Tag renewal services now available at Hwy. 96 Kroger

Residents of Houston County, and surrounding counties, can now add, “tag renewal” to their grocery lists thanks to a new state initiative that gets the job done in a mere 60 seconds.

Wednesday afternoon, Houston County Tax Commissioner Mark Kushinka, along with officials from The Kroger Co. and Intellectual Technology, Inc. (ITI) unveiled a new kiosk that allows residents from participating counties to renew their license plate tags at the Kroger Marketplace in Bonaire.

Kushinka says the installation is part of the Vehicle Kiosk Program initiative, a program in which the state and ITI work together to installing kiosks in Kroger stores, at zero cost, across the state of Georgia.

This initiative, according to Kushinka, will make the tag renewal process less daunting and more appealing to the digitally inclined. The process is simple; 60 days before their birthday, residents are able to use the kiosk to renew their license plate tags.

They first identify themselves with either a drivers license, license plate number or renewal notice, and then go from there. There’s also a fee of $3.95 that can only be paid through credit or debit card. Kushinka says users must have current insurance and a current drivers license to use the machine. They may also renew multiple tags at once. All proceeds go directly to the tax commissioner’s office via electronic deposit.

Kushinka says the kiosk gives county members an alternative to showing up to his office and renewing online. ” We love to see our customers, but we also want to give them the option of what is convenient for them.” The Kiosk offers residents 24/7 access to tag renewal services, as the Kroger store is open all day.

He says it provides double the convenience of online renewals because this way, residents get to walk out with their new tag in hand instead of waiting for it to come in the mail. Once the information is entered and complete, the kiosk produces a tag on the spot.

According to representatives from ITI, the company has installed kiosks in 48 Kroger stores throughout the state. They said the Bonaire location was always a target area due to its high volume traffic and the military population in Houston County. Kushinka said he foresees the kiosk becoming a commodity because of the large number of customers that come in and out of the store.

The company only installs kiosks in high volume stores that are open 24/7 and bring in a specific amount of revenue, ensuring more people get access to the machine. Kushinka says he was approached with this idea and was more than eager to get it going. He’s enthusiastic about making these services more accessible to the public and said he was excited for the outcome. Although it was not 100% confirmed, ITI Reps said there was a possibility that more services could be added to the kiosk, but its all dependent on the tax commissioner’s preference.