MONTICELLO, NY — County Clerk Dan Briggs addressed county legislators on March 2, and said activity at his office is seeing an uptick. He said this was due in part to people receiving income tax refunds and using the revenue to buy vehicles. He also said there was an uptick in people applying for passports, adding, “You can draw your own conclusions as to why that’s occurring,” which drew some laughter.

His main object, however, was to gain support from the legislature for a move to increase the amount of revenue the county receives from residents who use the local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office for licenses and registrations.

He said the county gets 12.7% of all transactions performed at the Sullivan DMV facility in Monticello. The county gets almost nothing from transactions county residents perform via the Internet, and those online transactions have increased over the years.

He said the DMV is losing foot traffic, “but what we are seeing, is those people that experience problems are still coming in, and that’s tying up some of the windows.”

Briggs said last year county clerks across the state managed to get lawmakers in Albany to approve a measure that would have increased the share that the local DMV offices receive, but that measure was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

So he asked the county legislature to pass a resolution in support of increasing the percentage of fees the county receives for local transactions from 12.7% to 25%. He said the legislation has been introduced in Albany, is bipartisan, and is supported by the New York State Association of Counties. He also said it would mean an increase in county revenue of more than $600,000 a year.

Legislator Joe Perrello said, “Why not ask for 34% and accept 25%.”

Briggs said it was a resolution already passed by clerks across the state and they thought this was a reasonable proposal.

The lawmakers agreed to support the proposal, and it will be forthcoming as a resolution at the next Executive Committee meeting.

Briggs noted that residents who wish to support the local government but don’t feel like showing up in person can renew licenses and registrations through the mail, though the application must be sent to 100 North St. in Monticello instead of Albany.

He said, “We’re performing the services, and that used to be the money-making department for us, or at least a break-even department. Now you’re seeing it hemorrhage a little bit. It’s costing us, the local taxpayers, to run the DMV, which in many instances is performing the services for the state.”