Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

DMV waiting times are dropping as problems with computer solved

When former Washoe County Sheriff Richard Kirkland took over as director of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety seven months ago, he knew he was in a less than perfect situation.

The Genesis computer system was still riddled with bugs, and customers at DMV offices were still waiting four or five hours for services.

"This isn't a situation where you're making a cake and one egg doesn't work," Kirkland said. "When you look at why the lines were so long, you have to take into account all the ingredients."

The problem's main ingredient was the $34 million Genesis computer upgrade that included a bug that would shut down the system when a technician was in the middle of helping a customer.

"We just have to face that the new system simply did not meet expectations," Kirkland said. "The new system takes longer to operate, but the bugs are now about 60 percent worked out."

The debugging is already helping to drop wait times at DMV offices, including the West Flamingo branch, where the average wait during the first six months of last year was 101 minutes. By December it had dropped to 79 minutes. For customers who are simply doing license transactions, the average wait time has now dropped to under an hour at offices across the state.

Lee Smith spent about an hour at the Carey Avenue DMV office on Monday replacing a stolen license.

"I've really very happy with how the DMV is running now," Smith said. "It used to be bad but now they have a lot more windows open and the customers are a lot less irritable."

Even with the average wait time dropping, some patrons still experience waits of two hours or more, depending on the day of the week and the time of day, said Donna West, DMV Director of Field Services.

"For things like license transactions, we are getting most people out in about an hour, but if you show up on a Tuesday after a holiday, you can expect a longer-than-usual wait," West said. "There are still long waits, but the average wait for our services is dropping."

DMV spokesman Kevin Malone recommends going to the DMV in the middle of the day during midweek for the shortest lines.

Sarah Alago spent about two hours at the Carey DMV on Monday afternoon waiting for a registration renewal.

"When I was here a couple of years ago, I probably waited for four hours, so I guess it's getting better," Alago said. "I always bring a book to read so it's not too bad."

Besides getting Genesis running fairly consistently, new ways to manage lines, more staffing and greater use of alternative renewal systems have contributed to shorter wait times.

An electronic counter system that works as a high-tech version of the old "take a number" routine allows patrons to wait while seated instead of standing in snaking lines.

Residents enter the DMV and make their way to the information counter, where a technician gives them a number based on what service they need. Electronic boards are hung above the technicians displaying what number is being served, allowing residents to gauge the length of their wait.

"The new electronic system is much more efficient than waiting in line for hours," Alago said. "People can sit down and wait, and that's much better than standing, standing, standing."

More than 45,000 vehicle and driver's license registrations have been renewed over the telephone and the Internet, and renewal by mail is down to a four-day turnaround.

The DMV is also in the midst of hiring 64 additional part-time employees to help keep lines flowing during full-time staffers' lunch breaks, vacations and sick days.

"We're always down about 50 or 60 people anyway because of our high turnover rate," Kirkland said. "So when a window technician is sick or on vacation, we start to get longer lines. If window technician A handles 35 to 50 people a day and is not there, then those numbers have to be handled by technician B, who already has 35 to 50 other customers to help."

A starting salary for clerks of about $20,500 a year remains problematic, Kirkland said.

"The state is so far behind local agencies like Metro, Henderson, North Las Vegas or Clark County," Kirkland said. "We lose a lot of our people who go work at those agencies for bigger salaries and better benefits. That will continue to be a problem until salaries and benefits are addressed."

Along with slowing the revolving door when it comes to workers, the continued growth of Southern Nevada ranks as another major problem.

"With a state that has jumped from 1.2 million to over 2 million in population in a short period of time, it becomes something that everyone has to deal with, and we're no different," Kirkland said.

Kirkland has concentrated on changing the training and managerial perspective of the DMV to focus on customer service.

The improvements have not only shortened lines, but improved morale among workers, Nancy Wojcik, branch manager at the Flamingo office, said.

"It's definitely getting better, after going through so many changes," Wojcik said. "The computers are working a whole lot better than a year ago, because we've found a lot of the problems. Sometimes people assume we don't know what we're doing, but a lot of the problems weren't things you could anticipate."

Kirkland hopes that better morale will equate to a more pleasant experience for those who have to make a trip to the DMV, which he knows isn't something people relish.

"We have received an increase in the number of commendations for employee service and I'm really proud of the majority of the men and women at the DMV," Kirkland said.

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