Land of 10,000 lakes, and about that many projects . . .
By Sheila Prior, Director, Regional Member Support, Regions III & IV, AAMVA
Part of my job is to visit the jurisdictions in Regions III and IV. I enjoy these visits and learning about the programs, challenges and successes of the states and provinces. This week I had the chance to visit with the folks in Minnesota. At some point during every visit I have this thought . . . “that’s the weirdest thing I ever heard”. My trip to Minneapolis was no different. In this case it was after learning that their workweek runs Wednesday through Tuesday. No one seemed to know why this is the case, just that they’ve done so forever. I was interested to learn how the 21 day government shutdown last summer affected staff, processes and customers. If an agreement wasn’t reached by midnight on June 30, employees were directed to stay home. Can you imagine the atmosphere at Driver and Vehicle Services, with such uncertainty looming? Think about the preparation needed to close shop for an unknown period of time. Then imagine the overflowing fax machines, the boxes of unopened mail, the loss of staff, and the immediate backlogs in virtually every area upon returning to work. Wow! Minnesota, like most jurisdictions, has more pots on the stove than there are burners. With system redesign kick-off imminent, they’ve approached recent IT projects as a testing ground for MNLARS. They are preparing to issue EDLs starting in January. They recently went through a website redesign for which feedback is positive. They are six months into implementation of their ignition interlock law and are ready to roll out the CDL medical program. The state patrol - that unlike most state police agencies do not have a complement of troopers, but an appropriation from which officers are hired - is preparing for a new class of recruits. In-service training and performance appraisal programs have been revamped and more web based training is being rolled out. Ok, maybe not 10,000 projects, but certainly enough to keep them busy for many months to come.
Part of my job is to visit the jurisdictions in Regions III and IV. I enjoy these visits and learning about the programs, challenges and successes of the states and provinces. This week I had the chance to visit with the folks in Minnesota. At some point during every visit I have this thought . . . “that’s the weirdest thing I ever heard”. My trip to Minneapolis was no different. In this case it was after learning that their workweek runs Wednesday through Tuesday. No one seemed to know why this is the case, just that they’ve done so forever. I was interested to learn how the 21 day government shutdown last summer affected staff, processes and customers. If an agreement wasn’t reached by midnight on June 30, employees were directed to stay home. Can you imagine the atmosphere at Driver and Vehicle Services, with such uncertainty looming? Think about the preparation needed to close shop for an unknown period of time. Then imagine the overflowing fax machines, the boxes of unopened mail, the loss of staff, and the immediate backlogs in virtually every area upon returning to work. Wow! Minnesota, like most jurisdictions, has more pots on the stove than there are burners. With system redesign kick-off imminent, they’ve approached recent IT projects as a testing ground for MNLARS. They are preparing to issue EDLs starting in January. They recently went through a website redesign for which feedback is positive. They are six months into implementation of their ignition interlock law and are ready to roll out the CDL medical program. The state patrol - that unlike most state police agencies do not have a complement of troopers, but an appropriation from which officers are hired - is preparing for a new class of recruits. In-service training and performance appraisal programs have been revamped and more web based training is being rolled out. Ok, maybe not 10,000 projects, but certainly enough to keep them busy for many months to come.
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