On January 8th of this year, I scheduled an appointment to renew my drivers license at the Clarcona…read moreoffice. Everything went as scheduled and I was out of there in 15 minutes. The entire staff was very helpful but my primary contact, Sherrie, was absolutely fantastic. She was very professional as well as personal and most importantly most patient. I've always believed that my property taxes were the best bargain that money can buy and my recent experience at the Orange County Tax Collector office only strengthen my belief. Larry Van Sickle

On 08/27/24 I went to get my license changed over to the new format license. When my name was…read morecalled I went to station number 3 and was greeted by Kim M. What a pleasant surprise I had when she greeted us with a big smile and a very welcoming greeting. I knew right away that we were going to have a great experience. She didn't disappoint. She was so helpful, pleasant and made the process so easy. I could tell she had a customer service background and I was right. How did I know because i also had a customer service background working over 30 years for for a large communications company and for Orange County (Retired from both) as a rep and as a supervisor. Kim is an exemplary example of how to deliver great customer service. She's a keeper and I just want to thank her for making my day a little brighter. Thanks Kim and keep up the great work.

It's very convenient to have this office of the Consulate of the Dominican Republic in Orlando…read more They offer legal services, Dominican passport renewals, document translations, assistance with birth, marriage and death certificates and visas. This office is located on E. Colonial Dr., there is no parking in front, but there is plenty of parking in the back. They operate Mon-Fri, 8a-4p. Be mindful, they observe Dominican holidays. When they answer the phone, they are good with providing information and guidance. On arrival, there were not many people waiting, one of the people did get up to question how much longer the wait would be. I was given a form to complete. All the forms are in Spanish, and if like me you have difficulty with Spanish legal terms, they help. For services rendered, they do NOT accept cards, CASH ONLY. It is supremely inconvenient, the reason for the 3 stars. They do have an ATM inside BUT the service fee is $6.50, plus what, if any your bank charges for not using their ATMs. The entire process was quick, it took longer because went out to find my bank ATM.

El Consulado de la República Dominicana en Orlando cuenta con un personal muy amable y atento;…read moresiempre tratan bien a las personas. Sin embargo, el servicio es extremadamente lento, incluso cuando el lugar está prácticamente vacío. Mi poder notarial tomó 5 días laborables y, aun así, el día en que me indicaron que fuera a recogerlo fue cuando finalmente sacaron el documento para firmarlo, lo que me retrasó aún más. También me pidieron regresar a una hora específica para firmar, llegué puntualmente y aun así tuve que esperar. Además, casi nunca contestan el teléfono, lo que hace muy difícil obtener información o aclarar dudas. Sería ideal que mejoraran la eficiencia, la puntualidad y la atención al público para brindar una mejor experiencia a los ciudadanos.

If you could imagine a turtle, crawling through sticky molasses and slowly drying concrete, all…read morewhile pulling 4,000 tons of bricks, you'd have a VAGUE idea of the speed at which Orange County operates. Most of the individual people I've dealt with seem level-headed, fair, reasonable, and timely. However, when you put them all together it's a painful concoction. You would think this county would want businesses to open, jobs to be created, additional taxes paid in to the county's coffers. You would be wrong. Seriously, I'd rather have my teeth pulled while being beat on with sticks embedded with nails, at least I could find something positive in the experience.

I've been here a few times to attend County Board meetings. Its a nice facility - easy to get in…read moreand out.

Facility~ 5 Stars Dickhead OPD that arrested me~ 0 Stars…read more I spent a relaxing night here a few years ago for allegedly violating article VIII section 18-411 Code 1986, 94.01 of the city ordinance, better known as "off premises canvassing". A local night club hired us to pass out free drink passes but failed to mention the law preventing it. The officer wanted to make an example out of me to show the club owners they wanted the fliering to stop. I was given no warning. It was my first (and perhaps last) time in a place of incarceration, and I must say that I was rather pleasantly surprised with the experience given the circumstances. My memory is a bit hazy--you'll have to excuse me as this was quite a few years ago. The facility was newly built, in a concrete-metal style that is elegant in its spareness and utility. It is, however, lacking in a certain fluidity. My particular cell was absolutely spic and span. A polished concrete floor and stainless steel fixtures complemented a minimal, Japanese-inspired interior. In keeping with its status as a public facility, individual dwellings were completely sealed from each other with little flow or openness betwixt them. A rolled up mat normally provides an additional level of comfort to the metal bunks lined nicely up against the walls. Staff was generally efficient and friendly. My fellow detainee's had lovely words of encouragement as this was not their first offence. A new, soft gray blanket provided much needed warmth during the morning chill. Unfortunately, I was not able to turn off the fluorescent lights at my discretion. This, however, did nothing to disturb my inability to sleep because I was still in shock from the arrest . If I were to suggest one area of improvement--the food was severely lacking. In the morning, I was given a tray containing a carton of low fat milk, generic brand cereal, mushy grits and 2 slices of white bread. While the cereal was satisfying (the milk, in particular, was very refreshing for a very parched throat), the grits were inedible. The two slices of white bread, I later learned come with every meal. 42 pieces a week in fact. With all the fresh produce that is locally available in Orlando, I felt it would represent the city better if these were available to the facility's temporary dwellers.

