Treasurer’s offices pause vehicle registrations

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Treasurer’s offices across South Dakota are winding down operations ahead of Monday’s debut of a new software program to process vehicle registrations.

The Minnehaha County treasurer’s office closed at 1:00 Thursday afternoon and will only be handling property tax payments when it reopens Friday.

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People getting new vehicle tags and plates were grateful about beating the 1:00 deadline, even though many didn’t know that a deadline was looming.

There was no last-minute rush for vehicle registrations at the Minnehaha County treasurer’s office, despite its early closing.

“It was real easy. I walked right in and no waiting in line and did my business,” Bill Clark of Sioux Falls said.

Even treasurer Kris Swanson was surprised by the short lines so near to closing time.

“I thought maybe we would have a few more people. But at the same time, I wonder if people didn’t hear our announcement earlier. We’ve had a lot of mailings come in,” Swanson said.

The treasurer’s office staff needs the time away from their regular duties to finish training on the new software program that’s expected to make processing vehicle registrations more efficient.

“Now we can print things out that we couldn’t before. We’re able to do more forms and do more business back here, we don’t have to send it to the state,” Swanson said.

Sioux Falls trucker Charles Cunningham didn’t realize he was in a race against time to get new plates before the office closed. He’s glad his schedule happened to work out.

“I’m really happy because I just went to get it done and if it’s going to change, I might as well just get it done before they have problems with whatever problems with the system, you know,” Cunningham said.

The treasurer’s office shut down completely this afternoon because there’s a lot of paperwork to process in addition to learning the new software system.

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“We have to close down the windows so the back office can get all the information from the front office just did and add it all together and get it to the state,” Swanson said.

The new software launches on Monday. So there will be no President’s Day holiday for the staff in Minnehaha County. But they’re urging the public to be patient and expect longer lines as staffers work through any early hiccups in the system.

“A month from now, it will look totally different. It’s just like anything new. But I think it’s going to be good. I think it’s going to be good,” Swanson said.

The county’s self-serve license tag kiosks have been shut down for nearly a week as part of the transition to the new system. Those kiosks will be back online Monday.