MONTICELLO — After the Sullivan County Legislature voted to abolish 77 positions within county staff due to reduced revenue projections because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clerk's Office took a substantial hit.

It went from 14 positions to four, which County Clerk Russell Reeves called “catastrophic.”

Those layoffs took effect May 2 and Reeves said his office could not function with the amount of employees they were left with.

On Monday during a special meeting of the legislature at the County Government Center, legislators voted unanimously to create four “County Clerk Worker I positions” in the County Clerk Main Unit department effective May 12.

Reeves said this will bring the workforce from 30 percent up to 50 percent. He said they have currently offered these positions to recently laid off employees and are awaiting their response.

“This changes the functionality of the Clerk's Office from impossible to possible, and will allow us to at least be able to function with scaled back services,” Reeves told the Democrat.

Of the restored positions three are for the Clerk's Office and one is for the DMV. The clerk positions will address transactions such as mortgages, real estate, judgments and court filings, as well as assist in deed searches, and more.

“The 50 percent staffing afforded us will remain a burden on the office as transaction levels continue to increase and in no way will this staffing level come close to handling a partial or full reopening,” Reeves said.

The Clerk's Office is currently closed to the public, but transactions continue online, over the phone and through the mail.

“I am pleased the legislators realize how imperative it is for the Clerk's Office to remain functioning for the businesses, courts and residents of Sullivan County,” Reeves said.