NJ’s Largest Municipalities, with More than 100,000 Residents, Would Benefit

Legislation sponsored by Senator Robert Singer and cleared today by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee would provide needed help for some of the state’s largest municipalities struggling with a glut of paperwork demands.

Legislation sponsored by Sen. Robert Singer and cleared by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee would provide needed help for some of the state’s largest municipalities struggling with a glut of paperwork demands. (SenateNJ.com)

Under Singer’s bill, S-85, municipalities with more than 100,000 residents would be authorized to appoint as many as five alternate deputy registrars to ease the workload of filing vital documents.

“The workload in the registrar’s office of New Jersey’s largest local governments can far exceed the individual capabilities of the registrar of vital statistics,” said Singer (R-30). “By better utilizing existing staff and authorizing them to process forms, efficiency and service levels would be increased.”

The duties of a deputy registrar could include receiving birth certificates and death certificates; issuing burial permits, and copies of birth, death, marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership certificates; taking the oath on marriage and civil union license applications; and issuing marriage and civil union licenses and register domestic partnerships.

“The volume is huge in our heavily populated cities,” Singer explained. “Registrars are the only ones authorized to complete these tasks, and often there is more work than there is time to do it. When people are out sick or on vacation, things only get worse.

“This will help large communities keep up with the demand without hiring in a difficult job market, and it is permissive, so no municipality would be required to change a thing,” Singer added.