PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Auditor’s Office will reduce vehicle licensing hours effective June 19 to help alleviate a backlog of required office work.
Vehicle and vessel licensing, which is now open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the main floor of the county courthouse, will instead be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Staff will use the extra 90 minutes to process incoming mail and auto dealership title work and to return phone calls in a timely manner, County Auditor Shoona Riggs said.
“I know this is not going to help with the lines that we have in our office right now,” Riggs told the three county commissioners Monday.
“But I just can’t come up with a better solution right now, other than looking at a [third] sub-agency.”
Office hours for the rest of the auditor’s office will still be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
In a May 2 letter to Riggs, County Vehicle/Vessel Licensing Manager Sandy Williams said a new state Department of Licensing system has resulted in a “tremendous increase in customer wait time while processing transactions conducted in our office.”
The DRIVES system, which was implemented last Dec. 12, has new features and screens that have added to wait times, Williams said.
Despite predictions that the new system would provide faster service, county officials “have now realized that this is going to be the new norm,” Williams said.
“It’s not going to get any faster, unfortunately,” Riggs told commissioners in a work session.
Licensing staff also has experienced longer wait times when phoning DOL, Williams said.
“Our wait times now range from 30-60 minutes,” Williams said in her letter.
“We were originally told these long wait times would decrease at the end of March, but they have not changed.”
Riggs in a Wednesday interview said other counties were “facing the same issues.”
“A lot of counties are seeing the same backlog that we are,” she said.
Riggs and her staff were scheduled to meet with DOL officials Wednesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of opening a licensing sub-agency in Port Angeles.
The existing sub-agencies are the Sequim Licensing Depot LLC, 649 W. Washington St., Suite 2, and West End Vehicle Licensing, 192681 U.S. Highway 101, Forks.
If a Port Angeles sub-agency is approved, Riggs said it could take up to one year to implement the service and to restore normal hours in her office.
Riggs announced that she was changing the hours for vehicle and vessel licensing in a May 31 letter to commissioners. She followed up with a public discussion Monday.
The board is required to approve changes in hours that affect an entire office.
The vehicle/vessel licensing division issues titles, registrations and state licenses for automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats and other vehicles, according to the auditor’s office website.
Customers can renew registrations online and have their tabs mailed to their residence or the sub-agency of their choice.
“But ultimately, all of the title transactions, the dealer work, all of that still has to be done through our office,” Riggs told commissioners.
Commissioner Bill Peach commended Riggs for the good customer service he has observed in the auditor’s office.
“They do a wonderful job,” Riggs said. “I know that they are very taxed at the end of the day. Whether you’re the first customer or the last customer, they still have a smile on their face and treat you as if you are the only customer of the day.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
