FONDA — Montgomery County Legislators recognized and acknowledged employees who work within the clerk’s office during their meeting on Dec. 18.
According to a news release, the 15 employees were honored for their dedication and willingness to provide “excellent” public service.
The employees were given a proclamation.
“It is an honor for the county clerk’s office to be recognized for all the important work they do for the public and the county,” said Montgomery County Clerk Helen Bartone.
She said the county clerk’s office is one of the busiest offices, and the employees are never seen without work.
“The county clerk’s office is one of the busiest offices assisting the public all day long, while also generating a lot of revenue to help reduce the property tax burden,” Bartone said in the news release.
Staff works in the Record Room or the Department of Motor Vehicles. Both offices are within the clerk’s offices and both have their own separate state regulations to follow. According to the news release, regulations change frequently and it’s crucial for employees to learn new requirements and continuously apply them. Bartone said staff constantly shares new information with one another. They are also very helpful explaining new regulations to the public.
She said her staff often receives compliments about the services they provide.
“We know how to help people,” Bartone said in the release. “We usually know where to direct [the public], if the service they are looking for is not provided in our office.”
In the record room, employees consist of one assistant deputy county clerk, four index recording clerks, one accountant, one part-time clerk typist and a vacant deputy county clerk. Some duties of the staff in the Record Room include recording, filing, indexing and preservation of land records, court documents, naturalizations and confidential records.
“Our Records Management System keeps a record of all documents entered, along with fees collected, generating the financial reports to distribute the money to the state and county treasurer,” Bartone said.
The DMV staff consists of one DMV supervisor, one senior motor vehicle clerk and five motor vehicle clerks. Each of these employees are extensively trained to provide all motor vehicle transactions by law and regulations set by the state DMV. Some of the work the DMV staff does includes providing learner’s permits, tow truck endorsements, driver’s license originals and renewals, road tests appointments, out of state conversion licenses, auto registration and renewals, plate transfers, duplicate titles, surrendering plates and snowmobile registrations.
“These are only some of the services that my dedicated staff provides,” Bartone said. “They do an incredible job to meet the standard needs of the public and perform the duties set forth by the law.”
Other day-to-day items the clerk’s office handles include numerous emails, voicemails, notaries, FOILS, financial reports, pistol permits and frequently assisting judges, attorneys, abstractors, courts, the public and other departments.
“You will at one time come to the county clerk’s office for some reason or another,” Bartone said. “The functions of the county clerk’s office are so important to the public and county and deserve to be honored.”
