Can you spot the error in this brief article? (Houston: city hall, cost)

[cla]

This is so sad coming from a newspaper...


Metro’s flaunting of federal rules could cost taxpayers millions | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by cla

This is so sad coming from a newspaper...


Metro’s flaunting of federal rules could cost taxpayers millions | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

That is some damn good, concise and succinct reporting!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I copied the article in case they get smart and correct it...

AUSTIN — If you have ever cussed at the wait in a driver's license office, you may be interested to know the Texas Department of Public Safety is listening.

The Public Safety Commission, which oversees DPS, approved a plan Thursday meant to speed things up through initiatives to eliminate the first-come, first-served process at driver's license offices.

Customers with shorter transactions such as license renewals would, in effect, get an express lane. Those who need more time could make an appointment, and people could even check online to see wait times at various DPS license offices before heading to one.

"I have gotten the word from all over … we need to improve the way we do our business," Rebecca Davio, an assistant DPS director who oversees the driver's license division, told the commission.

DPS annually issues about 6 million driver's licenses and identification cards, including renewals, Davio said. The division has about 1,150 employees.

Wait times at the offices vary widely, SHE said.

"There are locations that you can walk in and be served immediately. Sadly, there are locations where there's a longer wait time than any of us are happy with," she said. "I talked to a gentleman, and he had waited four hours and 45 minutes in Conroe."

The new queue system will start as a pilot program in Austin and spread to the 50 largest offices statewide, including Houston and San Antonio. The queue system cost just under $1 million, including software and equipment such as video screens to show the number of the person being served, Davio said.

The new queue system will start as a pilot program in Austin and spread to the 50 largest offices statewide, including Houston and San Antonio. The queue system cost just under $1 million, including software and equipment such as video screens to show the number of the person being served, Davio said.

The goal is to have the system in place in the 50 offices before next summer. Some components, such as the ability to check wait times online before going to a DPS office, may take longer.

More funding not likely
Among other initiatives, officials are striving for clearer materials and better communication. A customer satisfaction survey found that half the respondents had to make more than one trip to complete their driver's license transactions because they did not have everything they needed, Davio said.

The agency also is urging drivers to renew their licenses online when possible.

The changes OK'd by the commission will not require additional funding or more employees.

Commissioner C. Tom Clowe Jr. said driver's license employees dealing with the public "are some of the lowest paid" and in many cases are not adequately trained. He said despite this, while he gets complaints about issues including the wait time, he also "invariably" hears that DPS employees behaved courteously.

Davio said many employees in the division gross $1,800 a month.

"We did a little search in Houston. You could work at McDonald's for almost the same rate of pay, and you don't have to give road tests," she said.

With lawmakers facing a budget shortfall through the next two-year budget period that some put as high as $21 billion, getting additional funding would be tough.

DPS Director Steve McCraw said the agency is considering asking for legislative changes that could relieve pressure on the agency without costing more money, such allowing more time between driver's license renewals.

"This is not a session where money is going to be available," McCraw said.

[crone]

Somebody needs a proof reader or an editor. In a couple of years we won't have daily newspapers to make fun of. Somebody caught the error, it was not in my morning paper.
What is sad is that nobody subscribes to the newspaper anymore and they have had to lay off 1/2 of the staff. I wonder how we will know what goes on at city hall and the courthouse.

[cla]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

That is some damn good, concise and succinct reporting!

Ah, maybe the reporter is flaunting his/her brevity AND flouting correct wordage.

[HoustonRonnie]

There are two:

"flaunting"

and

the Wells Fargo logo won't fully load. I think that means Wells Fargo doesn't fully support this article.

Ronnie