Members and friends
Never knowing what a particular speaker brings to the forum is par for the course. Therefore I am often surprised at the content as well as the questions posed later. Our speaker this morning, Suffolk County Clerk, Judith Pascale, was no exception.

The county clerk’s office handles many of the important documents that directly affect us. It may sound mundane, but when you are in need of service from this bureaucracy, it is a pleasant surprise when things are handled well. This well run unit of government transformed itself over the years under the watch of Ms. Pascale and her then boss Ed Romaine. I write this praise out of my personal experience with the department over the years.

Ms Pascale said her department can give insights. For example; as the economy runs out of steam the divorce filings increase. The agency is able to provide a “snapshot” of the economy. As they record mortgages and foreclosures, we get a glimpse at what is trending in that arena.

According to Ms. Pascale, the agency shares information with other departments of government, and because of the electronic data handling equipment that has been put in place over the years, it does so in “real time”. The department is able to send records to other departments with automating redacting in place. This means only the pertinent information is transferred and items such as Social Security numbers are not. The integrity of confidentiality is built in.

The Suffolk County Clerk’s office has received several awards for excellence including “The Best of New York” award. They pride themselves with the short turnaround time that the requestors of information enjoy. Real estate transactions, divorce decrees, permits and other important functions are handled in this office, and the results of mishandling these requests can easily subject the requesters to hardship and expense. Therefore the quality of the work product is extremely important. The holder of that office, Judith Pascale, recognizes that fact, and according to her, the work product is good. Having a little experience with that department, it appears to be true.