New York's Department of Motor Vehicles will be rolling out a system-wide technology upgrade in a few weeks.
County clerks are hoping this will make transactions faster and easier. But there will be some short-term inconveniences.
"Fingers crossed until we get through it," said Monroe County Clerk Jamie Romeo. "But it is a little nerve wracking, because we don't have that direct control, and we are really at the whims of New York state."
Some of the software currently in use in New York has been around for over 50 years, or since Nelson Rockefeller was governor, as state DMV commissioner Mark Schroder characterized it in a news release.
But that's about to change with a modernized system that will be implemented statewide. Romeo said this is actually a consolidation of many computer systems into one.
"It's almost like going from PC to Mac," she said. "It's completely changing how the DMV internally works."
Because staff have to be trained on the new system, all of Monroe County's DMV offices will be closed for the next four Fridays — Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13.
Then, as the new system is brought online, all DMV operations statewide - offices, call centers, and websites - will be temporarily shut down from 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 through Tuesday, Feb. 17.
While she said she has faith in the state DMV, which is handling the technology update, Romeo added she and other county clerks are working on contingency plans in case the rollout does not go as planned.
The public debut of the new system is scheduled for Feb. 18. Romeo said the difference should be noticeable.
"I know people contact our office when the My DMV accounts might not work, or 'I process something and now my license is getting suspended' or 'I'm getting threatened with a revocation,’ Romeo said. “And the efficiencies of being able to have this just connect more directly with Albany's infrastructure is really going to help, I think, avoid a lot of that."
But in the meantime, the DMV is encouraging people to plan ahead to avoid potential headaches during the period when the offices and online services are unavailable. That includes those with licenses or non-driver IDs that will be expiring in the next three weeks, and those who need to turn in license plates.
"If you don't surrender your license plate to New York state in a timely fashion, that could lead to an insurance lapse if you're trying to change registration between cars, or if something's happened to your vehicle," Romeo explained.
Ontario County DMV offices also announced upcoming changes due to the system upgrade.
To give staff time to get accustomed to the new software, the Canandaigua DMV will serve only Ontario County residents on Feb. 18, 19 and 20.
Also, beginning on Feb. 18 and until further notice, the Canandaigua DMV will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Ontario County Clerk's office said it will post any changes to its website and Facebook page.
