DMV holiday backlog leaves motorists waiting for tags

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

The Department of Motor Vehicles is experiencing a three-week delay in mail-in renewals of auto registrations, and this time the glitch-plagued $35 million Genesis computer system is not the scapegoat.

Rather, blame the holiday season.

Because of lengthy year-end holidays dating back to a four-day Thanksgiving weekend, the DMV is processing registration renewals postmarked as far back as Dec. 12-15, a DMV official said Monday.

"We have the same workload, but with all of those days off during the holidays and with people taking their annual leave, we fell behind," DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said.

"Shifts in Carson City are putting in some overtime, and we are getting help from a community partnership program there, so we should be able to whittle down the problem soon."

The DMV processes 1.6 million registrations annually, as many as a quarter of them by mail.

Because Christmas and New Year's fell on a Tuesday this year, it was common to find significant numbers of employees absent on the Mondays, creating additional four-day weekends and resulting in further slowdowns.

But there is no grace period in Nevada for vehicle registrations, the reminders of which are sent out to motorists about a month before they are due. Residents who put their renewals for December in the mail late last month now are sweating out the wait, hoping they can avoid police stops until the new stickers arrive.

"This is why we are plugging our Internet and toll-free phone service," Malone said. "Once filed by phone or by Internet, they (registrations and stickers) are automatically printed and mailed out."

The DMV website is www.dmvstat.com. The toll-free number is (877) 368-7828, ext. 6.

The DMV in May began a $200,000 advertising campaign to make people aware of the convenience of filing by phone or by Internet.

Customers also have the option of renewing at DMV offices. However, after the computer glitches of the fall of 1999 and early 2000, some customers who experienced four- to six-hour waits may be reluctant to go to a DMV station, even though lines have been significantly reduced.

In early September 1999, Genesis -- which is partly to blame for the slowdown -- replaced a 1972 system and was designed to bring Nevada into the 21st century.

But its inauspicious start, including a series of glitches and the employees' learning curve, resulted in the system being maligned by many, including some lawmakers.

Ironically, during the height of that controversy, signs on the walls of DMV offices read: "Next Time, Renew by Mail."

Despite calls to scrap Genesis, the system's supporters backed the computer program, noting that when the bugs were worked out motorists would benefit by being able to register and license vehicles via the Internet and by phone.