Torrington city clerk to retire after 24 years

TORRINGTON — Joseph Quartiero has been at the center of Torrington for 24 years as city clerk, serving as the first point of contact for residents and recording the results of life — marriages, births, deaths, homes being bought and sold — as mayors have come and gone and the city changed.

Now, he is set to retire, stepping away from a job he enjoyed, which he described Thursday as “the hub of the city.”

“I loved it — it was great. I loved helping people,” he said. “I loved learning about everything in the city. I enjoyed going to the council meetings, all that I made — and I made a lot of them.”

It was just a good job, he said.

“Didn’t pay much, but it was a good job,” Quartiero said. “I enjoyed helping people. I enjoyed being here — I enjoyed my camaraderie with everybody in the building, with the city (residents) themselves.”

Quartiero was born and raised in Torrington and has spent all but one of his 75 years as a city resident. He decided to enter public service as a high school student, when he set his sights on becoming a state trooper.

He accomplished that goal, serving 25 years in a variety of capacities, including working homicide cases on the Western District Major Crime Unit, before retiring in 1989.

After a few years working for city-based O&G Construction, the idea of running for city clerk came to mind. He was familiar with the position, having interacted with clerks while working as a trooper, and figured he could do the job, which at the time was held by a classmate, Frank Vitalo.

Quartiero was hesitant at first, but was persuaded to run — and won, earning the first of his six terms in office.

He said he became familiar with the intricacies of the position, both routine — Quartiero rattled off policies and procedures for the clerkship, both past and in practice, on Thursday — and aberrant, such as the time he faxed a copy of a birth certificate to a man stuck on a cruise ship.

Quartiero kept track of the workings of city government, answered the questions and concerns of residents and performed the variety of other tasks and projects pertaining to the job — over the years, he said he condensed sizable books of records; used funds to restore more than 400 volumes of vital statistics; and worked to digitize and publish records online, among other efforts.

The demands of the position changed during his tenure. Quartiero noted the advancement in technology that took place during his tenure — the office went from having a single land-record machine to 15 computers — and suggested that the city could go paperless in the future.

Now, by statute, he has reached the end of his last term, which expires Jan. 2. At 75, it was time to retire, he said. He hopes to travel and work part time in the future, he said.

“I’ve been here 24 years; I’m 75,” said Quartiero. “It’s time. It’s time to enjoy — that’s about it.”

Quartiero said he is confident in his successor, current Assistant Clerk Carol Anderson — a capable, intelligent, knowledgeable and compassionate person, he said.

Some compassion is necessary in the job, he said — people call for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s appropriate or not. Once he learned the ropes, Quartiero said he knew where to refer them. He took pleasure in helping people over the years, he said.

“It’s all about helping people — it makes you feel good when the person on the other end of the line is feeling good and thanking you,” said Quartiero.

Quartiero concluded his remarks Thursday with a message to city residents.

“I want to thank the people of Torrington for giving me the honor to be their city clerk for the last 24 years. The electors of Torrington put me here; they had faith in me to keep re-electing me, and I appreciate it,” said Quartiero. “I want to thank each and every one of them, whoever supported me — and even the people who didn’t support me. They were always behind me, even though they didn’t support me to vote for me — they were part of the city.”