Town Hall is the main government building.

On the first floor you'll find the Assessor's Office, route:…More {:action=>"show", :id=>"assessors-office", :controller=>"listings"} -->, the Tax Collector, the Registrar of Voters, and the Town Clerk's Office. The First Selectman's Office, the Public Works Department, the Parking Bureau, and the Fire Marshal are on the second floor.</p> <p>The Board Room and Auditorium host many public meetings, including the regular meetings of the <!-- name: Town Council, Board of Selectmen, and Board of Finance. Notices and agendas for upcoming meetings are posted on the bulletin board outside the Town Clerk's Office. You can also find other legal notices posted there.</p>

The Assessor’s Office is responsible for the discovery, listing, valuation and equalization of all properties…More in town including houses, motor vehicles, and boats. The office is also responsible for the maintenance of assessment records and annual calculation of the town's tax base.</p> <p>Filing and appeals forms are available through the Assessor's Office Web site. You can also view property assessments and comparisons online.</p>

The Town Clerk is an elected official who is responsible for the safekeeping of all the town's official records and…More documents.</p> <p>If you need to record, file, or view a deed, mortgage, lien, assignment, or other <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/329/1603.aspx">record concerning title to land</a> head to the Town Clerk's Office. The meeting records of town boards and commissions are kept on file here and you can also view official notices and agendas for <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/329/1605.aspx">upcoming meetings</a>. The Town Clerk's office is also the central hub for Freedom of Information Act requests, and the Town Clerk advises boards and commissions on the disclosure requirements of that act.</p> <p>The Town Clerk also serves as the <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/329/default.aspx#VitalRecords">Registrar of Vital Statistics</a>, issuing birth, marriage, death certificates.</p> <p>The Town Clerk is also a <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/329/default.aspx#Elections">chief election official</a>, registering voters, executing absentee balloting and referenda, reporting official election results, and administering the oath of office to the winners. Political campaigns and candidates seeking local office register and file campaign finance records with the Town Clerk.</p> <p>Public officials are sworn in here, trade names and military discharges are recorded, and a number of permits and licenses are sold through the Town Clerk's Office. The Town Clerk also issues <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/329/1599.aspx">dog licenses</a> and sponsors a low-cost rabies clinic annually at Town Hall.</p> <p>The Town Clerk is the keeper of the town seal and is responsible for the preservation and conservation of town records. Original records, which are safeguarded in the Town Clerk's vault, date back to 1801 when New Canaan was incorporated as a town.</p>

The main building at Irwin Park, route: {:action=>"show", :controller=>"listings", :id=>"irwin-park"} --> houses the…More town Health Department and the land use departments—Planning and Zoning, Inland Wetlands, and <!-- name: Building.</p> <p>When your plan reviews are finished and your permit applications finished, take a walk along the serene trails, or take a load off on one of the park's benches.</p>

The First Selectman is the head of New Canaan's executive branch of government. As the Chief Executive the First…More Selectman is responsible for the procurement and administration of all functions and services required by the Town Charter.</p> <p>The First Selectman is also the head of the Board of Selectmen, Chair of the Board of Finance, and acts as the tie-breaker in the event of a deadlock in a Town Council Vote.</p> <p>The First Selectman's Executive Assistant and the town Administrative Officer also sit in the First Selectman's Office.</p> <p>The Administrative Officer supports the First Selectman with the duties of that office. The Administrative Officer also acts as Secretary of the Board of Selectmen and provides administrative assistance to the other two Selectmen and Boards and Commissions as needed.</p> <p>The Administrative Officer is responsible for meeting schedules, notices, agendas, minutes, and the publication of meeting actions for the Board of Selectmen,  and the Board of Finance. </p> <p>S/he also serves as the Town Risk Manager and assists in Labor Relations.</p>

The Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining town …More href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/867/default.aspx">roads</a> and bridges (the ones without route numbers), including filling potholes and winter plowing. </p> <p>The department tends to the public <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/639/default.aspx">parks</a> and school grounds, as well as public buildings like Town Hall.</p> <p>It manages the town's <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/9045/default.aspx">drainage</a> and <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/877/default.aspx">waste water</a> systems and the <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/873/default.aspx">transfer station</a> for garbage and recyclables. </p> <p>The department's <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/637/default.aspx">Engineering Office</a> issues road opening, sewer, and driveway permits.</p> <p>If a tree falls on town property and you hear it, call the <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/319/875/default.aspx">Tree Warden</a>, whose office is also part of Public Works.</p>

There's a lot of wetlands in New Canaan and it's the job of the Inland Wetlands Department to protect them and…More watercourses that run through town.</p> <p>The department will help homeowners strike the necessary balance between preserving the wetlands and enjoying their property.</p> <p>Any project on wetland property must go through the Inland Wetlands Commission. The Inland Wetlands Department aims to streamline that process by providing a checklist for permit applicants and diverting applications that do not need to be reviewed by the commission.</p> <p>Visit the department's Web site for more information about regulations and fees.</p>

The Planning and Zoning Department is the answer place for zoning issues. The department reviews development…More proposals and can give you a determination about what you can do for your property.</p> <p>The department office is also the destination for the permits needed for placing anything on property from a new home to  signs and generators.</p> <p>The agendas and minutes are logged and posted here for four town commissions—<a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/785/803/default.aspx">Planing and Zoning</a>, <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/749/783/default.aspx">Zoning Board of Appeals</a>, <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/785/795/default.aspx">Historic District</a>, and <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/785/7539/default.aspx">Conservation</a>.</p>

Now technically part of the Health and Human Services Department, the Health Department deals with all public health…More concerns in town from septic tanks to flu shots.</p> <p>Health Department officials can answer questions about Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, and will even do macroscopic exams of ticks. They have information about asbestos, lead and radon. They can respond to public health nuisances like flies, mosquitoes, or overflowing garbage.</p> <p>The department issues permits related to serving food to the public, septic systems, as well as for nail salons, barber shops, and childcare services, and anything else that may pose a public health risk.</p>

As election officials, the registrars are responsible for administering elections, voting rights, and fair play.…More Registrars also maintain the voter registry, assist in the preparation of specialized voter lists, and fulfill requests for information regarding elections and voter rolls.</p> <p>One registrar is elected to represent each of the two major parties. Two deputy registrars are appointed by the registrars to assist them in their duties.</p> <p>Citizens can register to vote in person in the Registrar's Office or in the Town Clerk's Office, or by mailing in a registration form.</p>

New Canaan taxes real estate, personal property, motor vehicles, and for the use of town sewer.

The Tax…More Collector will take your tax payments in cash or check. You can also <a href="https://www.officialpayments.com/index.jsp">pay your tax bill online</a>, for a small fee.</p> <p>If you want to find out what taxes are due or whether taxes have been paid, ask the Tax Collector or <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/327/3454/default.aspx">check online</a>.</p> <p>The Tax Collector is also willing to provide duplicate bills, for a small fee.</p>

The Parking Bureau issues parking permits…More for the town's three commuter parking lots—the prime Railroad/Lumberyard lot, the popular Richmond Hill lot, and the recently expanded Talmadge Hill lot. Permits are also issued for Center School and Locust Avenue lots. One-day parking passes are available for empty permitted spots for occasional commuters. Only New Canaan residents can get parking permits.</p> <p>The bureau is also responsible for enforcing parking rules in time-limited and metered parking spaces around town, and the enforcement officers are really good at it. You can pay fines <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/315/1499.aspx">online</a> or at the Parking Bureau office in Town Hall. If you want to request a hearing to contest a citation, you can <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/315/default.aspx#Enforcement">download the form</a> from the Parking Bureau Web site and return it to the bureau office.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.newcanaan.info/content/293/315/default.aspx">bureau's Web site</a> has maps of town parking lots and details about permit and meter fees.</p>