County approves Clerk budget changes; committee hears DMV staffing, Real ID and property-fraud concerns

The Warren County Legislative Rules and Governmental Operations Committee on March 28 approved multiple budget actions for the County Clerk’s Office and heard extended discussion about DMV staffing shortages, the Real ID federal deadline and a property-fraud alert system.

Actions approved by the committee included: moving $197,743 into a separate mortgage tax administration fee revenue line created by Resolution T-57 of 2024; allocating $7,500 for office furnishings for the records room (taken from the contingency account); and appropriating funds from the general fund unappropriated surplus to the county clerk travel/conference/education budget to cover 2024 expenditures that reverted to general fund and were to be spent in 2025. Committee members moved each item to the floor and recorded approval by voice vote.

County Clerk Black and Deputy Morgan presented the office’s 2024 annual report and described staffing challenges in DMV services. Black said the DMV had been short three staff for several weeks and that the office was operating under strain as Real ID demand increases and the May 7 federal Real ID enforcement date approaches. Black said the office is hiring two positions and expects one employee to return soon, but that newly hired staff typically require roughly six months of training before working independently at a customer counter.

Black asked for more immediate flexibility to respond to the backlog, including the ability to access overtime funds. Several supervisors supported finding a fast administrative fix; however, committee members noted the transfer of funds to an overtime line was not on the meeting agenda and could not be acted on by the committee that day. Supervisors asked staff to prepare a floor resolution for the Board of Supervisors’ April 11 meeting so the Board could consider transfers or other authority quickly; staff agreed to provide amounts and a drafted resolution for circulation.

County Clerk Black described the county’s property-fraud alert system and encouraged broad public outreach so property owners know how to sign up and what to do if they receive an alert. Multiple supervisors recommended that county communications staff (Don Lehman) prepare a press release, a short informational flyer, and distribute it to towns and county web pages. Administrator Taplin and Attorney Kaplan were asked to evaluate any county risk and liability questions related to fraud notifications and public messaging.

The committee also heard that Warren County will host the New York State Association of County Clerks conference May 18–21 at the Lake George Marriott and that the clerk's office will assemble attendee goodie bags in coordination with tourism officials.

Votes at a glance: - Amend 2025 budget: move $197,743 to mortgage tax administration fee (mover: Supervisor Conover; second: Supervisor Thomas) — approved by voice vote. - Approve $7,500 for furniture/furnishings for County Clerk records room (source: contingency) (mover: Supervisor Conover; second: Supervisor Driscoll) — approved by voice vote. - Appropriate funds from general fund unappropriated surplus to county clerk travel/conference code to cover 2024 expenditures spent in 2025 (mover: Supervisor Conover; second: Supervisor Weil) — approved by voice vote.

Committee members indicated support for immediate administrative measures to address staffing and customer-service issues, including drafting a floor resolution for April 11 that would permit fund transfers to support overtime while the hiring and training timeline plays out.