Town Clerk Tallies Another Record Year

By Jan Howard

The town clerk’s office is breaking records for the first nine months of 2003. Congratulatory balloons added their bright colors to the office this week as the staff celebrated its impressive statistics. Total revenue for the office topped the $1 million mark as of September 30.

The celebratory mood was reflected in the smiles of the office staff, Town Clerk Cindy Simon, Sue Shpunt, Carol Mayhew, and Blithe Dotson.

The town clerk’s office is the second highest revenue-producing agency in Newtown. It is surpassed only by the tax collector’s office, according to Town Clerk Cindy Simon.

In addition, the staff processed 11,693 documents, the same number that broke all previous records for the entire year last year. “With three months to go, we have already hit what we did last year, which was highest of any year,” Ms Simon said.

“My guess is we will do another 2,500 to 3,000 documents in the next three months,” she said.

She said the record number of documents this year is because interest rates are low. She noted that refinancing of mortgages generates more than one document. In addition, she noted, there have been more home sales.

For the same period, from January 2 to September 30, 2002, the office processed 8,337 documents; in 2001, 6,495; and in 2000, 5,572.

The number of documents processed in nine months is not the only record-breaking figure. The office took in $508,728.73 from copies of maps and land records and registration of trade names. For the same nine-month period last year, office revenues were $262,912.14. In 2001 and 2000, the revenues for the same time frame were $190,415.41 and $216,943.69 respectively.

Revenue from real estate conveyance taxes for the nine-month period was $462,986.62, up from $280,812.17 last year. For the same period in 2001 and 2000, the office received $214,995.54 and $150,396.60.

Total receipts for the office in the nine-month period were $1,040,584.36, up from $606,693.31 last year. In 2001 and 2000, revenues were $447,104.41 and $401,615.29 respectively.

State conveyance taxes also rose, but not as much as the town’s, from $1,215,099.16 for the nine months of 2002 to this year’s $1,290,568.66. In 2001 and 2000, the state’s tax receipts were $911,628.91 and $1,021,646.27, respectively.

Ms Simon said she was so proud of her staff that she went out and bought the balloons to celebrate.

“I am so blessed to have the three of them,” Ms Simon said. “They go above and beyond always. They have been put under such pressure and stress.”

Ms Simon said her office takes great pride in keeping the indexing of land records current. When land records come in, they are entered into a computer, and included in an index. “Today [October 7] we are done up to October 3,” she said, noting that some municipalities are two months behind in indexing land records. Newtown’s land records index includes transactions from 1900 to the present.