With all but “essential” county, state and federal offices being closed during the COVID-19 crisis, many people are left to wonder how to do regular business that they feel needs to be done,
This week, the Minnehaha Messenger has put together a tutorial on where people can still get things taken care of, and what may not need to be taken care of for the time being.
To handle much of this business, a person needs to have Internet access, but phone numbers of specific offices are included where those offices may be open.
Property taxes
Starting this year, a new online system is in place for people who have to pay Minnehaha County taxes.
Those needing to make a payment by April 30 can go to www2.minnehahacounty.org/property_tax/index.aspx and click on the “Please click here” link toward the bottom of the page.
This takes the taxpayer to the GovTech site that handles property tax payments where a person can enter a last name or parcel number and find and pay any taxes owed.
Of course, people should have received tax notices over a month ago and can mail in a check with the tax coupon. Or they can drop off the payment at the tax drop box outside the main entrance on the west side of the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
People who have questions about property taxes can call the treasurer’s office at (605) 367-4211.
Property tax payments are probably not needed from private homeowners who have mortgages on their property, as those are typically taken care of through escrow accounts.
License plates
Another function of the county treasurer’s office is to take care of motor vehicle registration renewals.
Without going into the office, new tags can be obtained online, at a kiosk or through the mail.
Online, people can go to sdcars.org/ and click on the “RENEW NOW” plate on the left.
People who don’t already have accounts will be prompted to make one in order to renew their license tags.
A quicker way to do this is to visit one of the two kiosks in Sioux Falls at the 41st and Louise Hy-Vee or the Get-N-Go at 5400 Arrowhead Parkway.
However, this requires leaving the house and is not advised for anyone under a “self-quarantine.” Also, having disinfectant wipes to clean the kiosks before use is never a bad idea.
There is also a third option where renewal tags can be ordered by mail.
When motor vehicle operators originally received their renewal notices, the card had instructions for obtaining tags by mail.
For those who no longer have those cards, they can contact the Minnehaha County Treasurer’s Office.
While this option takes more time to complete, deadlines currently are on “hold,” as the state has asked law enforcement not to ticket cars for a month after they expire.
This extended grace period will end after April, but it does give people a chance to use the options that take more time.
For people needing to pay taxes and get plates for new cars, they should have gotten information from the dealer, but they can always call the Minnehaha County Treasurer’s office at (605) 367-4211 for more information.
Voting
The good news for voting is that last week, South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett announced that all registered voters will receive an absentee ballot application in the mail for the primary elections.
While absentee voting for the Sioux Falls city and school elections is already taking place at the County Election Center at 6th and Main Streets in Sioux Falls, starting next week, the voting will be combined with state primary election for people living in the city.
As always, before folks can vote (and before they can apply for any ballots), they need to be registered, and this can be taken care of, even with the auditor’s office being closed to the public.
This time, there is a combination of online and mail involved in the registration process.
Start by going to sdsos.gov/elections-voting/voting/register-to-vote/default.aspx and scrolling down until a button is seen to “download a voter registration form.”
This brings up a .pdf copy of a form that needs to be filled out, printed off, signed and mailed into the Minnehaha County Auditor’s office at 414 N. Dakota Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104.
But after this process is complete, all registered voters will automatically be receiving an application for an absentee ballot, thanks to Barnett’s office.
On the application, voters will be able to select any election for which they are requesting a ballot.
Again, fill out and sign the form, then mail it to the Minnehaha County Auditor.
Remember, voters must send in a copy of their driver license (or other official ID) with the applications or have the form notarized (they do not need to do both).
As Barnet has not yet given a date when he will be sending out applications, there is still plenty of time for people who do not have scanners to figure out how to get a license/ID photo copy.
One possible method is to take a photo of the ID with a cell phone and email it home, print it off and mail it with the application.
There may also be a method for emailing the photo directly to Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz at blitz@minnehahacounty.org, but voters should wait until the application arrives to look for that option.
An absentee ballot will then be mailed out for the voter to complete and return.
But again, absentee voting can be completed at the County Election Center. Personnel at that site are taking extra precautions to sanitize and enforce social distancing.
For other questions, people can contact the Minnehaha County Auditor’s office at (605) 367-4220.
Driver licenses
Moving on to the state, all offices deemed “non-essential” have been closed for the past month.
Because of that, on March 13, Gov. Kristi Noem ordered that all driver licenses that expire at this time will still be valid for up to 90 days after her order ends. (It was originally set to end on May 2, but that could be changed.)
However, people wanting to get their licenses renewed now, can go online to apps.sd.gov/PS11eSDDrivers/DLEligibilityCheck.aspx to see if they are eligible for an online renewal.
This can usually be done if a license was not renewed online during the previous renewal period.
Unemployment
Due to businesses being shut down around the country, there has been a huge spike in people applying for unemployment benefits.
In Minnehaha County, that is no different.
People who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis can apply for unemployment assistance at the South Dakota Department of Labor office at 811 E. 10th St. in Sioux Falls.
Because so many people have been “furloughed” and hope to eventually be re-employed by the same company, usual requirements, such as waiting for payments to begin and applying for a certain number of jobs every week, have been waived.
More information about this can be found at www.benefits.gov/benefit/1810 (there are links on this page that take people to the U.S. Dept. of Labor site) or by calling (605) 626-2452.