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East Greenwich town clerk proposes ordinance recodification, property-alert service and e-permitting improvements
Summary
Town Clerk Lee Carney outlined priorities including a comprehensive codification of ordinances required by the town charter, a property-alert module to detect fraudulent recordings, modernization of boards-and-commissions management, and e-permitting/parking-ticket system upgrades.
Town Clerk Lee Carney outlined four principal goals for her office during the May 19 budget public hearing: complete a comprehensive recodification of town ordinances, modernize boards and commissions management, implement an online property-alert service to notify residents of new land-record entries, and continue transitioning permitting and ticketing to electronic platforms.
Carney said the codification follows the town charter requirement and cited Section C‑73, which directs periodic recodification; she told the council she expects a full legal and editorial review and aims to return a final product for council approval by June 30, 2026. She said the town’s vendor General Code will perform the recodification and the solicitor’s office and manager’s office will review the draft.
On property protection, Carney described a proposed subscription-based alert module that would notify a registrant by email when a recorded land record contains a specified name — a response, she said, to public concern about deceptive filings that could create “slander of title” and other fraud. Carney said she will bring a module proposal later in the summer after vendor scoping. She also described ongoing moves to replace manual parking-ticket entry with a browser-based system that issues QR-coded remittance envelopes and integrates with municipal court software.
Why it matters: the initiatives target document security, greater transparency for board appointments, more efficient permit workflows and the potential to reduce fraud-related anxiety among older residents.
Carney summarized operational metrics: the office recorded more than 2,200 documents year-to-date, with about 70 percent submitted via the e-recording option implemented in July 2023. She also reviewed the office’s work across municipal court, probate, vital statistics, business licensing and the Board of Canvassers, which she said carries duties under Title 17 of the Rhode Island General Laws.
Carney asked councilors for guidance and said she would return with specific proposals and budget line items for the modules and the ordinance recodification work in coming months.
