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There’s a little secret about town clerks. They know everything — that is, they (usually) know everything when it comes to running a local government.
They’re the go-to people for incoming and current town board members and supervisors, as well as other town employees and of course, the general public.
It’s not unusual to hear a clerk pipe up during a board meeting and correct the board on a procedure or, for the sake of bringing board members up to speed, can recall from memory something a previous board voted on a decade or more ago.
Beverly Robinson, Wayland’s full-time town clerk for the past 20 years, has decided it was time to pass the torch.
“There’s a lot more that could be done with this office in the electronic age we’re in, and I don’t feel competent in doing it, so I’m going to leave that to the next person,” Robinson said of her decision to retire from her post.
Robinson isn’t the only one stepping down in Steuben County. Others that she has worked with over the years at the county level — such as members of the board of elections and real property — are stepping down too, which became sort of a confirmation that this is the right time for her.
Although January will mark her 20th anniversary as full-time clerk, her career with the town actually began in January 1985 when she started as deputy clerk for then-clerk Ethelyn “Mickey” Shetler.
From 1988 to 1991, she switched roles to tax collector. When that duty was incorporated into the job of town clerk, Robinson ran and successfully won the position of full-time town clerk in the November 1991 election.
When asked about the things she learned on the job, Robinson said that it entailed much of what anyone working in local government first learns — the differences between the town and village, and the taxations that apply.
Here eyes were also opened to “politics and schmoozing” she said with a laugh, but added that meeting people in the higher ranks of the political spectrum was fun.
She also recalled the pleasure of working with a number of highway superintendents, as well as having served with three town supervisors: Don Werth, Larry Graham and George Ott.
The biggest change during the past two decades was getting used to the office’s shift to computer technology, and on a related note, added that the town’s website, townofwayland.org, has been something she had seen in her tenure worthy of note.
There’s a little secret about town clerks. They know everything — that is, they (usually) know everything when it comes to running a local government.
They’re the go-to people for incoming and current town board members and supervisors, as well as other town employees and of course, the general public.
It’s not unusual to hear a clerk pipe up during a board meeting and correct the board on a procedure or, for the sake of bringing board members up to speed, can recall from memory something a previous board voted on a decade or more ago.
Beverly Robinson, Wayland’s full-time town clerk for the past 20 years, has decided it was time to pass the torch.
“There’s a lot more that could be done with this office in the electronic age we’re in, and I don’t feel competent in doing it, so I’m going to leave that to the next person,” Robinson said of her decision to retire from her post.
Robinson isn’t the only one stepping down in Steuben County. Others that she has worked with over the years at the county level — such as members of the board of elections and real property — are stepping down too, which became sort of a confirmation that this is the right time for her.
Although January will mark her 20th anniversary as full-time clerk, her career with the town actually began in January 1985 when she started as deputy clerk for then-clerk Ethelyn “Mickey” Shetler.
From 1988 to 1991, she switched roles to tax collector. When that duty was incorporated into the job of town clerk, Robinson ran and successfully won the position of full-time town clerk in the November 1991 election.
When asked about the things she learned on the job, Robinson said that it entailed much of what anyone working in local government first learns — the differences between the town and village, and the taxations that apply.
Here eyes were also opened to “politics and schmoozing” she said with a laugh, but added that meeting people in the higher ranks of the political spectrum was fun.
She also recalled the pleasure of working with a number of highway superintendents, as well as having served with three town supervisors: Don Werth, Larry Graham and George Ott.
The biggest change during the past two decades was getting used to the office’s shift to computer technology, and on a related note, added that the town’s website, townofwayland.org, has been something she had seen in her tenure worthy of note.
The relocation of Wayland Town Hall just two years ago to the former Sullivan and Leyden Law Office across the street was another change worth mentioning.
“We waited a long time for that, we needed it,” she said; adding the town and court outgrew the former town hall, and “we’re very lucky, very fortunate to find this place.” She further stated that the refurbishment of the town court with state grant money this past year was a plus for the town.
The highlight of her tenure was helping then-town historian Marion Scott spearhead the town’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1998, which comprised of organizing a special event every month from April through October.
As a whole, Robinson said the most enjoyable aspect of her job has been “my people.” Over the years, she’s watched the town’s generations change from in front of her desk. Those she grew up with became parents and then grandparents. She has also watched the town evolve as a lot of new people have moved into the community.
“Mickey taught me well,” she said. “I’m so very grateful to the people for voting me in every time. I’ve tried to do a good job.”
Taking over for Robinson next month will be village of Wayland deputy clerk Natalie Baird.
