Friday, May 21, 2010

Trailblazing Official Saves NY Money!


Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci has made it a goal to make his office as efficient as possible and is always striving to find new ways to do so. As the Records Management Officer (RMO) for Clarkstown, it is Carlucci’s duty to eliminate wasteful government spending. As such, he has worked with the NYS Archives to modify its Record Retention and Disposition Schedule (MU-1). The MU-1 is used by municipalities statewide to determine how long they must retain their records before they may be disposed of legally. One can imagine the enormous amount of paperwork that is created, filed and stored, often with exorbitant storage fees, across our state, as not all documents are created electronically as yet. According to the MU-1, municipalities throughout New York State were required to maintain all Parking Permits for People with Disabilities for three years after they expired, even temporary permits that are only effective up to 6 months. That means that RMO’s have to maintain old paperwork even if the resident renewed their permit and submitted new medical forms, moved, or even passed away. The old paperwork was useless once the permit expired and having to maintain the records for three years past the expiration is both labor intensive and cost prohibitive. Carlucci appealed to the NYS Archives to eliminate this requirement, and is pleased to announce that the appeal was granted, so that statewide, the unnecessary use of manpower and needed storage space to process expired paperwork will no longer be part of the MU-1. Carlucci stated, “In a struggling fiscal atmosphere, every government official must be vigilant in cutting wasteful spending. Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t make it the best way. We can’t fix 21st century problems with 20th century solutions. Since this will affect all state municipalities, both the monetary savings and improved efficiency for New York State could be significant!” Please visit www.clarkstownclerk.com or call Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci at 845-639-2010 for more information or questions.

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