STATE OFFICES -- The top photograph shows the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Service Center in Antigo, which will lose its window service under the new Wisconsin budget plan. The lower picture shows the Department of Motor Vehicle office on Clermont Street, which will remain open and operating. A number of the DNR and motor vehicle offices will close around the state under the cuts made in the budget. The change at the DNR facility will impact only the walk-up window service. |
DNR window service in Antigo closing, DMV spared Feb. 26, 2009 Antigo’s Department of Motor Vehicles office was spared from cutbacks in Gov. Jim Doyle’s recent budget, but the Department of Natural Resources Service Center was not as fortunate.
Instead, the state is suggesting most people let their fingers do the walking—via telephone or Internet—for most transactions.
DMV spared
“At this point, this is just a proposal until final legislative action is taken and the governor signs the budget,” Patrick Fernan, DMV operations manager, said. “Antigo, Rhinelander, Stevens Point, Waupaca and Shawano would all remain open. The stations closest to Antigo that would be closed are in Wittenberg, Crandon and Merrill.”
The Antigo DMV service center is located at 2124 Clermont St. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday.
All told, the state is proposing to close 40 DMV locations, ranging from weekly to every other month services. Forty-eight stations would be open, ensuring that more than 99 percent of state residents lived within 50 miles of a service center.
“With phone, mail, Internet and third party options, the large majority of people only need to physically visit a service center once every eight years when they renew their license/ID card, or when they get an original product.”
Fernan said that nearly every vehicle transaction can be done remotely, and the governor’s budget includes a provision to extend that option for ordering a duplicate or replacement license.
“We will save $850,000 over the biennium if we close these 40 stations, including eliminating 11 staff positions,” Fernan said.
DMV sites slated for closure include Abbotsford, Algoma, Amery, Baraboo, Berlin, Black River Falls, Chilton, Crandon, Darlington, Dodgeville,
Durand, Eagle River, Ellsworth, Florence, Fort Atkinson, Friendship, Hayward, Hurley, Iron River, Luck, Medford, Merrill, Minocqua, Neillsville, New Richmond, Oconomowoc, Oconto, Park Falls, Phillips, Prairie du Chien,
Reedsburg, Sauk City, Siren, Spooner, Stanley, Tomah, Wautoma, Westfield, Whitehall, and Wittenberg.
DNR services move to private vendors
With tight budgets eight electronic license vendors located within minutes of Antigo’s center, Department of Natural Resources officials said the time is right to change the way the agency delivers over-the-county service to customers.
“We will be relying on local license agents, the Internet and our toll-free call center to deliver that service,” Laurel Steffes, director of the DNR’s office of communication, said. “Counter sales will be discontinued at all 24 service centers except regional offices effective March, 2010.
Steffes stressed that the DNR’s Antigo office will remain, with only the over-the counter-portion changing.
“Staff will still have it as their work station,” she said.
Steffes said that when the DNR adopted its service center model in the mid-1990s, call centers, Internet sales and electronic licensing systems for vendors did not exist.
Now, with improved technology, fewer than 69,400 licenses are sold at service centers, compared to 4.3 million from vendor agents. Internet sales have grown to 7 percent of the total, making it the largest license outlet, Steffes said.
And use of the toll-free call center has also exploded, growing to more than 18,000 calls a month.
“It’s clear that customer expectations for doing business have changed so we are changing how we do business,” Steffes said. “We can and need to use our highly trained staff more strategically.”
License vendors in the Antigo area include Sikora’s Market in Neva, Held’s Bar in Deerbrook, and in Antigo, Wal-Mart Supercenter, J’s Sports and Archery, Citgo North, BP South, Fast Stop, and Mills Fleet Farm.
“They do a great job for us,” Steffes said. “We believe this move will increase traffic in their stores and provide longer service hours for our customers.”
Centers that will continue to offer counter service include Fitchburg, Madison Central Office, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Spooner, and Rhinelander.
In addition to Antigo, over-the-counter service will be discontinued at Ashland, Baldwin, Black River Falls, Cumberland, Dodgeville, Hayward, Horicon, Janesville, LaCrosse, Ladysmith,
Oshkosh, Park Falls, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Poynette, Sturgeon Bay, Sturtevant, Superior, Waukesha, Wausau, Wautoma, Wisconsin Rapids and Woodruff.
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