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Local auto bureaus will serve only Erie County residents

Mike Desmond
/
WBFO News

Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns is asking county residents to avoid going to any of the county's auto bureaus unless it is for urgent or absolutely necessary business, and certainly do not go if you are sick. The precaution is due to the coronavirus.

Kearns said the offices will be conducting business for Erie County residents only.

"This past Saturday, I was out at both of our locations and we handled nearly 1,200 transactions," he said. "The reason that I'm saying this is because we are the only facility in the State of New York that's open consistently on Saturdays and we get people as far as Syracuse coming to our facility."

He said facilities are also not taking reservations, as mentioned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the weekend.

"Yesterday, the governor stated in his news conference that the state DMVs would be accepting customers by appointment only. That statement requires clarification," Kearns said. "That directive only applies to the DMVs operated by the State of New York. The Erie County Auto Bureaus have not moved to an appointment-only system."

Only 50 people will be allowed in an auto bureau office at any time, and only people with transactions will be allowed in. Effective Tuesday, the Town of Evans branch and all Erie County mobile DMV units will be closed for the foreseeable future.

"Our primary responsibility is the health, safety and welfare of residents and staff," Kearns said.

Mark Wozniak, WBFO's local All Things Considered host, has been at WBFO since mid-1978.
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