What is New

1. Drive-thru hours were expanded from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 46th and R Street DMV. (Feb. 4, 2011).
2. The County Treasurer's Office is now able to accept credit and debit cards for property taxes on all over the counter transactions. (March 3, 2011)
3. The Treasurer's Office now accepts credit and debit cards to pay for vehicle registrations and driver's licenses.
4. A new vehicle registration letter and mail system was implemented. The system saves time and money and protects peoples confidential information.
5. 20 telephones that were not being used were disconnected allowing for a $5,000 annual savings.
6. We have provided all staff with email for better internal communication.
7. By recycling used license plates, we have collected $5,200 in scrap aluminum. The money is returned to the general fund.
8. Services at the Sun Valley and West O location have been expanded to include vehicle registration renewals and the processing of titles at no extra cost to the taxpayers.
9. A new sick leave policy has been implemented that has significantly reduced sick leave use by 50% or more.
10. A new dress code policy has been implemented allowing staff to wear appropriate business casual or casual attire.
11. We are conducting more in-depth employee annual evaluations, and have rewritten the process.
12. We have selected two employees and recognized them as "Employee of the Year" for 2010, three for 2011, and two for 2012.
13. Online registrations increased from 2,000 per month to 3,000 per month. This not only reduces the number of people standing in line but saves money as well.
14. We have improved our hiring process to include a hiring panel, a criminal background screening, and complete reference checks.
15. The County Treasurer location at Sun Valley and West O Streets is now ADA current.
16. Office staff are being cross-trained to allow for more flexibility during workflow peak times.
17. We have implemented employee name tags.
18. We are writing new policies and procedures.
19. 50 trees at our West O Street facility were planted as part as a new landscaping project. The trees were grant funded through the Nebraska Forest Service. Trees were planted by inmates from County Corrections.
20. We have brought back to life the original County Treasurer's Seal which dates to the late 1800's.
21. Services at the 555 South 10th Street location were expanded to allow for renewal of license plates.
22. Property tax bill statements and/or receipts can be printed from our website. By making property tax receipts available online, we have saved $20,000 annually on mailing and postage costs.
23. Our website has been upgraded and improved. 200,000 hits per month is common.
24. In order to streamline and expedite phone calls to the correct division in our office, a telephone voice response system was implemented.
25. A new NSF Check policy attempting to recover $3000 in bad check banking fees annually was implemented.
26. A secured - locked mailbox has been installed and is now available for use at our West O facility.
27. Due to being more efficient we have reduce the number of staff by 2 FTE's.
28. An additional 2.5 positions were eliminated due to a change in state law that shifts more of the responsibilities of obtaining a driver's license to the State DMV. We now have a current strength of 40 FTE's.
29. A new state-of-the-art property tax software system was developed and implemented. The system was built by the Lancaster County/City of Lincoln Informational Services. We returned $250,000 in bond funds that we did not need.
30. We have made the West O Street facility much more secure. Alarmed, lighting, camera's.
31. We have started a process to create a "Supervisor" position within the ranks of the DMV Offices.
32. Renewals by mail have increased from 1500 per month to 3400 per month.
33. Interior signage was installed at the DMV locations to help the flow of foot traffic.
34. The office Organizational Chart was updated to reflect eliminating Account Clerk 1's, DMV Driver's License Clerks, and DMV Specialists. A current picture of the streamlined flow chart is available under the "About Us" tab on this website.
35. We saved $50,000 in banking fee's by streamlining our process.
36. We have implemented a new system using unpaid UNL intern students at our offices.
37. A new program was implemented using Lincoln residents who are on diversion or probation and need to work off hours. Very general housekeeping duties are being performed by these citizens.
38. Underground sprinklers were installed at the West O facility, and upgrading the landscaping.
39. VISA branded cards can now be used for payment at the DMV locations, along with MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
40. A new DMV manager, Mr. Don Arp, formerly with the Lincoln Police Department is now managing the DMV's. The DMV locations collect $80 million in registration and title fees, and distribute plates for 250,000 vehicles.
41. A customer survey is now available at the DMV's. The questionnaires may be found throughout the offices.
42. Efficiencies have allowed for the reduction of an additional FTE. Our strength is now 39 FTEs.
43. Michelle Raphael was hired as banking director/accountant/budget officer. She was with the Nebraska State Treasurer's Office for 16 years.
44. Deputy Treasurer Terry Adams retired after almost four decades of serving Lancaster County.
45. Bill Jarrett was hired as Chief Deputy Treasurer and began work on December 20, 2012.
46. The new property tax roll system implementation was completed and has saved the county more than $250,000. (Nov. 29, 2012).
47. We hired two on-call workers rather than filling a full time position, saving us $16,112.00 in salary and benefits. It also allows a great deal more flexibility in scheduling.
48. We remodeled the West O Street DMV using used furniture already owned by another county agency saving $15,685.00 from the estimate given for new furniture.
49. We are acquiring free mulch from Lincoln Forestry Department for the DMV's. Inmates from the jail spread it around. We have saved $2000 last year in doing so.
50. The DMV implemented a new Digital Records for titles at our DMV. This was completed through a joint effort involving the State DMV, Lincoln-Lancaster County IS, and the State IS. A savings of $22,000 was realized over previous bids. (March 2013).