August 20, 2003

Finding better ways to serve Michigan residents is what Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land’s tour of the Alpena, Rogers City, and Cheboygan branch offices is all about.

Land met with employees and the public at the offices. She offered her own ideas – and listened to those of others – regarding ways in which the Department of State can enhance service to Michigan residents. Beefing up the department’s menu of online services to enhance customer convenience is one of Land’s priorities.

"Taxpayers deserve service that is fast and convenient," Land said. "We’re using technology to make it easier for people to do business with the department. Our innovations are well received, but the job is far from over. Spending time with employees and customers helps me to see if we’re on the right track, and where we need to go from here."

Land has committed to visit all 173 Secretary of State branch offices this year. She already has been to more than 165 branches since taking office in January.

Land is a strong advocate of using Internet technology to improve customer convenience and staff efficiency. Her new campaign "Skip the Trip! Save Time, Renew Online!" creates awareness of services available via the Internet. As part of that effort, Land recently asked that outdated branch office signs still bearing her predecessor’s name be modified to incorporate the department Web site, www.Michigan.gov/sos. Only signs in disrepair will be replaced entirely.

She also is exploring ways to improve service for those visiting branch offices. Possibilities include extending office hours and offering Saturday morning hours in select locations; expanding the use of credit-card transactions to include branch office services; overcoming language barriers by posting multilingual signs in offices that help people understand what information they must bring to conduct business; and improving office accessibility by working to repair pavement in parking lots, improve lighting, and providing timely snow removal.

The Secretary commended area employees for their performance and pointed out the tremendous volume of work handled in each branch office.

Last year, the Alpena office processed more than 81,000 transactions, the Rogers City office processed more than 25,056 transactions, and the Cheboygan office processed nearly 57,500 transactions.

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