Letter from Barb Dulkis

Experience Vital for Clerk Post

The County clerk election this November is an important election. Party lines aside, people need to ask themselves a very important question—in an office which handles very important transactions on a daily basis (DBAs, legal name changes, deed filings and so much more) you need to ask yourself; do you want the office to continue to function, or do you want to run the risk of documents not being recorded/filed accurately or in a timely fashion? This is an office where you learn from the bottom up, not the top down. It is not the responsibility of the office staff to train the county clerk, nor does the staff know all the responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the county clerk and deputy county clerk to train and answer staff questions to ensure transactions are completed correctly, and you can’t do that if you don’t know how to do the job.

Mr. Benton’s plans of drop boxes and appointments for DMV were tried during COVID. It did not work out for many reasons. People need the receipt for the plate surrender in their hand to be able to cancel their insurance. Appointments did not always mean people had what they needed or were able to complete their transactions due to other issues, which created the need for another visit. They also created a backlog of lines when an appointment ran over. Most customers did not like the appointments and prefer the open-door policy.

Also, as far as the Return the Favor program—New York State DMV allows “VET” to be added to their NYS ID or license when they present their DD214, and there is no cost. Most businesses in the county already have discounts in place for veterans, and some for seniors.

When someone has spent 14 years learning the job, it should count for something. This is the reason why my family supports Jen Basile—you cannot argue that this is a position in which experience matters. Experience cannot be replaced by unrealistic visions.

Barb Dulkis
Westford