Erin M. Paolano, Clerk of the Board
2023 Annual Report
The Clerk of the Board is responsible for setting the Board’s agendas, scheduling public hearings and bid openings, and recording all actions of the Board, which are then preserved as permanent records in the Commissioners’ journals. The Clerk is responsible for the County’s public records policy and directs records retention, scanning and microfilming activities. She receives administrative supervision from the Erie County Administrator.
Staffing has decreased by one and currently stands at one part-time and one full-time employee in this office, providing clerical assistance to the Commissioners and County Administrator. The main telephone line to the County Offices is also located in this department, providing general information to citizens regarding most departments, boards and activities throughout the entire County. This office also processes all outgoing mail for the entire county.
In 2023, 51 Commission meetings were held and 396 resolutions were adopted, ranging in scope from providing for the day-to-day operation, services, and maintenance of County facilities, to the maintenance and construction of bridges, ditches, roads, sewer and water lines and landfill improvements; submitting grant applications for victims assistance, criminal justice, mental health, and quality of life programs for families and the community; providing local support for area businesses and service groups such as Serving Our Seniors, Safe Harbour Domestic Violence Shelter, and Volunteers of America, and cooperating with ODOT on construction projects.
In addition to documenting Commission meetings and Board decisions, the Clerk also serves as recording secretary for the Investment Board, Records Commission, Access Management Board of Appeals, and Extraordinary Fee Committee.
The Clerk, along with other employees in this office, is affiliated with professional organizations that provide networking opportunities and continuing education, including the County Archivists and Records Managers Association (CARMA), County Commissioners’ Clerks and Engineers’ Administrative Professionals Association of Ohio (CCC/EAPA).
Records Center
Operating as part of the Clerk’s Office and working closely with the Ohio History Connection, the Records Center manages records retention for the County’s elected officials and those departments under the umbrella of the County Commissioners. Three employees in the department – an Archivist/Records Administrator and two Records Specialists – prepare, scan/film, and process documents. They also assist the Clerk’s Office by answering the county’s main phone line and filling in when they need someone to process the outgoing mail. Security film is stored within this department, creating permanent archival records. The filmed documents are then disposed of according to regulations. Scanned documents are loaded to cloud storage and files are accessible by other departments.
During 2023, nearly 336,131 documents were scanned/filmed in this office, and 871.50 cubic feet of records were disposed of in compliance with Ohio History Connection standards.