Town Clerk's Office to Close for Oct. 12 Computer Upgrades

PORTSMOUTH, RI—The Town Clerk's office will close all day Oct. 12 and possibly for part of the morning Oct. 13, the town councilors learned at their Sept. 26 meeting.

According to Town Clerk Joanne Mower, the reason is because Xerox Co. technicians are coming in to replace the computer systems used to store land evidence records and to handle the office's cashiering activities.

In all, she said, six computers, a server, a scanner, and a printer are going to be replaced. Also, two of the clerk's office computers are affected by the upgrades.

Mowry said the decison to close was based on the fact all the machines have to be turned off during the servicing, and the office space will be swallowed up by all the equipment plus the technicians. Also, after the installation, the plan is to conduct testing and training on the new machines.

The company estimates the work can be completed in 4.5 to eight hours, she said.

"We're just hoping," she added, it would all be done in about four and a half hours.

Council President Keith Hamilton said the change in hours reminded him the Town should do a better job advertising the regular extra hours on Thursday when the Town Hall stays open until 6:30 p.m. That's an opportunity for people to complete business with the clerk's office and not have to take a day off from work to do so, he said.