Clarkstown Receives $90,000 State Grant For Department Consolidation

The New York State Department of State awarded a $90,000 grant to Clarkstown to assist with the consolidation of the Office of the Receiver of Taxes and the Town Clerk.   The consolidation will officially take place on January 1, 2014 however; the town will not receive the grant for three to six months. The Local Government Efficiency Grant, which was announced Wednesday, will be used for computer software and renovations to the town clerk’s office

The town clerk’s office will be modified to include a tax collection window for people paying pay in person and reconfigure staff space. When it goes into effect town officials say the consolidation of the two offices will save $508,115 annually. 

The current salary of Receiver of Taxes Loretta Raimone is $119,438. Town Clerk Justin Sweet is earning $72,828 this year but next year his salary will increase to $121,827. The town board voted approved the salary hike based on the increased workload.

“The primary goal of the consolidation project is to achieve greater efficiency in the delivery of services for the collection of taxes and for the services of the clerk’s office, as well as to achieve cost saving for the taxpayers,” said Supervisor Alex Gromack. 

The merger of the two offices will result in eliminating four staff positions in the tax receiver’s department. The town clerk’s office will have a comprehensive data management system that integrates its functions with billing and tax collection and enable direct deposit payments from taxpayers’ checking accounts and a consumer friendly credit card payment system.

Town Clerk Justin Sweet said, “I am glad that the Department of State recognized our efforts to continue restructuring local government and saving taxpayers’ money.” 

The grant will not have any impact on the 2014 budget or tax increase. The proposed 2014 budget is $140,729,325 and includes a potential tax increase of 3.5 percent.