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The Cape Vincent Town Clerk, Michelle Bouchard and Deputy Town Clerk, Jennifer Baxter are responsible for maintaining the Town’s official records of adopted local laws, oaths of office, minutes, resolutions, death, birth and marriage records. The Town Clerk is the Town’s Registrar, Records Management Officer and Town and County Tax Collector.  The Clerk’s office is open from 7am until 3pm Monday thru Thursday and from 8am until 12noon on Friday.

The Clerk’s office is pleased to provide the following services to Town and Village residents:

Issuance of Dog Licenses

New York State requires that all dogs over the age of 4 months must be licensed. The Town Clerk’s office issues dog licenses under the authority of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. When you come in to license your dog for the first time you need your veterinarian documentation for spay/neuter and rabies vaccination. The license fee for a spayed/neutered dog is $15.00 and a non spay/neutered dog is $25.00.

Issuance of Marriage Licenses

A New York State marriage license can be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office. Both parties must apply in person and provide appropriate proof of age in the form of a government issued birth certificate (with a raised or multi-colored sear) or naturalization papers, and proof of identity in the form of a driver’s license, passport, employment picture id. If it is not the first marriage, applicants must present documents of the dissolution of any previous marriages with a divorce decree or death certificate. Marriage licenses are not valid during the 24-hour waiting period after issuance, but are good for 60 days after that. The fee for a marriage license is $40.00, payable by cash or check.

Handicap Parking Permits

Disabled parking permits are issued under the authority of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. To obtain one, an application form must be completely filled out by the applicant’s medical doctor (MD), doctor of Osteopathy (DO) or a doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM) and appropriately describe the reasons for the mobility problem necessitating the permit be issued. The application must have a doctor’s original signature. When properly completed, the application must be presented at the Town Clerk’s Office along with the applicant’s driver’s license or non-driver ID card.

Conservation Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Licenses

The Town Clerk’s Office issues hunting, fishing and trapping licenses under the authority of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Hunting licenses are valid September 1 through August 31, with new licenses for the following year typically becoming available for purchase in mid-August. Fishing licenses are valid for one year from the date of purchase.  Fees vary and are payable by cash or check only. Proof of New York State residency must be presented to receive licenses at state resident prices.

Freedom of Information Law

The Town Clerk is the Records Access Officer of the Town and serves as custodian of all Town records. This responsibility includes the storage and disposition of inactive records, as well as maintaining permanent archives. Requests for documents available under FOIL should be submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office in writing. There are FOIL request forms available. All applicants will receive some form of responses within five business days. If the request can be fulfilled within that time frame, the applicant will be notified it is complete and be provided with the total costs due. If additional time is required to fulfill the request, the applicant will be supplied with an estimated date of availability. If the request is denied, the applicant will be supplied with a written explanation of the reasons why and information regarding the appeals process.

Tax Collector

The Town Clerk is also the receiver of taxes for the Town and County taxes. Payments may be made in person using cash, check or money order at the Town Clerk’s office during normal business hours. Payments may also be made by mail using cash, check or money order and may be sent to Michelle Bouchard, Tax Collector, PO Box 915, Cape Vincent, NY 13618.

Tax bills are mailed at the end of December and property owners have the entire month of January to pay without penalty. Bills paid after Feb. 1 incurs late payment penalties as follows: February 2 through February 28 – 1%; March 1 through March 11 – 2%.

After March 11, all unpaid tax bills are returned to the Jefferson County Treasurer and additional penalties accrue as time goes on. This does not apply to those who choose to make the installment payments, they are paid to the receiver until May 31. It is the ultimate responsibility of the property owner to insure timely payment of taxes.

You can reach the Town Clerk at (315) 654-3660 or email at mbouchard@townofcapevincent.org.

The Town Clerk’s office is also responsible for issuing licenses for Games of Chance. You can also purchase transfer site punch cards or stickers and you can also purchase a NYS E-ZPass at the Clerk’s office.