Clerk-Recorder reducing hours in North County
County Clerk Recorder Tommy Gong.
–The County Clerk-Recorder’s North County Office will remain open, although will be scaling back its operation to reflect activity levels, according to County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong, “Since a daily operation is unsustainable, we are making an effort to keep it open two days a week, so we can continue to serve the public what has been a convenience for the area’s residents.”
Beginning the month of June, the Clerk-Recorder’s office will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gong intends to monitor the level of customer activity in North County and make adjustments as necessary.
The Clerk- Recorder North County office is located on the second floor of the Atascadero Library.
An operational review of the Clerk-Recorder department showed that the North County office generates 2.2-percent of the overall revenue of the department at the expense of almost 10-percent of staffing levels. This is especially relevant to the department, which is reducing its staffing in the San Luis Obispo office by two employees as the duties of the Clerk of the Board are being transferred to the administration office. “The transfer of these duties to administration completely make sense, since administration is primarily involved with supporting the Board of Supervisors. I am in support of this decision, but as a result, I have to consider how we will cover the remaining duties of the Clerk-Recorder department.”
“After discussion with the SLO County Builder’s Exchange and other county officials, the best compromise of maintaining a presence in North County while being good stewards of the taxpayer’s dollars is to keep the office open for fewer days per week.” Gong also recognizes that keeping the North County office would prevent adding more congestion to downtown San Luis Obispo, thereby assisting all county residents. During an election, he says he intends to keep the office open five days a week during the weeks preceding Election Day.
