Escape FROM Wisconsin

Reason #173 why Wisconsin retirees leave Wisconsin, and why Wisconsin is unable to attract retirees to Wisconsin.

New resident not humored by wait time for licensing

To the Editor:
About 3 1/2 months ago I moved up here to Woodruff from Illinois. On July 18, after driving to Rhinelander to get the forms to apply for new titles and new plates for my two cars, I filled them out, enclosed the $90 fee by check for each car ($55 for the plates and $35 for the title) each in separate envelopes and mailed them off to the DMV in Madison. Exactly one month later, Aug. 18, after hearing nothing from Madison and checking my tele-bank to find that they hadn't even cashed my checks yet, I drove over to the Woodruff Police Department to ask some questions as to why I hadn't received or heard a thing from Madison.

They told me, 'well, you know it takes 12 weeks.' I laughed because I thought they were kidding. I said, "12 weeks, that's three months, one-quarter of a year. That's crazy. In Illinois, I have never had to wait more than three weeks." All they said was "well, that's the way it is up here."

Well, they weren't kidding because 11 weeks to the day I finally received the title and registration card for one of the cars (not the one that had already expired over a month beforehand, but for the one that had recently expired). However, two days later I received the other title and registration card.

Now this whole thing is not only crazy, it's insane. I don't know if this Gov. Doyle is a Democrat or Republican and I don't care, but I put the blame on him. If he and this so-called great state of Wisconsin can't do better than that at the DMV in Madison, he should resign and/or be removed from office and the DMV should be properly staffed so as to get this work done in a reasonable and timely manner, like in Illinois.

And I don't need to hear any of this "if you don't like it, move back to Illinois" crap, either. I have talked to several Wisconsin residents who feel as I do. In the meantime, the plates on both cars expired as a result, even though when I applied, I had nearly 1 1/2 months to spare on the one car and nearly 2 1/2 months on the other car.

Also, I had to wait all this time for them to cash the checks so I could close out my old checking account. And besides sending in my "old" titles, as they required, I also sent in my "old" registration cards to show that in Illinois I got a $54 discount on the one car for being a senior citizen (on the plates), but here I didn't receive a cent off on either car.

As far as the cost of the titles at $35 each that is also a ripoff. I remember when they were $3 (in Illinois). Finally, when I went to Rhinelander to get a new driver's license, they told me I would have to pay $18 (because I was a new resident) for only three years (the first time or $6 a year), but next time it would only be $24 for eight years (or half the cost at $3 a year).

In Illinois, I paid $10 (two years ago) for four years, but, of course, I received nothing for the almost two years I had left to go on the (Illinois) driver's license before it expired.

Now my main complaint here is about the 12-plus week wait. That's pathetic. What a joke this is!
Harlan Parke
Woodruff
December 09, 2005