Long waits at Sedgwick County tag office persist. ‘Our new operating normal’

Even though she arrived at the Sedgwick County Tag office by 6:15 a.m., and used the QLess system to reserve her spot, Jena Roth was still in line waiting to do her title work at 9:45 a.m.

It’s a new reality Sedgwick County residents are facing at the tag office, even after the county made changes in the past year that it said would either save taxpayer dollars or help shorten wait times.

“I’m still here, cause [QLess] shifted us back again,” Roth said. She’ll have to use some of her paid time off to make up for the hours she’s spending at the tag office.

By 8 a.m. Thursday, residents walking in to the tag office for title work were being turned away after the office met its 200-person cap for the day.

“This is not a temporary surge,” Sedgwick County Treasurer Brandi Baily said. “This is becoming our new operating normal.”

The county tag offices, which are state-mandated, allow residents to renew their car license plates and do vehicle title work in person.

The county closed the Kellogg tag office last year, consolidating services at the tag office at Douglas and Meridian. The county treasurer said that move could save $1 million until 2028.

It also began opening an hour earlier and added several satellite tag office locations across the county.

Commissioners said at recent meetings that they’re considering mid-year budget adjustments at Baily’s request.

“I just want to make sure that we are doing our part in understanding what it is we can do to help assist what’s happening in that office,” Commissioner Ryan Baty said.

That includes adding a director of tag office operations role and adding 10 or more employees at the tag office.

Baily also asked for pay raises for tag office clerks. Wages at the tag office start out at about $17 an hour, which Baily said is causing the loss of employees and leading to the current staffing shortage.

The county did not say how much it could raise clerk wages by, saying it would have to look at how it would affect other county positions on the same pay grade.

“We’re not competitive in today’s labor market,” Baily said. “We’re losing candidates to employers like QuikTrip and Chick-fil-A; positions that require less complexity and less pressure. That is directly impacting our ability to hire and retain employees within our operation.”

Commissioners will likely be able to make the budget adjustments because of a law passed during this year’s legislative session, allowing the $5 transaction fee at the tag office to also be applied to mail-in and online transactions.

Baily said that’ll bring in more than $700,000 in revenue, which is about what she estimated would be needed to hire new employees.

The county may also consider increasing its transaction fee. It now charges $5 per transaction at the tag office, bringing in $1.5 million in revenue for the county.

According to Baily, increasing that fee to $7.50 could bring in $4 million. Increasing it to $8.50 could bring in $4.5 million.

The fee increases would have to be approved by the county commission. Baily did not go into detail about where the additional revenue would go, but the county in previous years has used $900,000 in property tax dollars to supplement the tag office budget. In 2026, commissioners cut that to $500,000.

She also said the additional dollars should go toward employee pay raises.

“Our employees are the face of this county,” Baily said, “and they’re serving thousands of constituents every day, every week, working at a higher level under pressure and meeting the standards that we’ve set. If we expect excellence of them, we have to be willing to invest in them.”

To avoid long wait times at the tag office, the county is encouraging residents to use its drop-off title service, renew tags online, or set up an appointment at a satellite office. It also says paperwork can be mailed in or use the county’s dropbox.