As the contact between the citizens and the government, the Clerk's Office can be called the hub of local government. The Clerk is expected to know everything about the operation of the City. When answers are not readily available, the Clerk's Office must know how to refer questions or problems for proper handling.

The Office of the City Clerk is the principal source for information sought by the public; therefore, the most important links between City government and the public that it serves are public relations and effective communication. The Clerk's Office is a service department that is the oldest office of municipal government. It is the clearinghouse for obtaining data about City government.

Services:

• Preparation of the City Commission Agenda
• Municipal Election
• City Cemeteries
• Central File System
• City Code of Ordinances and Resolutions
• City Commission and Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
• Preparation of Meeting Notices
• Property Information
• Preparation of Legal Ads
• Tax Lien Searches
• Certification of Documents
• Responding to Requests for Public Record Information
• Possession of the City Seal

Municipal Election
One of the most important responsibilities of the City Clerk's Office is preparing for and conducting the Municipal Election. The City Clerk is the election official for the Municipal Election. Some of the Clerk's election responsibilities include:

• Notifying the public of an upcoming election.
• Qualifying the candidates to run for office.
• Tracking the filing of Campaign Treasurer's Reports by candidates.
• Hiring and authorizing payment for the poll workers who work at the precincts.
• Working with the Supervisor of Elections to locate polling locations.
• Arranging for the delivery and pickup of the voting equipment.
• Scheduling the pickup of the ballots.
• Delivery of ballots to the Supervisor of Elections.
• Acceptance of the election results.

Tax Lien Searches
When a property sale is anticipated, title companies submit requests to the City Clerk's Office for a search of our records to determine whether there are any outstanding liens against the property. These liens could include lot mowing liens or Code violation liens. We also provide the title companies with information regarding outstanding utility bills. When selling a home, or refinancing a mortgage, this information is vitally necessary to close the deal. If a determination is made that there are liens on the property, copies of the recorded documents are sent to the title companies. The City provides this service at a minimal charge.

Records Management
The City Clerk's Office is responsible for administering the Records Management program for the City and maintaining a Central File for its own records and those of the City.

A universal challenge in local government offices is the accumulation of records. Records can be of continued value, but their infrequent rate of reference may not justify their retention in prime office space. Over a period of time, these records take up valuable file equipment, staff time and office space. The records that have outlived their usefulness in the office are transferred to microfilm for LaserFiche, and then are destroyed according to State Records Management guidelines. Some records that are too voluminous to microfilm are sent to inactive storage for a pre-determined length of time. The City Clerk's Office acts as a clearinghouse for records disposition for all of the City departments.

Central File
The City's Central File is maintained by the City Clerk's Office. This file contains long-term contracts, legal files, easements, zoning applications, outside water service agreements, bid documents and many other records in addition to the day-to-day files of the City Clerk and other City departments. The City Clerk's Office microfilms the records from the Central File on an annual basis and stores the tapes for viewing on microfilm readers. Indexes are maintained that enable staff to search and locate records of interest to the public and other City departments.

Electronic Document Management
To achieve increased efficiency, the City Clerk's Office has begun the transition from microfilming the records to scanning them into a LaserFiche storage, search and retrieval computer program.