Bonifay driver's license office is saved – will move to Tax Collector's office

BONIFAY – Area residents received good news Friday afternoon as Holmes County Tax Collector Harry Bell announced that the Driver’s License office would remain in Bonifay. Bell said the office would be moved to the Holmes County Tax Collector’s Office on Waukesha Street and Nebraska Avenue.

The current office on Waukesha Street just south of the railroad tracks was due to be closed on June 27 after its facilities budget was cut by the state.

“We got to talking about it and worked out a deal,” Bell said. “The Driver’s License Office will provide the employees and equipment, and we will provide the space.” A telephone number will be assigned from an unused number at the Tax Collector’s Office.

Bell said that any Florida resident could use the office, including Washington County residents. That office is due to close July 1, and on Thursday the trailer was donated to the Washington County Board of County Commissioners. The Board in turn donated it to Washington Council on Aging for storage space and possible future use if WCOA expands.

Bell noted that if both offices closed residents would have to drive all the way to DeFuniak Springs, Marianna or Panama City to do business with the Driver’s License Office. “That’s a lot of gas and loss of a whole day of work,” he said.

“We’re very excited,” Bell said. “We’re always looking for new ways to serve the public.”