More funding urged to cut DMV lines

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The average wait for a customer who visits the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety is more than 66 minutes, says Senate Transportation Chairman Bill O'Donnell.

On an extremely busy day it can take up to three hours for a customer at the major offices in Las Vegas.

O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, unveiled a plan today to hire 129 more employees for the agency to ensure all windows are staffed, to have Saturday operations and 12-hour days in some cases.

"We want to solve this problem once and for all," he said.

Long lines developed when the agency installed a new computer system.

The agency has instituted ways for residents to register vehicles over the Internet and telephone, but O'Donnell said the problem persists. He suggests his plan would lower the waiting time to 35 minutes or less. The proposal would cost more than $4 million. O'Donnell says that can come from existing revenues.

The department currently takes 6 percent of the money it collects for registering a car and uses it for administration. O'Donnell proposes to increase this fee to 8.6 percent. The money collected from the registration goes mainly to counties and school districts.

Under the proposal, Clark County would lose $529,690, and the Clark County School District would lose $334,831 in operating funds and $125,435 in construction money.

O'Donnell said the impact on local government is minimal, compared to the benefits. He said as the value of cars increase so do the tax collections. So, the loss to local governments and the school districts would be only temporary.

He said Gov. Kenny Guinn had no objections, and that he also cleared the proposal with Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno.

His proposal is contained in an amendment to Assembly Bill 609. O'Donnell was to give the details to the Senate today.