State lawmakers Geoff Simpson, D-Covington, and Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, agree the state should save money during the bad economy. But they say a Department of Licensing decision to shut down one of its driver licensing offices in Auburn wouldn’t increase efficiency and would only hurt citizens who depend on its close, easy access.
The DOL plans to shut its Auburn office doors sometime between March and May.
“They’re proposing to close the wrong office for the wrong reasons,” said Rep. Sullivan. “Licensing claims this is a way of improving the department’s efficiency, but they’re selling this idea with very questionable numbers. Frankly, I don’t think they’ve done enough homework.”
According to information from DOL, the Auburn office is located in a severely congested location with poor parking, and they’ve been unsuccessful at finding another location.
The Auburn office served more than 68,000 customers in 2008. By directing those customers to Kent, DOL estimates it will save $150,315 over the next two years. DOL says it plans to boost hours at the Kent office, and estimates that about 2.7 percent of customers will complete transactions online instead of in-person. But Simpson and Sullivan are not convinced the Kent office can absorb the additional customers without adversely affecting customer service.
“The Auburn office serves a lot of folks who don’t necessarily enjoy the option of conducting their business online or driving over to the next town,” says Simpson. “And it was incredibly disappointing when the DOL’s claims of being unable to find another nearby location were proven misleading. A chamber representative found two viable alternatives within mere hours of being asked.
“The mayor and Chamber of Commerce said two things that are important,” Simpson continued. “First, that no one from Licensing had contacted them. Second, that a quick search by the chamber turned up two locations with the right parking spaces that were available right now.”
Sullivan and Simpson said they weren’t impressed by how Licensing had made this decision and that they plan to press for more answers before supporting the closure.
