As voters get ready to elect a new Monroe County Clerk, they may be wondering, exactly what duties does that elected official perform?
To get an answer to that question, we turned to Michael Jankowski. He's the clerk in Wayne County and the immediate past president of the New York State Association of County Clerks.
“With judges and a sheriff and other officials, residents have contact with them at horrible times in their life,” Jankowski said. “The county clerk is really about the nuts and bolts of everyone's life, whether it's getting your car registration renewed, or getting your passport application processed, or a hand gun permit."
In addition to overseeing their county’s department of vehicle operations, the county clerk’s office is also responsible for all recorded documents such as deeds, mortgages, and legal judgments.
"We're in charge of being the clerk of the county and supreme courts, so any filings in those courts have to come into our office,” Jankowski said. “"It's also good within the system, to have the checks and balances with the judiciary and anywhere in the executive branch."
Jankowski points out that the county clerk's office is also a major point of collections for fees and taxes.
"In my county, I return more than a half million dollars in surpluses every year after my expenses are deducted, to the county general fund."
Monroe County voters will choose between Democrat Adam Bello and Republican Cheryl Rozzi for the clerk’s position in the November 8 election.
Bello was appointed county clerk by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this year, to fill the vacancy created when Cheryl Dinolfo was elected County Executive.
Bello and Rozzi, the Greece Town Clerk, will meet in a Voice of the Voter debate tonight at 8.
The debate will air live tonight on WXXI AM 1370, WXXI-TV and streaming at wxxinews.org
The Voice of the Voter initiative is collaboration between WXXI, the Democrat and Chronicle, 13-WHAM TV, and WDKX.
