Town Clerk
Town Clerk
The Office of Town Clerk is considered the center of town government and is a major source of information to the residents of the Town of Dalton. Most Town Clerk activities are listed below; see subsections at left for others.
Responsibilities
The Town Clerk keeps all Town records, such as birth and death records for all residents, marriage records for those who apply for their marriage license in the Town of Dalton, minutes of town meetings and election results, and appointments to and resignations from all town boards and committees.
The Town Clerk maintains Zoning Bylaws, General Bylaws, Traffic Rules and Regulations.
Notary Public services are available in the Town Clerk’s Office.
21D fines are collected by the Town Clerk. These are non-criminal disposition of fines due from by-law violations such as ACO, alarms, unregistered vehicles, alcohol, town parks playground, etc. If they need a Notary, they must appear in person, and 21D fines are filed by the enforcer (ACO, PD, etc .) in the District Court.
The Town Clerk also:
– records and certifies all official actions of the town including Town Meeting legislation and appropriations, Planning and Zoning, Board decisions;
– signs all notes for borrowing;
– keeps the Town Seal;
– submits all General and Zoning Bylaws to the Attorney General for approval;
– administers qualifying oaths to all elected and appointed officials and keeps all officials informed of the State’s Open Meeting and Conflict of Interest Laws
– collects District Court fines for non-criminal disposition, not limited to but including animal control, junk car, false alarm, snow & ice removal and municipal noise control violations, as required by Chapter 40, Section 21D of Massachusetts General Laws;