Collins Town Board opposes consolidation of registrar duties
By JACKI COMELLOCOLLINS - There was a lot of "new business" at the Collins Town Board meeting Monday night and several resolutions were passed.
Of those resolutions, one addressed a recent recommendation from the New York State Local Government Commission on Efficiency and Competitiveness to move all registrar of vital statistics duties to the county level.
The proposed change would result in an increased cost to residents for copies of birth and death certificates. Local Registrars currently charge $10 per certified copy.
According to the resolution, the State proposes that the county will charge between $30 and $45 per copy. In addition to the increased fee, residents would incur added fuel costs to travel to county offices. The loss of business would also have a negative financial impact on the local governments.
Supervisor Ken Martin explained that often 6 to 10 copies of a death certificate are needed.
Town Clerk Becky Jo Summers pointed out some additional hardships this change would cause.
"They're going to have to drive downtown to the county building, they're going to have to wait while they go through everything to get it, they're going to have to pay to park, and they're going to have to pay triple."
The board voted unanimously to oppose the consolidation of the function of local registrars of vital statistics and the resolution will be forwarded to Governor Paterson and state elected officials.
In other news:
n A resolution was passed to request a speed study on Woodside Road in response to a resident's appeal for a reduced speed limit.
n The board passed a resolution to sign an agreement with the municipalities of Colden, Concord, Eden and Boston. The agreement will get the ball rolling on the purchase of two pieces of shared highway equipment resulting from a grant made available by the Municipal Services Incentive Program. A street sweeper and a hydro seeder will be shared by the five municipalities.
n Town Justice Paul North submitted his resignation to be effective on Aug. 30.
The Collins Town Board will meet again on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
