Mission Statement
The Office of the Town Clerk is responsible for providing a number of services to the public. The Department consists of six major divisions: Town Council Records, Land Records Registry, Board of Canvassers, Registry of Vital Statistics, Probate Court, and Business Licenses. In addition to receiving, recording and issuing these documents, the Office is responsible for the maintenance, indexing and storage of all of these records for easy access by the public and other departments.
The Office also provides assistance to the Town Manager and other departments for special research projects as they arise.
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Accomplishments 2005 - 2006 return to top
TOWN COUNCIL
The Town Clerk is the Clerk to the Town Council and attends all regular, work and executive sessions of the Council. Agendas are prepared for each regular and work session of the Town Council and posted at four sites: Town Hall, Peace Dale Library, Town website, and Secretary of State website. The preparation of individual ordinances, resolutions, awards of bid, proclamations and commendations, and correspondence are necessary in finalizing each agenda. Many actions of the Town Council also require Public Hearings, necessitating the preparation of advertisements. All agendas, votes, and minutes of the Town Council are prepared, recorded, indexed and maintained in the Office. The Town Code and Zoning Ordinance are also maintained and sold in the Office.
A number of Town Council policies are administered through the Office of the Town Clerk, including the liquor license policy which allows interested parties to submit an application for Town Council consideration each November; the selection process for appointment to Town boards and commissions which requires the filing of applications, scheduling interviews, quarterly advertising, and maintenance of attendance records; serving as liaison with the RI Ethics Commission concerning the filing of conflict of interest statements and recusal forms by local elected and appointed officials; maintaining and updating the Town’s Schedule of Fees; and overseeing a central depository for claims filed against the Town. The Town Clerk is the Filing Coordinator for the Town, acting as the liaison between the Town and the Secretary of State to ensure that each Board, Committee, and Commission complies with the Open Meeting Law requiring these entities to post their agendas to the Secretary of State’s website.
The Office conducted the following Council-related activities during FY2005-2006:
- Prepared agendas, minutes and required legal advertisements, ordinances, resolutions, proclamations, commendations, and correspondence for 25 Regular Council meetings, 30 Work Sessions and 8 Closed Executive Sessions held during the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
- Maintained and coordinated the update of the South Kingstown Town Code and Zoning Ordinance, including 7 amendments to the Town Code and 3 amendments to the Zoning Ordinance in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
- Maintained Town Council, Board, Commission and Committee, and Policies and Procedures pages on the Town website.
- Charter Review Commission was established in January 2006. Ten meetings were held and recommendations for three amendments to the Charter were made by the Commission and approved by the Town Council for placement on the November 2006 Ballot. A survey of 1,000 qualified electors was conducted by the Commission and results placed on the Town website.
LAND RECORDS REGISTRY
All records associated with land transactions are recorded, indexed, and scanned through a new indexing and imaging system acquired in May 2005, including deeds, mortgages, discharges of mortgage, liens and maps. These records are vital to individuals seeking financing or purchasing and selling properties and professionals doing title, legal and engineering work. As required by law, each record is microfilmed and stored off-premise for safe keeping at a storage facility specifically for the protection and storage of such records should a catastrophic event occur at the Town Hall facility.
The following activities were performed relative to the administration of the land records during FY2005-2006:
- Recorded 10,749 land evidence documents and 88 maps associated with land evidence
- Collected $419,642 in revenue from the recording and filing of land evidence documents; revenue generated from Realty Tax Stamps was $567,697.
STATE AND LOCAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RECORDING DOCUMENTS.
1. In the state of Rhode Island, documents are recorded by city or town, not by county.
2. Documents must contain the following information:
a. Grantees address on a deed
b. Property address
c. Notary acknowledgment
d. Date of signatures
3. In Rhode Island all documents regarding property transfers must have either:
a. Rhode Island realty tax stamps (current rate is $4.00 per thousand) or
b. A statement indicating that no RI realty tax stamps are required.
4. As of April 1, 2007: Chapter 34-11 of RI General Laws entitled "Form & Effect of Conveyances" requires that the total dollar amount of the actual sale be contained or endorsed upon the recorded deed.
5. If a document refers to an exhibit, the exhibit page must be enclosed.
6. A discharge or release must list the property owner(s) name(s).
RECORDING FEES AS OF DECEMBER 1, 2007
| |
| add. page fee
|
| WARRANTY DEED |
$84.00
| $1.00 each
|
| QUIT CLAIM DEED |
$84.00
| $1.00 each
|
| OTHER DEEDS |
$84.00
| $1.00 each
|
| FORECLOSURE DEEDS |
$84.00
| $1.00 each
|
| LIS PENDENS |
$84.00
| $1.00 each
|
| |
| MORTGAGE |
$64.00
| $1.00 each
|
| LEASE |
$64.00
| $1.00 each
|
| AMENDMENT OF MORTGAGE |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| ASSIGNMENT OF MORTGAGE |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| GENERAL ASSIGNMENT |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| DISCHARGE OF MORTGAGE |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| BILL OF SALE |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| PARTIAL RELEASE OF MORTGAGE |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| POWER OF ATTORNEY |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| MAPS |
$49.00
|
|
| RELEASE LEVY, ATTACH, EXECUTION |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| LEVY, ATTACH, EXECUTION |
$10.00
| $1.00 each
|
| |
| LIEN-FEDERAL TAX |
$9.25
| $1.00 each
|
| LIEN-FEDERAL TAX RELEASE |
$9.25
| $1.00 each
|
| MECHANICS LIEN |
$10.00
|
|
| NOTICE OF INTENT |
$8.00
|
|
| TAX LIEN CERTIFICATES (MLC) |
$8.00
|
|
| |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DISCHARGE OF LIEN |
$49.00
| $1.00 each
|
| STATE TAX LIEN, DEPT EMPLOYMENT/TRAINING |
$4.00
|
|
| |
| FINANCE STATEMENTS (UP TO 2 PGS) |
$16.00
|
|
| FINANCE STATEMENTS (OVER 2 PGS) |
$32.00
|
|
| |
| COPIES, STANDARD PER PAGE |
$1.50
|
|
| CERTIFICATION |
$3.00
|
|
CANVASSING AUTHORITY
The Office of the Town Clerk is responsible for the preparation and maintenance of all Town voting records and the administration of all national, state and local elections as well as the Financial Town Meeting and any Special Elections.
