Jerry Luis Rosado
Councilman

Identity theft is a major Homeland Security risk and Paterson has just implemented a state of the art system to prevent identity theft and forgery.  This system used in conjunction with new policies and procedures will utilize the brand new State safety paper in January 2004 which has many anti-forgery features.  Criminals and terrorists will have to look elsewhere for access.

Further, your government is working on a method whereby the State and US Department of Homeland Security can monitor in real-time all transactions in the State of New Jersey for vital records, allowing cross-municipal detection of suspicious

The City of Paterson is making great strides in significantly improving customer service for its citizens through a multi-pronged approach:

On-line Purchasing: Using a State-approved system, Vital Records can now be purchased on-line from the convenience of home or the library with a credit card.  This system also prevents people from not providing all of the required information, reducing delays and rejections by over 33%.

Increased Responsiveness: Automation has come to the City of Paterson, reducing the time it takes to retrieve records for over-the-counter, mail, and phone requests.  When the State releases its electronic data, wait times should reduce even further.  Staff using this system will also be more readily able to answer questions without having to manually look up records.

Better Signs: The signs posted at the counter have been redesigned and are continuing to be redesigned to be more clear and useful to those waiting on line.

Improved Phone System: The phone system is being reworked to enable better responsiveness for phone requests, less wait time and voice mail, and a better menu to allow people to have common questions answered without needing to speak with a representative if they so choose.

Online Helpful Tips: We have posted frequently asked questions and helpful tips on-line for convenience.  This information may also be printed out and made available in hardcopy.

Paterson has taken a leadership role in the state to implement a new database system and a set of policies and procedures that prevents accidental or intentional theft of money and vital records.  This technology accounts for every certificate, every receipt,and each staff member's role in the process.