Longwood honors municipal clerks for keeping city government running

When Longwood residents need a commission agenda, a public record or the rules for a city meeting, City Clerk Liane Cartagena’s office is often the fastest path to an answer.

The city used a May 4 City Commission meeting to present a proclamation recognizing Professional Municipal Clerks Week, then posted the tribute May 6. Longwood tied the observance to the 57th annual celebration, which runs May 3 through May 9, and framed clerks as the people who keep local government organized, documented and accountable.

That recognition carries more than ceremonial weight. The International Institute of Municipal Clerks says the observance began in 1969 and has been recognized in presidential proclamations, including ones issued by Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Bill Clinton in 1994 and 1996. In Longwood, the observance landed in the same public forum where the city’s decisions are made, underscoring how central the clerk’s office is to the machinery of government.

Longwood says its City Clerk’s Office serves as the official record keeper, supports City Commission meetings and ensures transparency in local government operations. The office prepares and distributes agendas, attends meetings, prepares official minutes, maintains ordinances and resolutions, issues public notices, processes public records requests under Florida law and authenticates documents with the city seal. It also handles codification of the city code, board and committee appointments, Longwood Memorial Gardens records and the city’s designated elections duties.

That matters in practical ways for Seminole County residents who follow city business closely. Longwood’s regular City Commission meetings are generally held on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6 p.m., and public copies of agenda material can be requested through the City Clerk’s Office at 407-260-3444 or clerk@longwoodfl.org. When a zoning issue, permit question or neighborhood concern reaches City Hall, the clerk’s office is the place that turns a public meeting into a public record.

Florida law gives that work legal force. State statute says municipal records are open for inspection and copying by any person, and that providing access to public records is a duty of each agency. It also says the Florida Election Code generally governs municipal elections unless a local charter, special act or ordinance says otherwise, placing the clerk’s office at the center of both records access and election administration.

Longwood is also using the week to engage residents directly. Its Clerks Week Mystery Word Challenge includes 10 facts about the City Clerk’s Office, with entries due by 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7, and a winner set to be announced May 9. The city’s 2026 General Municipal Election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, with City Commission seats in Districts 3 and 5 on the ballot, another reminder that the clerk’s work reaches well beyond a single proclamation.