The state is stepping in to help the Minnehaha County Treasurer's Office deal with a system backlog, but it's the treasurer and county commissioner who are butting heads over the state's new license plate registration system.

"We need more windows open," said Minnehaha County Commissioner Anne Hajek. 
"Well go in and learn how to do it if you really want to be useful," said Treasurer Pam Nelson. 

Taxpayers watched as Treasurer Pam Nelson and Commissioner Anne Hajek disagreed over what should happen next with the new license plate system, and at times, the argument got fiery. 

"Can they do it, the one they disabled on Monday?" said Hajek.
"That's the best we can do, we're two weeks behind. I'm doing the best I can," Nelson said. 

Nelson says she's frustrated with a system that doesn't work like it should, and as a result, people are waiting in line up to three hours. 

"We're involved in a political process, but I didn't select the program, I didn't pull the plug, and people have the authority to do that, that's the bottom line," Nelson said. 

Hajek says the commission offered Nelson outside help in the form of another state worker, and suggested she open an express window for renewals only. But as we're interviewing Hajek, Nelson is speaking in the background. 

"There are a number of issues with the new program, we understand that, we want to, the state has requested from day one,” said Hajek. ("Instead of trying to win the war in the press, they ought to fix the system,” Nelson said) “We'd like to have an express window that would be just plain renewals, like you'd have in a grocery store," said Hajek. 

The express window is operating now, the new state worker is in place, and Nelson says the state is also sending three more printers to take the load off the existing ones. 

Nelson says time will tell if these extra measures really will make a difference... for now, it's wait and see. 

Codington County's Treasurer's Office was closed today so workers could catch up on renewals, and Brown County's Commission Chair has said he's sending all his employees' overtime bills to the state.