A Valrico, Florida mom is sharing her experience on social media after she said she was asked asked to wait outside the Plant City DMV office with her infant daughter.
Liz Gatley, a stay-at-home mother of three girls, said she was asked by a representative at the Plant City Tag Office to take her one-year-old daughter outside or come back another day.
In a picture on Facebook you can see at least four young children, one in a stroller, and the mothers waiting outside the office.
Gatley said her daughter, as well as the other children were not being disruptive and said she's a firm believer of taking them outside if they were.
In the post, Gatley wrote, "I was so mad but I was also embarrassed and confused," she said.
She went on to say, "for you to embarrass me and be extremely rude, unapologetic and not understanding the fact many moms are stay at home moms with little to no help, is what bothers me."
Gatley said she and the mothers stood outside with no bench or air conditioning as they waited two hours to be seen at the office.
At the end of the post she said, "if you have children, go to another location!"
Doug Belden with the Hillsborough County Tax Collector's spoke with Tampa-based WFTS on Friday afternoon. He apologized to Gatley and the experience at the Plant City office noting it was not the friendly and efficient policy that is in place.
Belden said he called Gatley directly and told her he would meet with her at her earliest convenience, even throughout the weekend to help get the facts of what happened.
Belden said he is outraged that Gatley experienced this at his office, and that children are always welcome in the offices across Hillsborough County.
He went on to say that he will be looking into this employee, and taking appropriate measures -- and even went as far to say he plans to check with the landlord to see if they can install benches outside the office.
We asked Belden if Gatley should have gone back inside, and he said "absolutely" adding if he found out about this situation at the time, he would have taken care of this immediately.
Gatley said Belden was sincere in his apologies and plans to take him up on his offer of meeting with her as soon as possible.
