County Clerk Greg Carlson is hitting the ground running.

Less than a month into his first four-year term in office, Carlson is asking the Chautauqua County Legislature to create a position of senior motor vehicle representative to help provide frontline customer service and help supervise daily operations at the DMV. Carlson plans to take an existing position on the payroll to fill the new position rather than adding to the county’s job count.

It’s a good solution that provides some operational flexibility in the DMV offices given a state rule that sets a minimum of two staff members and one supervisor in any state DMV office. When a supervisor is absent, sick or on vacation, it means an office has to be closed. That’s why the Mayville DMV office was closed Thursdays and Fridays in December.

Carlson said the plan is to have two Senior DMV reps in Jamestown, two Senior DMV reps in Dunkirk and one Senior DMV representative in Mayville.

Carlson said while there will be additional costs for the new Senior DMV representative, he said the move would be “budget neutral” this year because they have identified some savings in the operations of the DMV to cover the costs.

We support Carlson’s plan for finding a cost-effective way around a staffing problem. It’s not only good for the county budget, but keeping the offices open in accordance with the state’s regulations is the most convenient option for county residents who prefer going to the DMV to taking care of their DMV business online.

Carlson said on the campaign trail last year that he wanted to focus on easier access to services, decreased wait times, maximized return on the taxpayer’s investment and “being a force multiplier to governmental and organizational partners.”

So far, Carlson is keeping the promise for easier access to services. It’s a good start.