Karen Newman
Clay County Auditor-Treasurer Lorie Johnson appeared before the September 28 Clay County Commission meeting to request that a variable-time position in the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), be made full-time.
She reminded the commission that due to consumer complaints about long waits at the DMV, a variable staff position was created in April to run until October 1, 2021. After training, the DMV employee acted as a check-in person to determine, in advance, whether customers had all the documents they needed to complete their business. The rationale for creating the position was that if customers could find out in advance whether their paperwork was complete, the total wait time in the DMV would be shortened.
Commissioner Jenny Mongeau endorsed the request, saying, “This is the result of you listening to the concerns you are hearing in the community. You put grit into addressing these concerns, to make it better, to find a way to streamline a process that isn’t always super fun. You really did it!”
Johnson affirmed, “Honestly, this has worked out really, really well. Wait times have been cut in half.” Because wait times have been shortened due to customers having the correct paperwork on hand for their DMV transactions, the staff sees more customers in a day and the position should, for the most part, fund itself.
Commission Chair Kevin Campbell quoted statistics supporting Johnson’s staffing request with data concerning average DMV wait times and average time in the DMV site from May, 2021 through September, 2021 to date:
Commissioner Jenny Mongeau related her experience bringing a child to the DMV for a permit in the summer. She said it was a relief not to sit in the waiting area for an hour, only to be told the wrong documentation had been submitted. She said, “That check-in person really helped to streamline the process. I will enthusiastically make the motion to support this.”
In good news for Clay County DMV customers, the commission unanimously approved making the check-in position permanent and full-time. Campbell concluded, “Congratulations on something to really benefit all our citizens.”