Rockingham Town Clerk Doreen Aldrich explains that clerks record all deeds, including cemetery deeds. They also issue marriage licenses and record births, marriages, and deaths. They keep school records.
Many towns in Windham County maintain records dating to the 1700s.
State statute also requires clerks record their town's annual grand list and minutes from each selectboard and school board meeting. In the case of Bellows Falls, the town clerk also preserves village trustee meeting minutes.
Town clerks also preside over elections and town meetings.
Voter checklists are retained for five years. Under state statute, paper ballots from general elections are kept for 22 months - 90 days for local elections. If an election is contested then the ballots are kept longer.
Dog and liquor licenses are retained for five years. Spay and neuter certificates are retained for 13 years or until the dog dies.
Some records, such as minutes from annual town meetings and oaths of office, are kept in perpetuity.
Clerks also keep copies of zoning permits, Vermont property transfer tax returns, and mobile home bills of sale.
Some clerks issue auto registration renewals and Green Mountain Passports (a discount program for admission to state parks, historic sites, and state events), and sell transfer station coupons.
“We are also obligated to notarize documents and certify vital records and deeds in our possession,” said Aldrich.