County wait time frustrations persist; Protest planned

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

Kootenai County opened a Driver’s License office in Post Falls more than a month ago and an expanded Vehicle Licensing in June to ease lines and wait times at the Coeur d'Alene offices, but patrons' frustrations are still bubbling over.

Resident David Powell said he's organizing a peaceful protest at the Coeur d'Alene offices in hopes of reducing wait times and has obtained an application for a permit that he plans to turn in to the city today.

A date for the event hasn't been determined.

"This (wait time frustration) has been going on forever and a day and it's gotten worse and worse," Powell said.

Powell said he took an employee to the Driver’s License office in Coeur d'Alene last Thursday. He said they waited all afternoon only to be told to come back another day.

When they returned to the office on Friday, they learned that it was closed. The Coeur d'Alene office went to four days a week when the Post Falls office opened as there's not enough staffing to keep both offices open five days a week.

Powell said not being able to be served in a timely manner — or driving to another Driver’s License office in another county as some residents have done — is a concern because some folks such as his employee lose wages during the waits.

Powell said he hasn't had to work hard to find protest supporters, as he simply posted on social media wondering if others are having wait frustrations and his page "blew up" with responses.

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, whose agency runs the Driver’s License office, said he hasn't heard complaints about the lines since the Post Falls office opened. He said he also believes the Post Falls opening is helping with the wait times.

"By the second week of being open, it was about a 60/40 split between the Coeur d'Alene office and the Post Falls office on the days that both both were open (Tuesday through Thursday)," he said.

Wolfinger said one employee has been on vacation and another has been out with a medical issue, so that may have increased recent wait times. He said his department does not track wait times.

Wolfinger said reducing wait times has been on his office's radar for years. The addition of two new positions last year allowed the Post Falls office to open.

The addition of one more employee for the upcoming fiscal year will allow one of the offices to be open five days a week, he said.

"We will need another examiner approved in the next fiscal year to be able to open the other office five days a week," he said.

Wolfinger said opening a second office in the county is a great start to keeping pace with growth, but he realizes it's not enough.

"Our county continues to grow and the need will continue to increase," he said.

Driver’s License serves about 5,000 patrons a month.

Wolfinger said he's not surprised to hear about the pending protest, but he's also not sure what it will accomplish.

"I don't know what they hope to gain by the protest; we cannot manufacture employees," he said, adding that he'd earlier requested enough employees to staff both offices five days a week, but was only granted a portion of the request.

Some people, he said, may not yet even realize the Post Falls office is an option. The county formerly operated a Driver’s License office in Post Falls, but it closed in 1997 after being open for three years.

Meanwhile, Assessor Mike McDowell, whose department oversees DMV (Vehicle Licensing), said wait times have been reduced since the summer and busy boating and ATV season.

"We're still busy, but don't have the hour or two waits anymore," McDowell said. "Generally, it's a half an hour at the most and many times much less than that."

McDowell said the addition of two employees this year has helped, along with the larger office in Post Falls.

Commissioner Marc Eberlein said the DMV has made strong efforts to encourage renewing vehicle licenses by mail or online so people can avoid the lines. However, some people continue to prefer to show up in person.

McDowell said residents automatically pay a $3 service fee for online/mail renewals anyway.

"People pay for it regardless, but we still have people who prefer to come in," he said.

An automated system aimed at improving wait times at the Driver’s License and DMV offices in both cities is expected to be installed around the first of the year.

"The system will track wait times at both locations and, with a smart phone, people will be able to know which has less wait times," McDowell said. "It will also allow you to call in to schedule appointments and send you a text as a reminder a half an hour or hour before the appointment."

For those who don't have smart phones, a touch-screen kiosk will be available in the offices.

Last year a webcam was installed at the offices so patrons could remotely see what number was being served, to give them an indication of when to be at the office.

Two years ago, sex offender registrations were moved from the Driver’s License office to the work release center at the jail to free up more time for driving-related business.