Knowledgeable Folks In County DMV

Help Cut Through Albany Bureacracy

Edition of Thursday-Friday, Nov. 20-21, 2014

Editor’s Note: This is a letter from attorney Les Sittler, Fly Creek, to Kathy Clark, R-Otego, the county Board of Representatives chair.

I read recently, with much concern, that the Board of Representatives of Otsego County is considering closing the DMV office in Cooperstown.

As you may know, I have been an attorney practicing in the northern part of Otsego County since 1988.

During this period of time, I have had the pleasure of working with DMV representatives in the Cooperstown office, who have time and again proved how knowledgeable and helpful they are, especially in navigating the bureaucracy of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

In addition, I have observed the volume of traffic there through the years, sometimes almost daily, as I go about my duties as an attorney in the County Office Building.

I am further well aware that many people in this part of Otsego County are of limited financial means and I am mindful of the expense and hardship that they would undergo in traveling to Oneonta to conduct business at that DMV office.

I think that if you end up closing this office, you will not be saving any money. You may think you will but you won’t. This is because much of the business will go elsewhere and not be processed here in Otsego County.

Furthermore, I would ask you to reflect upon what it is that we taxpayers and residents of Otsego County really get from our county government. I would offer that one of the best benefits is our local DMV office.

Because of all this, I strongly urge you to work with County Clerk Kathy Sinnott Gardner and come up with an effective solution that does not eliminate the Cooperstown DMV office.

Surely, these can be ways to keep the office and still save money. I thank you very much for the opportunity to write about this important matter.