Town Clerk / Tax Collector

Town Clerk / Tax Collector Office

The Town Clerk's has a variety of responsibilities including:

RECORDING SECRETARY: The Town Clerk acts as recording secretary at the Town Board meetings. These minutes books are retained permanently for both legal and historical purposes.

FILING OFFICER: The Town Clerk's Office maintains records of local laws, Town Oaths of Office, proofs of publication and posting of legal notices and Notices of Highway Defects and the official bulletin board.

ISSUING LICENSES AND PERMITS: New York State licenses issued by the Town Clerk include marriage, sporting licenses, games of chance, bingo and handicapped parking permits. Local licenses/permits issued include Dog License, Garage/lawn sales,and junkyard.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER: The Town Clerk has custody of all town records and responds to Freedom of Information requests. Provides certified copies of marriage licenses.

REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS: Birth and death certificates and burial transit permits are filed with the Registrar of Vital Statistics. The Registrar provides copies of birth and death certificates to qualified persons, and conducts genealogy searches.

GIVES OUT APPLICATIONS: Applications for variances, site plan review and property tax exemptions are available at the Town Clerks office.

NOTARY PUBLIC: The Town Clerk provides notary services to the public.

TAX COLLECTOR: In the town of New Haven the Town Clerk is also the tax collector. The tax collector collects the town and county property taxes. Property tax bills are sent out around January 1st. School taxes are collected by the Mexico Academy and Central School. School tax bills are sent out in September by the school district

COPIES OF MINUTES, LOCAL LAWS, ETC: Copies of minutes of the Town Board and Planning Board meetings are available in the Town Clerk's Office for a fee of $.25 per page. There is no fee for copies of the current Town Budget or most recent audit report. Local Laws are also available. Any of these items may be mailed for an additional fee to cover postage.

BIRTH & DEATH CERTIFICATES: Birth & Death Certificates are filed with this office only if the birth or death occurred within the town. Copies of the Birth Certificates are issued only to the Mother, the Father (if named on Certificate), or the actual child (if 18 Years of age or older). The Children, Parent, or Current Spouse can request copies of Death Certificates. Anyone else has to prove lawful purpose. You may come into the Office and file an application for request, show proof of identification (Driver's License, Non-Driver's License, Passport), and then receive copies. The fee is $10.00 per copy.

For GENEALOGY Requests, there are special requirements; 75 Years on Birth and the person has to be deceased 50 Years. On Marriage both have to be deceased. Genealogy searches start at $22.