My experience with Orange County Jail has been extremely negative. Many of the officers who control…read moreinmate movement and meal times appear to abuse their authority and treat inmates harshly. They often yell at and disrespect inmates instead of handling situations with professionalism. The meal schedule is also very irregular and inhumane. For example, breakfast is served around 6 a.m., but lunch may not be served until 5 p.m., and dinner as late as 8 p.m. This goes against the standard meal schedule that inmates should receive. In addition, I've encountered serious unprofessional behavior from staff, including being hung up on when calling administrative offices and receiving rude or dismissive treatment when trying to ask about inmate services. The people who work here are truly miserable and it'd be nice if there were some people who actually have empathy and patience to work here. There also seems to be a lack of fairness and transparency in how certain processes are handled -- for example, requests related to marriage or paperwork are denied for questionable reasons, such as claims about missing immigration stamps that have nothing to do with the marriage process. On top of that, they are very disorganized and you will get different information depending on who you ask. All the staff is NOT on the same page. Corporal Tinsley is an inconsiderate power hungry individual who is racist and not willing to accommodate or help out certain individuals with unique circumstances. Overall, the system feels broken, unaccountable, and deeply unprofessional. Orange County Jail needs oversight, accountability, and proper staff training to ensure inmates and their loved ones are treated with basic dignity and respect.

I've come here a few times when there was a hearing in front of the Board of County Commissioners…read moreabout a local matter that interested me, but mostly to be able to have my say for the allotted two minutes and try to explain what I thought of the situation and why. This is a very lucky situation in my opinion where we have great commissioners and a good mayor, our last board and mayor were great too. The chairs are very comfortable and I felt that I was treated with respect by everyone who helped me in one way or another. I also feel that the commissioners really listen to the people who talk so don't feel embarrassed or worried if you have an accent or if you feel that you may sound nervous. They want to hear from everybody, not just the people who are paid to speak, and they want to hear the truth, especially from the people who live in the vicinity of where the discussion is about.

No one likes going to court no one likes going for jury duty no one wants to be here but you know…read morewhat you make the best of it and you do your time as once they call you it's always been my understanding that you won't get called again for a long time as that's always been my case so I take it what it is and just enjoy the day off of work. First I must say their security needs to get it together they are slow I mean really really slow it took me almost 30 minutes to get through security and when I got close to the front the line was even bigger than when I got in it so definitely prepare for the cattle hurdling through the que! Overall it is what it is if you've been here before you know what I mean so just do yourself a favor and find things to do in the large quiet room!

While many people dread going to jury duty, I actually enjoy it. The duty notice comes by mail, but…read moreyou can check in online and fill your questionnaire there. If you do need to be rescheduled or excused, you can do it online as well. I am now very happy that you can get email notices the day before if you need to report. The courthouse is located in downtown, and there is a parking garage that is free for jurors. Walking to the courthouse from the garage isn't far. You do need to go though security like in an airport. The wait can be a little long, but the security staff (Allied Universal) are mostly polite and helpful. The open doors for you, give you bins, and help you with your items during screening. After security, you go through a door that leads you to the jury room in the first floor. Check in at the jury lobby is pretty easy. You are given your juror number and wait in the lobby. The lobby is spacious with decent amount of seating, a work center, small cafe, and even a place to play board games when waiting. Around 8:30, a clerk will introduce the procedure and explain the process. If your number gets called, you will get to go to the main court room and get interviewed for potential juror. The wait to get called can be long, and chances are you may never get called. Thus, you can be in the room for 4 to 5 hours, then get relieved afterwards. The staff is very polite and helpful during the process. Be sure to get your parking validated and your jury service signed when you completed your duty. I really enjoy doing it as the staff are very polite and helpful in explaining the process. I wish the TVs can show the juror numbers when getting reported, but you get an endless loop of all about the judges instead. I would love to hear some background music as it can get pretty quiet sometimes. However, you are welcome to use your phones and Internet provided you follow the rules listed. Internet is free, but vending machines looked to be expensive. Not sure how expensive is the cafe. This review is only for the jury duty, which I had a nice experience today. The staff including security is pretty nice and helpful, and the lobby is clean and have enough amenities for the jurors. I wish there was some music or some form of non disruptive entertainment, but at least we can use the Internet. I am always proud to serve when needed as it provides all people to receive a fair trial. Overall: B+

This place is a mess!! Unprofessional staff, very impolite, non-interested , horrible customer…read moreservice. This is a state run organization, the state of Florida should be ashamed of themselves. After leaving there with ZERO guidance, we go online to register for child support, we get three screens of entry, almost finished, we receive an error message, "Unable to proceed, try back later "!! What a disgrace..

