History of the City Secretary

The position of a city secretary or municipal clerk is the oldest public servant role in recorded history. The earliest clerks appeared around 5,000 B.C. with the invention of writing. Biblical reference to the town clerk is found in the Book of Acts chapter 19:35. There is history dating back to ancient Greece that is sometimes titled "city clerk." Early clerk scribes literally used the quill writing instrument. The clerk's office is always one of the first offices created when government is established, and the office is charged with keeping the official records of the government. This government position literally follows the history of writing itself, advancing from verbal, handwritten, typed, and printed, to computerized, digitized and Internet-based documentation and communication technology.

The Lake Worth City Secretary's Office of today uses modern technology to provide services to citizens, city council, staff, and other government agencies. Ordinances, minutes, and agendas are available electronically, and documents are maintained in accordance with the records management system mandated by the State of Texas. Election laws are both federal and state based, and this office must keep abreast of the latest legal requirements to ensure that all required standards are met. The challenges of official record keeping today, although increased in volume as compared to the past, is maintained by a trained, competent office to ensure that the official records of the City are kept through time for current and future knowledge and historical documentation.

The City Secretary's Office continues to preserve the tradition, ethics, integrity and standards developed by the pioneers of the position in the City of Lake Worth. The following is a listing of those who have served the City of Lake Worth as City Secretary.