By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – Beginning Tuesday, Erie County motorists will have another option for taking care of their DMV business. County Clerk David Swarts Wednesday announced the downtown auto bureau is scheduled to re-open next week.
Residents have suffered with one auto bureau since March. But data transmission lines, were reconnected Wednesday, once again linking 77 Broadway with Albany. And Swarts says, barring any last minute technical problems, the second office will be open full time for business, beginning next week. Swarts thanked customers for their patience.
"Those folks come in there every day, because by law they are required to complete a variety of transactions. And for the most part, they have been extremely understanding and patient throughout this entire process, " said Swartz. "And I know when we open Tuesday at 77 Broadway that it won't be the best of all worlds, but it will certainly be better than we have."
The hours downtown will be from 8:30am until 4:15pm weekdays. And the Cheektowaga office will also have extended evening and Saturday hours. However, Swarts says the mobile unit is temporarily out of serve, due to computer failure. And the county's two other DMVs remain closed. Swarts says the fight's not over yet.
"Clearly I've argued from day one that none of these offices should have been shut. The legislature made a decision to restore one of those offices, and for that I'm grateful, but we will definitely continue this fight to restore full services."
And Swarts says that will go along way toward luring back residents who have defected to other counties with their DMV business.
"Most residents in Erie County, not only are they looking for convenience, but they are also very aware that those other counties are getting the money," said Swarts.
He says the extra DMV could pull in about a million dollars or more for this year. With all four DMVs, Swarts said the county clerk's office could be operating with a $2 million surplus.