The Department of Licensing (DOL) is moving forward with plans to consolidate services in 25 Licensing Service Offices (LSOs) around the state.
According to a statement released today, DOL is working with rural communities to find ways to maintain a presence in their area, but at the same time save taxpayer’s dollars by sharing locations with other government agencies.
“We have not taken a cookie cutter approach to our office closures or service changes, said DOL Director Liz Luce. We recognize each location is unique and we are actively working with community leaders to continue to meet service demand while looking for ways to minimize costs.
Plans to trim service hours or share locations with other state or county departments are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Offices under consideration for relocation and service hour changes include: Chelan, Coulee Dam, Davenport, Ephrata, Morton, Newport, Oroville, Port Townsend, Republic and South Bend.
DOL has suspended plans to close offices in some rural communities due to excessive driving distances. These communities include: Walla Walla, Poulsbo, Forks, Friday Harbor and Goldendale.
DOLs plan, which was approved by the 2009 Legislature, includes consolidating a total of 10 offices, primarily in urban locations on the west side of the state. Staff in offices closed under this plan will move to nearby offices. The expected cost savings under the plan is $2 million this biennium and $2.4 million in the subsequent biennium.
Offices scheduled to be closed this year under the consolidation plan include: Bellevue, Olympia, Bothell, East Seattle, West Tacoma, Yakima Limited Service, and Vancouver Limited Service. All of these offices are within 10 miles of another office. Offices in Auburn, the Greenwood area of Seattle and Othello already have been closed.
