Standing in line for license plates or registrations at your county treasurer's office is nothing new. But since a new law went into effect earlier this month requiring plates to stay with the owner of the vehicle, the problem has gotten even worse. 

In fact, Codington County made the decision today to close their offices on Wednesdays just to catch up on filling registration requests. 

The Minnehaha County Treasurer's office isn't going to be closed, but they are making some changes. Changes that could leave you standing in line even longer.

It's a common site at the treasurer's office. People in lines that wind down to the opposite end of the building.

"This is just a nightmare," Minnehaha Count Treasurer Pam Nelson said.

Nelson says the new license plate computer system has some kinks, runs much slower than the old system, and takes more steps to complete the process, leading to a lot of frustration. 

"I'm hoping that the governor can find out how long it's going to take and if it's going to get faster," Nelson said. "If not, then it's up to the commissioners to decide what they want to do to solve their problem."

The problems are causing registration requests to pile up. Nelson says her office is no longer taking online or phone registrations, forcing even more people to head to the back of the line. Nelson says Governor Rounds needs to re-evaluate the new system. 

"He or his people bought a computer program and he needs to hold those people accountable," Nelson said. "He needs answers.  Can we eliminate repetition?  How long is it going to take us to get there?"

Answers Nelson hopes to get soon.

Nelson says she would like to see more employees get hired to help deal with the backup. People in her office are working on Saturdays to process mail requests, but no windows will be open. 

Other counties are also considering changes to deal with the problems.



The Minnehaha County Commission Issued This Statement