Monday, April 16, 2012

On the eve of Earth Day, County Clerk reflects on success with paperless e-Initiatives

 

WHITE PLAINS, NY: For Timothy C. Idoni, it’s been a rewarding six-year journey since becoming Westchester County Clerk and moving the office firmly into the 21st century.   “On my first day in the office, I navigated through hallways and rooms lined with stacks of boxes filled to the brim with documents waiting to be processed or filed,” said Idoni.   “From that moment on, I committed myself to reducing the amount of paper by levering technology and identifying green government solutions to make government easier for our customers while reducing the cost of our office to Westchester taxpayers.”

 

As Earth Day 2012 approaches, Idoni shares the following electronic initiatives which have helped to reduce the office’s reliance on paper:

 

  • Westchester Records Online (wro.WestchesterClerk.com) provides online access to imaged land and legal records, including maps, from any location with an internet connection, reducing travel to our office and the need to photocopy filings and recordings
  • Paperless filing of corporate records (eCorps)
  • Paperless filing of New York State Tax Warrants and Satisfactions (eWarrants)
  • Paperless filing of Uniform Commercial Code Statements (ucc.WestchesterClerk.com)
  • Paperless transmission of tax forms to the Department of Taxation and Finance, the New York State Office for Real Property Tax Services, and local tax assessors throughout Westchester
  • Electronic filing in our Legal Division via the New York State Courts Electronic Filing (NYSCEF) System which is now required for over seventy percent of new cases filed

 

And the future holds the opportunity for even more success as recent legislation opens the door for electronic recording of land records such as deeds and mortgages in late 2012.  As the co-chair of the New York State Association of County Clerks’ (NYSACC) Electronic Recording Committee and a leading proponent of the legislation, Clerk Idoni touts the benefits of this new law, “Electronic recording will help make government more efficient, provide greater transparency for consumers, reduces costs, and is good for the environment.”  The legislation allows a customer to submit either a scanned image of a hard copy land document or a true paperless document with an electronic signature and electronic notarization, if required.

 

For more information on the Office of the County Clerk, call (914)995-3080 or visit www.WestchesterClerk.com.