Training continued during FY2005-2006 with the Central Voter Register System (CVRS) in conjunction with the Election Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. Staff also continued updating voter registration files through statewide mailing in the second quarter of 2006.
In addition to the preparation of agendas and minutes for the 3 meetings of the Board of Canvassers held in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the following summarizes the activities that were administered by the Office for the Board of Canvassers:
Financial Town Meeting - April 26, 2005
- Total Eligible Voters ……18,650
- Admitted 677 eligible voters
- Prepared warrant for newspaper and posting
- Arranged for sound systems
- Coordinated with other Town departments for staffing, setup and cleanup
- Coordinated with Board of Elections for use of voting machine
Voter Registration
- Registered 1,067 new voters
- Removed 612 voters
- Processed changes for 1,516 voters
- 1,171 voters were made inactive
- Held Saturday voter registration drive on March 25, 2006 and High School registration drive on March 21, 2006
Miscellaneous
- Implemented records retention schedule for election records
VITAL STATISTICS REGISTRY
The Town Clerk serves as the Registrar of Vital Statistics for the Town of South Kingstown. All records associated with the births, marriages and deaths that occur in the Town, or elsewhere for Town residents, are filed, indexed, maintained and stored in the Office, with the original records sent to the State Department of Health Division of Vital Statistics. The Office also issues marriage licenses for residents marrying within the State of Rhode Island and non-residents wishing to marry within the Town of South Kingstown.
The following activities were performed relative to the archiving of Vital Records during the 2005-2006 fiscal year:
- Received and processed 1,032 birth, death and marriage records
- Issued 113 marriage licenses
- Issued 3,769 certified vital records
PROBATE COURT
In accordance with the Town Charter the Town Clerk serves as the Clerk of the Probate Court. The Town Clerk also serves as Acting Judge in the absence or inability of the Probate Judge or Town Solicitor to serve in that capacity. All petitions filed in association with the administration of the estate of a resident or property owner in the Town of South Kingstown are filed in the Office and scheduled for hearing. All petitions require the calculation and collection of fees, notice preparation and indexing. In addition, all of the petitions are microfilmed and sent off-site to a storage facility for safekeeping.
The following activities were performed for the Probate Court during the 2005-2006 fiscal year:
- Served as Clerk for 12 regular sessions and 5 special sessions of the Probate Court
- Filed petitions for 160 estates opened, of which 22 were wills filed for record only
BUSINESS LICENSES
In accordance with the Town Code, Chapter 9, all business license applications are processed by the Town Clerk for consideration by the Town Council. The department staff manages all investigations and approvals by all other Town departments and State agencies and acts as the liaison between the Town and the applicant during the licensing process. Upon Council approval, licenses are prepared, processed, and issued to the applicant. The Licenses are also filed, indexed and stored for record in the Office. Liquor Licenses require the preparation of advertisements for Public Hearing; coordination with the State Department of Health and RI Division of Taxation; and preparation and submittal of reports to the State Department of Business Regulation.
The following activities were performed relative to the issuance of licenses during FY2005-2006:
- Issue 485 business licenses and 35 liquor licenses
- Issued 21 Miscellaneous Licenses for Road Races, Festivals, and Block Parties
OTHER LICENSES & PERMITS
Dog and Kennel Licenses, Beach Stickers, Transfer Station tags and bags, as well as Hunting and Fishing Licenses may all be purchased in the Office of the Town Clerk, in addition to the animal impoundment fines that are also paid and filed with the Office. The Office also issues mooring licenses.
- Sold 302 beach passes for the 2005 beach season
- Sold 3,580 refuse tags and 764 Yard Waste Bags
- Issued 56 Hunting/Fishing Licenses and Stamps
- Issued 1,645 dog licenses / 1 kennel license; processed $7,924 in animal control fines /fees
- Issued 138 mooring licenses for the 2005-2006 boating season
REVENUE COLLECTED
Collected $1,769,989 in revenue for the Town during the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
Administrative Accomplishments 2005 - 2006
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- Administered Financial Town Meeting in April 2006.
- Implemented Indexing and Scanning System for processing Land Evidence Records, thereby eliminating books and providing space for unlimited storage of land records electronically.
- Continued implementation of the new statewide Central Voter Register System (CVRS) in conjunction with the Election Division of the Office of the Secretary of State and the State Board of Elections.
- Installed state of the art workstations to support equipment required for new land evidence system and CVRS.
Goals 2005 - 2006 return to top
LAND EVIDENCE
- Publish Land Records and Indexing to the Internet, allowing access from outside the Town Hall facility.
- Set up accounts for outside records users, providing revenue resource for the Town.
CANVASSING
- Administer September 2006 Primary Election; November 2006 General Election; and April 2007 Financial Town Meeting.
PROBATE
- Continue the automation of probate records for easier public access and security microfilming.
- Investigate scan and indexing system for probate records and eventual publishing to the Internet.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
- Investigate implementation of electronic packet for Town Council.
- Work with the State Division of Vital Statistics to implement electronic filing of birth records directly from the hospitals.
