The record of what your council decided
Agendas, minutes, ordinances and resolutions. If you want to know what was decided, when, and who voted which way, that is the clerk.
For residents
What a municipal clerk does
If you have been told to "ask the clerk", this explains why, and what to expect when you do.
The clerk's office is responsible for
Public records requests
The clerk is usually the municipality’s records officer and the person who answers a request under Chapter 42.
Licences and permits
Business, liquor, animal and special-event licences in most municipalities. Building permits usually sit elsewhere.
Elections
In most Clearwater municipalities the clerk runs the municipal election — candidate filing, absentee ballots, poll workers and the canvass.
What the clerk is not
The clerk is not the decision-maker. A clerk records what the governing body decided and cannot change it, appeal it, or tell you it was wrong.
The clerk is not the county recorder. Property deeds, mortgages and land records are county. Birth, death and marriage records are usually county or state.
The clerk is not the court. Citations, cases and court files go to the court that heard them.
The clerk is not your attorney. A clerk can tell you what the record says and what the process is. They cannot tell you what it means for your situation.
Worth knowing
In most of Clearwater, the clerk is also four other people.
214 municipalities, most under 5,000 residents. In a town of 1,200 the clerk is the records officer, the elections official, the licensing desk and the minute-taker, often part time.
This is not an excuse for a slow answer — Chapter 42 gives five business days and that applies to a town of 800 as much as to Fairholm. It is context for why the person who picks up may need to call you back.