Day one and "I Taut I Taw A Puddy Tat"

Day one in Saratoga was eventful so I am going to get right into it. I began with meeting with the Robert Freeman who is the Executive Director on the Committee on Open Government. The Committee is a part of the Department of State and is responsible for overseeing and advising with regards to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), open meetings and the Personal Privacy Protection Laws. Since FOIL's are submitted to my office and I am responsible for the minutes of the Town Board it is important that I am well versed in this type of law. My next meeting was with the Department of Health regarding Birth and Death Certificates. I am the official registrar of the Town of Harrison and therefore, issue both of these types of certificates. If someone is born or dies within the borders of the Town/Village of Harrison I must issue the certificate. My third class involved a discussion with Clerks regarding minutes of the Town Board. As Clerk, I am the official author of the minutes of all Town and Village Board meetings. I must record the decisions of the Board, and how the matter was voted on. By law, I am not required to record any comments made by Board members or members of the public. However, because these actions govern the Town. It is important that we understand how the Board reached their decision. At times, my minutes can be lengthy. However, today I learned some valuable tips to shorten them so they don't turn to hours.

Lastly, this evening I had pleasure of dining at the historic Gideon Putnam Hotel on the grounds of the 2,300 acre Saratoga Spa State Park. Unfortunately, it was raining so I didn't get to see the geysers or bottle any water. Hopefully before I leave.

Before I end this post let me say that I have been witness to many walks of life crossing the road. Pedestrians, rabbits, deer you name it. However, this evening was certainly the first time I ever witnessed a mountain lion taking a stroll across a road. Yes, you read it correctly - a mountain lion. Without getting into it just know I did tell the police and got back to the hotel safely to tell this true tale of how dangerous the life of a clerk really is ; )