Monroe County Clerk Adam J.

Bello
Demands Answers from
County Administration
ROCHESTER Yesterday afternoon, Monroe County Clerk Adam J. Bello discovered that on April
1, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfos administration began making the Clerks Office pay for
another departments expenses, without his knowledge. The expenses for three auditing positions,
authorized by the County Legislature for the Finance Department, are inexplicably being drawn from
the County Clerks budget. These positions not have been budgeted in the County Clerks Office for as
far back as records can be checked. The unannounced change took place one week after County Clerk
Bello took office.
Ive never seen anything like this in my time in government. My staff and I were monitoring
salary projections and it appeared that less money was available than we anticipated, said County
Clerk Adam Bello. We checked with our budget liaison who was also unaware of this change. She
notified me of this misuse of the Clerks Office budget several weeks after our initial inquiry, Bello
continued.
The three positions equate to approximately $120,000 in expenses added to the County Clerks
2016 budget, and $160,000 in expenses for 2017. It should be noted that the 2016 County Clerks
budget proposed by then County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo and approved by the legislature did not include
these staff charges.
I want to make it clear to taxpayers: my number one priority is to provide excellent customer
service. To date, our team has processed more transactions than at this point last year. However, in
order to stay within my budget, I will have no choice but to leave Clerk positions unfilled the very
people that directly serve residents, said Bello. This misguided decision will result in longer wait
times and that will fall squarely on the County Administration.
Earlier today, County Clerk Bello sent a letter to County Executive Dinolfo requesting an
explanation for using the Clerks Budget for other expenses, a legal justification for effectively
transferring the expense of three positions to the Clerks Office that were not authorized by the
County Legislature, and a copy of all forms indicating who approved this use of the Clerks budget and
when those approvals were granted. In addition, the County Clerk has requested an answer to an
email he sent the County Executive on May 24 requesting assistance in obtaining permission to fill
vacant customer service positions.
-30MEDIA CONTACT:
Thomas J. Morrisey
Assistant Deputy County Clerk Auto License Bureau
ThomasMorrisey@MonroeCounty.gov
585-753-1641 (office)
716-348-2772 (mobile)