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The City Clerk's Department is a public service office that performs a
wide variety of department functions and citizen services.
The main objective of the Department is to provide prompt and courteous
service to the citizens of Lewiston.
The Department, as required per Maine state statute requirements, is
responsible for the following:
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Coordinating
election administration for the city
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Recording and
maintaining all vital statistics records (birth/marriage/death) for the city
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Issuing hunting and
fishing licenses
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Serving as custodian
of all official City records
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Administering the
city-wide dog licensing program.
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Kathleen M. Montejo MMC
City Clerk
E-Mail: kmontejo@ci.lewiston.me.us
(207) 513-3000 Ext. 3218
Click
for BIO
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In addition, per the
City Charter requirements, the City Clerk’s
Department is responsible for the following additional tasks:
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Kelly J. Mercier CMC
Deputy City Clerk
(207) 513-3000 Ext. 3220
kmercier@ci.lewiston.me.us
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Maintain a complete
and accurate record of City Council proceedings
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Preserve official
City records
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Provide
administrative support to the City Council
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Prepare the City
Code of Ordinances for codification
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Coordinate the
Records Center for the recording of all legal documents
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Administer the city’s
business licensing program which licenses over 65 different types of businesses.
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Department
Functions |
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Vital Records |
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The primary objective of the vital records function of the Department is
to obtain and preserve documentary evidence concerning births, marriages and
deaths that is necessary to protect the legal rights of individuals.
Municipal clerks file vital records for events which occur in the state
of Maine. If a child is born in Maine, a copy of the birth certificate is filed
in the town/city where the birth occurred, and the town/city where the mother resided at the time of the child's birth.
A death certificate is filed in the municipality where the death
occurred, and the municipality where the deceased resided. A marriage license is
filed where the bride and groom applied for the license, and the town/city where
the marriage took place. Note: All vital records are also filed with the State
of Maine Office of Vital Records.
Birth certificates are necessary to enroll in school, apply for driver
or marriage licenses, to secure a passport or travel visa, to participate in
many athletic programs and to apply for social security and other public program
benefits.
Death certificates are necessary for many critical legal functions,
including burial procedures and the processing of insurance benefits, estate
settlement, transfer of stocks, bonds, personal property and real estate.
For these reasons there is a continuous demand for certified copies of
birth, marriage and death certificates in Lewiston. The Department issues over
10,000 certified copies on an annual basis.
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Official City
Records |
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As Custodian of Records, the City Clerk’s Department serves as the
official record filing center for all City resolutions, ordinances, contracts,
minutes and documents adopted by the City Council. The Clerk handles requests
for information regarding official City documents. Requests for copies of
records shall be submitted in writing. Preservation of historical records is an
on-going effort of the Department.
The
chief monument to the history of a city is its public archives. Preservation of
archives is universally recognized as a proper and natural function of
government. Public records are public property, and stewardship over records is
a government responsibility vital to the public trust. The City’s public
records are owned by the people in the same sense that citizens own City Hall,
the Public Library, the parks, the streets and sidewalks, the funds in the
treasury.
The City’s archives, administered by the City Clerk’s Office,
is charged by law with a special role in protecting and managing the recorded
information of the City of Lewiston. Like other public assets, the City’s
records are held in trust for the citizens by custodians, that is, the heads of
City departments. Once permanent records are no longer required for current
business, they must be transferred to the City’s Records Center. Here they are
protected and permanently preserved as historical, cultural and legal assets for
use by City government and the public.
In a very real sense, archives are the most important municipal
asset of all. Archives and records are unique and irreplaceable and document the
conduct of the people’s business, including the rights, privileges and
property of individual citizens. Archives shed light on our experience as a
government and a community, help us better understand our past successes and
failures, and open a broad range of possibilities for planning better futures.
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City Council
Meetings |
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The Department is responsible for the preparation, reproduction,
distribution and archiving of City Council agendas, agenda packet materials,
documents and the official meeting minutes.
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Election
Administration |
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The City Clerk’s Department coordinates all election procedures on the
municipal level for the federal and state elections. For every State or Federal
election the Department is responsible for:
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Hiring and
training over 100 election workers
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Coordinating the
absentee ballot process
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Conducting
absentee voting at the Lewiston nursing homes
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Testing the
electronic tabulation machines to ensure the proper programming of the machines
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Ensuring that all
state statutes regarding election administration are complied with correctly.
For all municipal elections, the Department administers and coordinates every aspect of the election
process, and the Department is additionally responsible
for:
Overall, the main objective of the election administration function is
to ensure a fair and impartial election process and to secure and protect the
individual rights of every Lewiston voter.
The City Clerk is the local recording officer for all filings and
statements required by State Statutes regarding Campaign Finance Reports. This
includes campaign contribution and expenditure reports from candidates for
Mayor, City Council and School Board.
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Hunting &
Fishing Licenses |
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Hunting and fishing licenses for residents and non-residents of Maine
may be purchased at the City Clerk’s Department.
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Dog Licensing |
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Per State Statutes, every owner of a dog 6 months of age or older shall
license the dog with the City Clerk’s Department if the dog resides in
Lewiston.
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Business
Licensing |
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The City Clerk’s Department works with various city departments such
as Code Enforcement, Police and Fire to ensure the proper inspection and
regulatory requirements are met prior to the City licensing certain businesses
to operate in Lewiston.
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City Code of
Ordinances and City Policy Manual |
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The Department maintains and updates the
Official City Code of Ordinances which serve as the laws and regulations for the City of Lewiston. All
amendments to the Code are codified annually. In addition, the City maintains a
Policy Manual of the city-wide policies that have been formally adopted by the
City Council.
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Other Personnel
Staffing the City Clerk's Department
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