In Lloyd, Christine Giangrasso is trying to unseat longtime town clerk Rosaria Peplow.
Rosaria Peplow
Peplow is running on the Democrat and Conservative party lines.
How have the duties of town clerk been changed by new procedures and laws over the past four years?
The most recent is the inclusion of towns in New York state that have nursing homes into the Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). The Town of Lloyd has several facilities. The physician makes the entry, the funeral director completes his section and the town clerk is sent an e-mail. The accounts for the system had to be set up, and the registrar and sub-registrars participated in a tutorial.
New York State law was adopted that shifted the responsibility of licensing dogs to the town clerk. I worked with the New York State Association of Towns legal counsel and other Ulster County town clerks to modify the sample legislation provided by the state. The law was adopted by the Town of Lloyd Town Board. The town clerk cashbook program had to be modified. The license tags were obtained, and the town clerks then issued new licenses and sent reminders for the annual renewal of licenses.
What’s your philosophy on freedom-of-information requests? Is the job of the information officer to interpret the law strictly, or try to give the requester what they are looking for even if that requires more flexibility?
I adhere to the philosophy that the town clerk is the doorway to town government. Many individuals do not know how to ask for the record or information they want. I will ask questions to ascertain the department that would have the information, and help the individual compose their request. If the record is in the town clerk’s office and readily available, I will give it on request.
What are the top three challenges facing town clerks in the next four years?
The top three challenges that town clerks will face in the next four years are:
1. incorporating electronic records into the record-keeping procedure,
2. keeping the lines of communication open amongst departments to ensure the smooth operation of town business, especially since fees collected by departments are given to the town clerk’s office for deposit, and
3. balancing the additional requests for alternative payment methods with the cost to the town in additional record-keeping.
Christine Giangrasso
Giangrasso is running both as a Republican and on the Lloyd 21st Century party line.
How have the duties of town clerk been changed by new procedures and laws over the past four years?
Laws are constantly changing which can affect the town clerk’s job. The town clerk will be facing many changes from year to year with their town boards. Pubic hearings and resolutions are continuous.
What’s your philosophy on freedom-of-information requests? Is the job of the information officer to interpret the law strictly, or try to give the requester what they are looking for even if that requires more flexibility?
Freedom of information law is essential to those who are accessing public records for whatever reasons needed. The town clerk’s position is to receive the requests and distribute to the proper departments for information access. The clerk is to record all transactions for a FOIL request. The town clerk cannot interpret the law, but provide the request as the law has determined.
What are the top three challenges facing town clerks in the next four years?
Within the next four years, town clerks will be facing higher standards of new technology which must be put into place. Highland, Town of Lloyd, needs to come forward into the twenty -first century to serve the community and its needs. The needs are as follows: open one Saturday a month from the hours of 8 a.m. until noon. This is strongly needed for people who are commuting long distances from home very early in the mornings and not returning to town until well after 5 p.m. Other services needed include the capability to pay bills online with credit card or checking accounts. There are very few people today who can take off to apply for a marriage license, dog license, hunting, fishing, etc. Our world is changing and it really is no longer a Monday through Friday for business to be conducted. Population changes will also be another challenge. The more people, the more questions will rise. Technology will always be changing on a regular basis. Record-keeping will increase with population growth.
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