When citizen taxpayers have to wait 2-3 hours for a service that they pay for (Driver’s license renewel) that is just an extra tax on them. I think citizens should be paid $10 an hour while waiting for driver’s license renewal;
For weeks, the line for driver’s license renewals has spilled out of the room next to the commission chambers and down the hall on the second floor of the county administration building.
People have waited hours to make their way through the line for license renewals. Some have been forced to bring their children, who occasionally get noisy, and from time to time angry citizens who have negotiated the line only to find that they failed to bring the proper documentation voice their discontent — loudly.
This is boloney. But the county commission’s idea of booting them out doesn’t solve the problem. The reason they moved to that location is for convenience. The state needs to hire more workers STAT!
If anyone has been through either location in the past few years, I would ask – would that kind of customer service be permitted where you work? And this is State run operation! I was utterly dismayed last year when I went to the SW location and waited almost 2 full hours with my kid to get her license. When it was our ‘turn’ we were greeted by an obviously unhappy, cranky DL examiner who could could have cared less if we were happy or not.
Downtown isn’t much better. Last time there, 1 lady working and the place was full? C’mon Doogie- more locations or more workers! Waiting an hour + to renew a D/L isn’t right.
Like I said, we should be reimbursed for our waiting time. This is a service WE PAY FOR.
If you are out of Sioux Falls you will experience no DL stations in many towns previously served. The elderly and people with no money for gasoline are now not able to go get the ID they need to participate in modern life. The Koch Brothers organization ALEC and their doers the legislature made the decision if it was easy to get a drivers license, the wrong people would be voting.
This has nothing to do with cutting services to save money, it has to do with keeping the ‘Have Nots’ from having a political impact. Read the discussion http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2012/07/so-much-for-not-needing-the-government-handouts-guest-poster/ . There will be more on this latter, there always is.
What time of day are these people going? I’ve been there two times in the past couple of years..(downtown) and have never had to wait more than 20 minutes or so. If anything…go to the one located by Target at 7:00 a.m. and there will be minimal problems waiting. AND…I’m pleasant and nice to the workers…they are pleasant and nice back (EVEN if they were just crapped on by someone NOT being nice). IF you go between 3:00-5:00..uh yeah..plan to WAIT
I renewed last year at the location behind Target. Walked in and met the agent near the entrance to verify I had what I needed before I was put “in queue” (which was a great way to prevent someone from standing around only later to find out they were missing something).
About five minutes later I was called up. I did my song and dance, read some letters, they scanned my documents, took my photo – and I was gone. Total time from start to finish was around 15-20 minutes.
The new times I’ve been in the county building I’ve noticed the lines there were always much longer than the other location. Makes me wonder if most people don’t even think about the fact that they have a choice.
Then again the people who bitch about the speed and efficiency of government services are often those who are first in line to complain about increased taxes when it comes time to pay for them. You can’t have it both ways.
I took a half day off on June 5th, to be able to do a few personal things. My 1st stop was to renew my drivers license, so stopped at the downtown location. This was about 1 pm. The room was full and the hall had about 10 people standing.
Then I did another errand and went out to the one behind Target. This was about 2:30 and it too was packed. The lady behind the sign in desk told me it would be hours before I would get in, but maybe if I could come in early Sat. or later on Sat. I would not have to wait so long. She also checked my paperwork and “prequailified it” as being fine.
8 am Saturday the place was again full, but sat the 1 1/2 hrs to my turn. Many people came in and turned around and went back out and some who had been waiting left before they got their license. I was not the only one who had tried before.
Yes, we do need another station or more employees.
too bad SD doesn’t have certain categories of renewal that can be accomplished online or at least have some of the procedural stuff done and bring to the DMV to save time…
I looked at an ID from a Southern state the other day (I think it was Tennessee) and the renewal is done thru the mail, it is a sticker they put on the DL.
Interesting idea, but we only require renewals every five years. Can you imagine someone renewing by mail for a few decades and they are running around with a license showing them when they were 14 years old?
It also seems it would make fraud a tad easier if they weren’t required to be present in order to get a renewal. The permanent RV crowd would just love that idea… they might never spend another day in SD.