New Morgan County license tag renewal kiosk avoids long lines

May 8—Clarice Ornelas followed the screen prompts during her first experience with Morgan County's new license tag renewal kiosk as a courthouse tag office employee stood by in case she had a question.

"I'll use it again, for sure," said Ornelas, 21, from Decatur. "It's good to just come and hurry and do that and then leave. It was very beneficial; it was very fast."

Kate Terry, Morgan County license commissioner, said the county's first license tag renewal kiosk became operational in the Morgan County Courthouse on Feb. 14. She said from the first day until the end of April, 526 people utilized the kiosk, and it has processed $57,510.

"The information part, it's pretty clear with the instructions. But it was really easy, not hard," Ornelas said. "The questions are each short, which is good because you don't have to read a bunch of information."

Terry said anyone can renew a license tag for any vehicle, including trailers but not including boats. She said it is for simple renewals with no changes. Terry said the kiosk has been a success.

"I'm hoping it will appeal to people who normally would do it online or in the office but don't want to wait behind a dozen other people who are waiting to do titles," she said. "It just makes their process a lot faster because they don't have to wait for five people that have lengthier transactions."

Erik Fernandez, 42, from Decatur, was assisted at the kiosk last week by Terry as he used it for the first time. He was having difficulty getting a barcode from his vehicle paperwork to scan.

"From 1 to 10 it's an 8," Fernandez said. "There was a lot of help, but at the end of the moment she figured it out. It wasn't scanning right. It's technology. Nothing deserves a 10, nothing's perfect."

Even with the slight issue, Fernandez said he was glad he found out about the kiosk and will be using it again.

"It was convenient for me," he said. "I just, boom, boom, five minutes, 10 minutes, in and out instead of waiting for an hour and 10 minutes."

Fernandez said he thinks there will still be people who would rather see one of the tag employees than use the kiosk.

"For me, I could do this, but like my mom, she won't do this," he said. "She's 65. You have a lot of old folks come over here, and for this, no, I'd rather go there and deal with somebody than deal with this; that's how they see it."

Terry said they have tried to encourage use of the kiosk.

"You never know what to expect. Sometimes people are a little put off by certain types of technology. Like, is this really going to be able to do what I need it to do," she said. "So, we have had people in the hallway to encourage citizens that are standing in line that are on the fence about using it. We will go over there and say, 'Why don't you try it out? We're here to assist you if you have any questions.'

"Once they see how easy it is, then I think folks are going to continue to go to it, and it'll just grow from here."

Terry said, because of the success, they currently have a second kiosk being built that should be operational by the end of the fiscal year in September.

"The debate is, do we put them in the other tag offices, or do we put them in municipal buildings in areas that are not close to our other satellite offices to help serve the people in those communities," she said. "I've been looking at geographically where would be the best location for it right now."

Terry said Eva would be a good spot.

"It's just so far on the other side of the county," she said. "Once it's fully through with production, then we're going to decide at that point where we're going to put it."

The common misconception with the kiosk, Terry said, is that it is replacing an employee.

"The reason why I purchased it was to make the line faster with the current employees that we have," she said. "My goal is to still be fully staffed, and I am right now."

Terry said each kiosk costs about $15,000.

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.