Idoni Delivers Smaller Government, Reducing Costs by $579,317

Elimination of four positions, 59 percent reduction in budgeted temporary staffing costs and 57 percent reduction in overtime budget top list of cost-saving measures in Idoni’s proposed budget

The County Clerk gets a first hand look at important indicators of Westchester County’s economic health.   In early 2006 legal filings began their climb to heights not seen in decades while real estate recordings began their precipitous decline.  As a result, County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni and his staff started identifying ways to cut costs while improving operations.  “In these tough economic times, the public is demanding smaller yet more responsive government and we are delivering” began Idoni.  “But the challenge is to identify solid management solutions that help us reduce our budgets in the bad times and work more efficiently when the good times return,” he continued.

The 2009 budget proposed for the County Clerk’s Office does just that.  Idoni indicated that reductions totaling over a half a million dollars are not one-time budget slashes.  “These are thoughtful cuts that will last because of our progress and planning over the last few years,” shared Idoni.   The vast majority of the cuts result from workforce reductions in permanent staff, overtime, temporary and hourly employees.  “Our cuts reflect the staffing needs of a future office in which technology and partnerships create efficiencies and cost-savings,” concluded Idoni.  Highlights of the Westchester County Clerk’s proposed 2009 budget include:

The elimination of four full time positions for a savings of over $225,000 in salaries 

Eliminated positions: Chief Deputy County Clerk ($102,765 annual salary for 2008), Support Supervisor ($54,475), Clerk ($35,105) and Senior Clerk     ($33,650).

A 6.2 percent reduction in total budgeted expenses

From $9,309,061 budgeted in 2008 down to $8,729,744 budgeted for 2009

A 57.8 percent reduction from 2008 in budgeted overtime, hourly and temporary staffing costs

From $367,930 budgeted in 2008 down to $155,000 budgeted in 2009

A 23.8 percent reduction in contractual scanning expenses from 2008 with the added benefit of providing jobs to Westchester’s disabled   population   

From $525,000 budgeted for 2008 to $400,000 budgeted for 2009 
eDocNY, a venture of Westchester ARC, to provide scanning services in 2009
           

The entire proposed 2009 Westchester County Operating Budget can be found at http://www.westchestergov.com/.  The Office of the Westchester County Clerk is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in White Plains and is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.  For more information, please call 995-3080 or visit http://www.westchesterclerk.com/.