Deputy Town Clerk: Virginia Dawson

The Town Clerk's term: 1/1/2023-12/31/2023

The Office of Town Clerk involves a great variety of duties and responsibilities. When you think "Town Clerk," you may think about paying your taxes or licensing your dog. Or perhaps you attend the Town Board meetings and see the Clerk sitting with the Board. However, the Clerk's duties are diverse. In many small towns one person can wear many hats. This is the case with the Town Clerk by State Law.

The Town Clerk has custody of all the records, books, and papers of the Town and is the Filing Officer for the Town. The Town Clerk is designated by State Law as the Town Records Management Officer. As such, the Town Clerk coordinates the Town's records management program.

The Town Clerk must attend all meetings of the Town Board, act as clerk thereof, and keep a complete and accurate record of the proceedings of each meeting. Minutes from any meeting are available for inspection once they are accepted by the Board at the following meeting. These remain permanent records of the Town.

The Town Clerk must keep an "Ordinance Book" and enter a copy of each ordinance of the Town immediately after the adoption by the Town Board. Likewise, the Town Clerk must keep a record of all local laws filed in their office in a separate book(s) which shall be indexed.

The Clerk also must maintain a sign board at the entrance to the office for the posting of legal notices of the Town, pick up and distribute the mail, and do the daily banking and handle all FOIL requests.

The Clerk is responsible for notifying the proper County and State offices of vacancies, elections, appointments and resignations with the exception of election inspectors. Further detailed information can be found in the "Office of the Town Clerk" Manual provided by the Association of Towns and available for inspection in the Town Clerk's Office. This includes dates and deadlines for the various scenerios.

From January through May it is the responsibility of the Town Clerk to collect Town and County taxes. Taxes can be paid in the first month without interest, and thereafter at one percent per month. This tax is comprised of three parts, Town, County and Fire District.

The Town Clerk issues and/or collects fees for permits, licenses and certificates. Included are Marriage Licenses, Dog Licenses, Building Permits, Death Certificates, Birth Certificates, Burial Permits (this does not represent a total listing ), and information on all are reported to the Town Supervisor.

The Town Clerk Carol Irizarry is a Notary Public.

Dog Control:

The Town Clerk is responsible for issuing dog licenses.  All dogs must have a valid rabies vaccination certificate in order to obtain a dog license.  In the document section below is the Dog Control Law for the town.  Also available is the dog license application form in the document section below.

Foil Requests:

Freedom of Information Requests

In Candor the Town Clerk is the designated FOIL Officer. The bulk of Town records are open to the public for inspection and for a fee can be copied. The specific area of documentation that are exempt from Freedom of Information are spelled out in Public Officers Law, Article 6.

Generally, the law provides access to "existing" records. It does not require an agency to create a record in response to a request. Each agency is required to compile the following records:

1. a record of the final vote of each member in every proceeding in which the member votes;
2. a record setting forth the name, public office address, title and salary of every officer or employee of the agency; and
3. a reasonable detailed current list by subject matter of all records in possession of an agency, whether or not the recorods are accessible

When information is sought under Freedom on Information, a "Request to View Public Records" form needs to be filled out and submitted to the Town Clerk. The Clerk then has up to 5 days to respond to the request. The individual(s) can come into the office and view the documents and if desired make arrangements to have copies made.

A more detailed explanation of the rights and duties under the Freedol of Information Legislation in the Office of Town Clerk Handbook published by the Association of Towns of the State of New York and available to view at the Clerk's Office. The FOIL request form can be downloaded from the document section listed below.

 EFFECTIVE APRIL 19TH. TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE WILL BE OPEN TUESDAY - THURSDAY 9 AM - 5 PM

Closed the following holidays:

• New Year's Eve Day (12/31)
• New Year's Day
• President's Day
• Martin Luther King Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veteran's Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Friday after Thanksgiving
• Close at noon Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day