DMV aims for 7-minute service

Friday, June 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Imagine having an office wait of only seven minutes at the state Department of Motor Vehicles -- an ordeal that now can take an hour or more.

Or think about getting title to a vehicle overnight instead of an eight-week wait.

Those are the goals for the agency, which was to release a $535,000 study today on ways to modernize its operation and computer system.

The plan calls for spending $34 million from 1997 to 2003. But by following its recommendations, the agency will save $173 million by not having to hire as much staff and build new facilities. It suggests the $34 million expenditure will be made up by the year 2007.

The department contracted with Best Consulting Inc. of Reno last year for the study. And agency staff worked side by side with the consultants in reviewing the problems and making recommendations.

Much of the criticism of the agency has come from fast-growing Clark County, where people have had to stand in line for hours to get driver's licenses or to register vehicles. The 1995 Legislature authorized the hiring of nearly 100 new employees to reduce the times.

The new system is aimed at keeping customers out of the offices. Business could be transacted over the telephone; a credit card could be accepted for payment.

And kiosks, similar to automated bank teller machines, would be installed to allow people to conduct their business in places such as shopping malls.

The report was to be presented today to a legislative oversight committee. And the agency intends to go to the Interim Finance Committee on June 25 to get approval to start to spend the first $1 million to start developing the system.

The current computer and technological systems were developed in the 1970s and are now outdated and incompatible, the study says.

There are separate systems for registration, titles and driver's licenses. As a result, a customer who wants to change his address on a driver's license must get in another line to change it on his or her vehicle registration.

The study envisions an integrated system where a customer can take care of all business at one station.

If the recommendations are approved, the study predicts "an average in office wait time of seven minutes, with a maximum wait of 37 minutes during peak hours."

Converting to the new system would entail three phases from 1997 to 2003. The first calls for spending $1 million to build the foundation of the system changes. From 1998-2000, there would be $20 million to put the integrated system in place. Another $13 million would be needed from 2001 to 2003 to add other services.

If the current system continues, five new offices would have to be built in Clark County alone. But if the changes are made, only one new office will be needed, according to the study. To keep up with the state's growth, the agency would have to hire 23 new employees every year and would reach a total of 1,100 by the year 2015.

With the new system, the agency won't have to hire the annual 23 new employees after the year 2002, unless new programs are added. "This is a (salary savings) of about $133 million from 2002 to 2015," the report says.