For all the challenges faced since the pandemic began, rethinking service delivery has allowed for new partnerships and greater innovation. Thankfully for Bay County citizens it has also provided some additional service offerings.
This fall the Bay County Tax Collector’s Office partnered with All Florida Safety Institute to bring additional driving instruction and road exams to our area. The partnership gives customers some options and flexibility for road tests.
At the first signs of COVID-19 impacting Florida, Bay County Tax Collector Chuck Perdue began monitoring the practices of other tax collector offices around the state and looking to see how they were providing services in a safe environment for both customers and team members. Many tax collectors around the state elected to stop offering driving tests as it requires team members to be in close quarters with customers for over 15 minutes. They elected instead to have state certified third-party testers perform these services, but it was at an additional expense to the customers.
“We knew we needed to find a way to provide more road testing options for our citizens, but we didn’t want to take an all or nothing approach,” said Tax Collector Chuck Perdue. “We made the decision to limit the number of road testing out of necessity and safety concerns. Road tests put a customer and a team member in very close proximity with limited air flow together for an extended period of time. Due to the duration of the road test, the service also significantly impacts the flow of service at our service centers since it is a lengthy process. As COVID-19 numbers grew in our county, we made service delivery adjustments to protect our high-risk team members. We also had team members who had exposure and had to quarantine. Our ability to be flexible with service delivery took a significant hit as we experienced the impacts of the virus.”
The tax collector’s partnership with All Florida Safety Institute provided a solution to the need for additional road testing options for Bay County residents. As so many of our citizens are still recovering from Hurricane Michael and have been financially impacted by the pandemic, we wanted to make sure we still offered appointments for the service, but for those unwilling to wait a few weeks for an appointment and those financially willing to pay the testing fee, we wanted to offer this as an option.
In addition to providing road tests, All Florida Safety Institute also offers driving instruction courses. Rates for their services vary based on the time and instruction required. All Florida Safety Institute is able to upload test results to the Tax Collector’s Office immediately so customers with passing results can have their credentials issued.
Individuals interested in learning more about All Florida Safety Institute’s services in Bay County can visit https://allfloridasafetyinstitute.com/panama-city-road-test/ or give them a call at (850) 786-2555.
For information regarding the Bay County Tax Collector’s Office, visit BayTaxCollector.com.
