Easton Selectmen Want Town Clerk to Change Hours

EASTON, Conn. – The Board of Selectmen agreed to ask Town Clerk Derek Buckley to change his office hours to coincide with those of Town Hall.

Currently, the town clerk's office is open 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays. Other Town Hall offices are open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

The issue was first presented last month when First Selectman Thomas Herrmann told the board he had received a complaint from a resident that the town clerk’s office hours did not match other offices in Town Hall. Herrmann did not identify that resident.

Selectman Robert Lessler unveiled findings during last week’s meeting of a “random survey” that he conducted over the past few weeks of several town clerk offices across the state. Of the 36 towns surveyed, Easton's town clerk office closed the earliest, according to Lessler. “None of these [other] towns closed earlier than we do,” he said.

According to the town's website, the town clerk’s office is not the only department with office hours outside the 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. timeframe. The Conservation Department is open 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the Planning and Zoning Office is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The selectmen did not address the hours of these offices during their meeting.

Herrmann said he would like the town clerk's hours to match those of Town Hall to give more residents a chance to use the services. The town clerk’s office is a destination for residents looking to conduct many errands, such as obtaining dog licenses, fishing licenses, marriage licenses, voter information and various records.

“It just seems to me that the same hours as Town Hall would make sense,” Herrmann said.

Although Selectman Scott Centrella said he believed changing the town clerk's hours would be beneficial to residents, he didn’t see the board making any progress in the matter. “We can certainly recommend something to Derek, but I don’t think he’ll do it.”

When asked to comment on the issue, Buckley declined.

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