History of the Municipal Clerk
Legislative bodies have always needed someone to record their activities and handle administrative duties.
Early Beginnings
The municipal clerk has an ancient and honorable history and is, in fact, one of the oldest of public servants along with the tax collector. The early keepers of the public archives were called “remembrancers,” and before writing came into use, their memory served as the public record. Ancient Greece had a city secretary whose responsibilities including reading official documents to the public.
In the eighth century, the Frankish kings depended on the Mayor of the Palace to perform all manner of clerical and administrative tasks, including the collection of taxes and fees, the publication and archival of official documents, administration of state records, and the enforcement of the King’s justice. In 751, the Merovingian King, Childeric, was deposed and his assistant, Pippin, the Mayor of the Palace, became not only the French monarch, but was simultaneously created a Patrician of Rome by Pope Gregory the Third. Pippin was, in turn, father of the great Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Carolingian Dynasty of Europe, which in successive generations produced the Kings of France as well as the Emperors of Germany and Austria.
Development in England
The title of clerk, as it is used today, derives from the Latin clericus. During the Middle Ages, when scholarship was limited to the clergy, the term came to me someone who could read and write, and thus was capable of serving as a notary, secretary, accountant, and recorder.
In the year 1272 A.D., in the Corporation of Old London, the office of municipal clerk was first formally recognized. The duties of office included reading petitions, recording decisions, and reminding councilmembers about what had transpired at their previous meetings.
The office of clerk, in a legislative capacity, was given its greatest prominence due to the evolution of the British Parliament and its replication throughout the world. In 1363, Robert de Melton was appointed Clerk of the House of Commons in the British Parliament.
From all levels of government throughout the world—from townships, cities, and counties, to states and nations—the clerk’s office and its function has been most significantly impacted by the development of the Westminster parliamentary model in which the clerk is an officer sworn to the service of the governing body.
Colonial Development
When the early colonists settled in America, they established forms of local government to which they had been accustomed. The settlers were aware of the importance of keeping accurate written records, especially of their agreements and actions affecting the ownership of land, the collection of taxes, and the appropriation of public funds, and the office of municipal clerk (also called recorder) was one of the first to be created. The clerk/recorder was responsible for keeping vital records for the community, including records about births, marriages, and deaths; title and deed to property; appointments; records on the election of officers; and transcripts of town meetings.
The Virginia House of Burgesses—the oldest legislative assembly in the United States—first convened in 1619 in Jamestown. Being newly formed and with little experience in legislative processes, the House of Burgesses relied upon a clerk on loan from the British House of Commons for guidance and support, thus bridging the Atlantic Ocean and ensuring that the histories and traditions of the British Parliament would influence the development of the clerk’s office in the New World. The first clerk in the United States was John Twine who was appointed in 1619 as Clerk of the House of Burgesses in the colony of Virginia.
Modern Day
Today, the municipal clerk has a seemingly endless array of responsibilities, all of which contribute directly to the effective operation of government. Prominent among these duties is the responsibility for administering legislative processes, managing public records, and supervising elections As the United States has developed, the role of the municipal clerk has become more specialized in the larger, urban areas; in rural parts of the country, a single clerk often performs all of the traditional clerical tasks associated with the office and sometimes much more. Over the years, municipal clerks have become the hub of government, the direct link between the citizens and their government. The clerk is the community’s historian, preserving the entire recorded history of its people in his care.
The eminent political scientist, Professor William Bennett Munro, writing in one of the first textbooks on municipal administration, stated:
“No other office in municipal service has so many contacts. It serves the mayor, the city council, the city manager, and all administrative departments, without exception. All of them call upon it, almost daily, for some service or information. Its work is not spectacular, but it demands versatility, alertness, accuracy, and no end of patience. The public does not realize how many loose ends of administration this office pulls together.”
At the county level, the same holds true. Appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, the Clerk preserves the institution, processes, and traditions of the legislative body, tracking the entire process, from introduction through final approval, publication, and codification. The Clerk is the custodian of all official records containing the acts, orders, and judgments of the Board of County Commissioners, which are made available to public inspection under his conservatorship. The Clerk and his staff interact with the County Manager and the agencies and departments of county government, who call upon the office for various services or information almost daily. Through their work, the Clerk’s Office provides continuity that is essential to the operations of both the Board of County Commissioners and the organization of County Government. In these and many other ways, the Clerk preserves the integrity of the local legislative process and ensures transparency in governmental activities and decisions, thereby helping to protect the rights of the people who are served by their county government.