of Connecticut Office of the Public Records Administrator, for the “preservation and management of historic documents.” This grant has provided us with an opportunity to serve our residents without additional cost to the taxpayers. With this grant our land records history and images are searchable electronically back to 1967. It is our goal to help the citizens of Durham in every way that we can and to help provide information to them. If you are enjoying a stroll down Main Street or out running errands,stop by and see us at the Town Clerk’s Office - our door is always open!
