Number of applications for passports rise in Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS — It's not uncommon for employees at the Linn County Recorder's Office to find themselves busy juggling numerous tasks.

They handle a number of official documents, including boat licenses, birth certificates and death records and hunting and fishing licenses, among other certifications.

But the office, in the county's Public Service Center at 935 Second St. SW, lately has been seeing a massive increase in demand for one document in particular — U.S. passports.

And while passport renewals have been climbing nationwide, the most notable trend in the Linn County office has been the recent spike in new passport applications. In less than five months this year, the office has surpassed annual passport numbers common in 2012-2014 and is on pace to be even busier than last year, when the county filed more than 1,800 new passport applications.

The office last summer doubled its staff of passport-certified employees to keep up with demand.

'Prior to that, we only had two passport agents and we have four now. It does take them away from the other duties that they have in the office,' said Joan McCalmant, Linn County Recorder.

She added that a recent change by the Cedar Rapids Post Office last year that eliminated the option of walk-in appointments at the post office may be one cause for the increase.

'It's very unpredictable. For passports, people just show up,' she said. 'I think we get a lot more walk-in people.'

Passports filed at the Linn County Recorder's Office remained consistent from 2012 through 2014, averaging just above 1,000 annually, according to transaction summary reports for the office.

But numbers began to climb in 2015.

The office filed 1,825 new passports last year and already has issued more than 1,350 in the first four and a half months of this year, according to summary reports.

Filed passport applications go on to the U.S. Department of State and the passport will be issued and mailed to the applicant within four to six weeks.

'We're the eyes and ears of the U.S. Department of State. We're verifying it's the same person applying for the passport,' McCalmant said.

The State Department charges $110 for a passport. The Linn County Recorder's Office charges an additional $25 processing fee — set by the State Department — and another $10 if a passport photo is taken. The latter two charges go into the county general fund.

So far this year, passports and passport photos have added more than $40,000 to the county coffer.

Ebbs and flows

Debbie Ironside, deputy recorder in the Linn County office and one of four certified passport agents on staff, said the number of people seeking passports ebbs and flows on a daily basis. It's often busy earlier in the year as people prepare for spring break or overseas trips, and Friday afternoons tend to see the largest lines, she said.

Most times the crowd is manageable, but it can get hectic, she said.

However, federal law doesn't allow passport agents to handle birth records, so employees with those responsibilities are restricted from handling a few other tasks in the county office.

So far, staff are keeping up, McCalmant said.

'You have to keep those duties separate,' McCalmant said. 'The other members of the staff who aren't passport agents have to kind of step up and do more when the agents are busy.'

All told, the state has more than 120 different passport agents, said Twana Barber, with U.S. Postal Service corporate communications.

But why is the county office is seeing such an increase in passport applications? It's difficult to say for certain, McCalmant said.

Even though the Cedar Rapids Main Post Office stopped accepting walk-ins for passport applications, numbers have only dipped slightly there — not nearly by enough to explain the county office's growth.

The Cedar Rapids Post Office accepted 4,171 passport applications in fiscal year 2015, which was down only slightly from the 4,316 applications in the previous fiscal year, according to information provided by the U.S. Postal Service. The Des Moines Main Post Office also saw a slight drop in those two fiscal years, from 4,926 to 4,717.

At the start of this year, the Linn County Recorder's Office purchased the camera equipment to allow the office also to take the necessary photo for a passport. Applicants still can get photos taken elsewhere — or even take their own, if they're on the correct paper stock — but having all the necessary services in one place adds a level of convenience, McCalmant said.

Those two factors could play a role in the county office's growing passport numbers, she said.

'I'm not sure if it's because more people know we offer it or if the post office has become backlogged,' she said. 'I do think people are traveling more and needing passports.'

Vacation as a 'need'

Holly Kelly, travel consultant with Cedar Valley World Travel in Cedar Rapids, said there might be some truth to that.

'We've been doing really well ...

The dollar is strong right now in European markets, so that would help,' she said.

Part of that could be the economy, but another part is a shifting mentality — younger people are traveling more, she said.

'You used to think, vacation was a want, not a need. Nowadays, with younger generational travelers, the vacation is a need, not a want,' she said.

According to the State Department, more than 15.5 million passports were issued in fiscal year 2015, compared to a little more than 14 million the year before.

The department saw an unprecedented number of passports — more than 18 million — in 2007 as a result of new rules that took effect that year. With passports valid for only 10 years, many of those are coming up on renewal, so the department anticipates an increased demand through 2018, according to the department website.

As for the Linn County office, staff members are taking it one day at a time and, so far, they're keeping up with the need.

'I will say I have a great staff, and they work really hard to do everything,' McCalmant said.