City Hall rakes in cash from ‘weddings galore’

West Haven — Newlyweds may bring something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, but West Haven officials are seeing green.

According to city officials, there has been considerable growth in the number of marriage licenses — and resulting revenue — issued in City Hall, a trend they said dates back to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Clerk Patty Horvath said she believes one factor is that, while municipal offices around the region closed during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, her office continued to function through an exterior window. However, the growth of wedding licenses issued by West Haven has continued to balloon since then, with $82,000 in revenue collected between June 30, 2022, and June 30 this year.

By comparison, the city collected $9,550 in revenue between July 2, 2018, and July 1, 2019, according to information provided by the city clerk’s office.

Although the revenue from wedding licenses has grown, the city keeps less than half: in the most recent year, $55,760 went to the state, and West Haven held onto $26,240. Horvath said the cost of a marriage license has remained at $50 throughout the four-year period. In 2019, West Haven’s share of the marriage license fee was $3,056.

Horvath said the city charges $20 for each certified copy of a marriage license that it issues, and the city keeps all of that revenue. Between June 30, 2022, and June 30 of this year, that totaled $47,456, documents show.

Horvath said an additional reason why West Haven City Hall has “weddings galore” is that the city has a model that makes it more convenient: her office makes justices of the peace available to officiate weddings in City Hall, whereas other municipalities often require that couples find an officiant of their own. Horvath said the cost of a West Haven justice of the peace officiant, which is paid directly to the justice of the peace, is lower than what couples would find most anywhere else.

“It probably is more unique here,” she said.

Steven Mullins, a justice of the peace since 1999, said he gets called on occasion to officiate weddings.

“I’m called and if I’m available I take care of the ceremony, and if I’m not, I’m not. I’m happy to participate,” he said.

Mullins said he also has noticed, anecdotally, an increased number of marriages in City Hall since the building reopened to the public after the pandemic.