After consulting the people on the frontlines who were fearful that Secretary of State Branch offices in Michigan would revert to the “take-a-number” system, Michigan’s Secretary of State says they have found a way to add 350,000 appointments and make additional changes to resolve backlog issues across the state.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson today has announced that her offices are adding appointments to serve 350,000 more Michigan residents. Additionally, greeters will be added at the office doors to assist in scheduling visits, and priority service will be afforded for those residents needing a disability placard.
Benson reports today, “We were able to do this after discussions with our frontline workers who, concerned about the chatter here in Lansing to revert back to a broken ‘take a number and wait’ system, suggested ways they could work harder and faster to be able to handle more transactions efficiently and quickly.” Benson adds, “It’s an extraordinary testament not just to their dedication to the department but their recognition that having residents schedule their visits ahead of time is a vastly superior way of doing business.”
The three changes Benson announced today were:
- By shaving minutes off transaction times to maximize efficiency, the department is increasing appointments by 25-percent between now and the end of the fiscal year. It released half of the more than 350,000 new appointments Monday, and the remaining half will be split up and released every weekday at 8 am and noon between now and September 30th as next-day appointments. Appointments can be booked online at https://www.michigan.gov/sos or, for people with internet limitations, by calling 888-SOS-MICH.
- Additionally, residents will be able to book appointments in person thanks to a pilot program that will place greeters at the doors of many of the department’s busiest offices this month. When visitors arrive without an appointment, greeters will tell them if any staff are available to serve them, or assist them in scheduling a return visit. The same service will be available at offices without dedicated greeters when counter staff is able to approach the door between appointments.
- Residents needing disability placards can now be served as soon as possible after arrival at any office. While these residents are still encouraged to schedule their visit, appointments are no longer required to receive a disability placard.
Benson contends “the department suffered during decades of disinvestment and neglect by the state Legislature and previous secretaries of state,” who she says cut staff by 40-percent and closed 46-percent of offices while the state population grew 10-percent and the number of vehicles increased 25-percent. She argues that the Legislature made matters worse during the pandemic by ignoring the department’s request that expiration extensions be granted on a rolling basis and instead extending every license and vehicle plate in the state to expire on March 31st, placing 13 months of pent-up demand on the system all at once.
Benson says the Legislature “could cut through this transaction backlog quickly by passing bills that would provide $25 million in COVID-19 relief funding for additional department staff and overtime,” but adds in the absence of legislative support she will continue making improvements, and to stay tuned for additional announcements.
Benson concludes, “I am truly grateful to the hard-working men and women who have given years, if not decades, of their lives to public service here at the Department of State. Whether the legislative leaders are with us or not, the people of this department will not give up on our mission of continuing to find new ways to provide convenient and efficient service to all Michiganders. And neither will I.”