Today was my first time every going to this place to get a DNA test done, I was running late for my…read moreappointment so I called the office to let them know what was happening. I called twice and my childrens grandma called 4 times (all at different times), but all it says when you call is that there are high call volumes and doesn't even give an estimated time on when someone will be with you. The trying to connect with someone online is impossible because it is forever busy. Well when I got into the office, I started to explain why I was running late to the receptionist and the lady standing behind her said 'turn her right back around because she is late'....I flat out said I'm not leaving until I'm seen because of the simple fact they never answer the phones, it was fully staffed in there and the lady that said to 'turn her right about around' was just walking around running her mouth NOT even working! very unprofessional and rude people that are suppose to be working for the government!! they seriously need to hire PROFESSIONAL people and people that will actually ANSWER THE PHONES!!!!

This is in regards to an assault on a child at the Universal Cabana Bay Resort on Saturday August…read more7th 2021: This was the MOST traumatic, UNPROFESSIONAL experience I've ever witnessed. While walking through the hallway we witnessed a door flung open, a male SCREAMING obscenities and used the force of both arms to shove a female so hard the female was thrust into a into a child who was smashed into a concrete wall. The male started screaming at all parties involved, threatened everyone and was later located at Applebee's. The female was seen getting on her hand and knees begging all the witnesses not to call the police, stating it was "her fault" because his grandma just died and she "spoke the wrong way to him". When the victim's parent went to call the police the female who was shoved tried to take the phone out of the parents hand. There were a total of THREE witnesses who observed the altercation who were later told there wasn't enough evidence. Once 911 was called the female ran away as well. Hotel security came immediately and stayed the WHOLE time. I capitalized WHOLE because it took EMS 2hrs to show up and police 4hrs. There was an incident report filled out with the hotel. EMS arrived first to check out the child they asked if the cops had cleared the scene. When they were told no, they said legally they weren't allowed to come up until the police arrived due to it being a domestic violence dispute, but still checked out the child. EMS said they could not believe police had not shown up after an assault on a child and radioed it back in and advised the other witnesses to call 911 as well. Two hours later a female police ( L. Aragon ID 35577) arrived accompanied by a male in a "suit" who said he was an "observer". They located the male and female at Applebee's, who said their 7yr old son was with their grandma at City Walk, mind you the same grandma the female domestic violence victim told the witnesses passed away. The suspects both stated they like to "play fight" and that's why the female slammed the child into a concrete wall, causing swelling, bruising and a black eye to the face as well as bruises on the child's shoulder, which I'm sure resulted in numerous medical bills. Since they both retreated to Applebee's it was clear they came up with the same story to tell the police as they had FOUR hours to do so before the police arrived. They told officer Aragon the female tripped over a shoe and ran into the child. I mentioned the distance and force already, so that makes COMPLETE sense, RIGHT! I'll reiterate their hotel room was clear across the hallway, diagonally to the child. There was damage to their outside light as well along with an ident in the wall from the child's head. Statements were filled out by all witness who saw the domestic violence take place. The female officer REFUSED to press charges, believing they were "play fighting" and their child was never located. While following up on my statement (2 days later) I was told the SGT at OCPD Headquarters had not reviewed the case nor assigned a detective. Approximately 15mins later a detective contacted me, proceeded to refer to the incident as "play fighting" and the following exact words of Detective Umid Rakhimov were "I've been working here for 10yrs and the State Attorney will not press charges, therefore I will not be submitting this to them regardless". He wouldn't even take the effort and time to try. This male not only violently assaulted his "GF", but got away with it and their child was not located. Both parents fled the room so one can "assume the child was hiding in there". I pray nothing ever happens to this family. L. Aragon (3557) and Detective Umid Rakhimov can live with that.

This is the perfect SAFE e-commerce meeting place…read more The parking zone is well marked for e-commerce and hidden cameras ease one's mind about being hurt or cheated. We sold our Daytona 500 tickets at the last minute to a local buyer and we sought a place to complete this cash sale. Something like this can be scary when meeting up with someone unknown, even in broad daylight. This was the perfect place as it was a halfway for both of us. Having this safe zone for e-commerce is something I HIGHLY recommend for all who want to make a transaction when selling something on Ebay, Craig's List, etc. Great job for providing safety, OPD!