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People wait in line Thursday at the DMV office in Henderson. Wait times are up in the Las Vegas area and about the same up north, but that is likely about to change.
Monday, June 29, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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Sun Archives
- Northerners winning war of the wait at DMV offices (4-4-2009)
- Editorial: Return of long lines? (3-17-2009)
- Plan: Make DMV more infernal (3-15-2009)
- High-security driver's license system coming to DMV (10-22-2008)
Beyond the Sun
Few issues bring out the anger of Nevadans like a long wait at the DMV.
For Southern Nevadans that irritation has been compounded by the knowledge that wait times here are as much as three times as long, on average, as in the rest of the state.
That won’t be remedied any time soon because lawmakers were unable to fully fund a plan to bring more equity to the system because of the state’s austere fiscal situation. North Las Vegas will not get a new DMV office, as officials had hoped.
But if misery loves company, Las Vegans can find some solace — things might get a bit worse for Northern Nevadans. The Department of Motor Vehicles closed “express” offices — which offered some but not all DMV services — in Reno and Sparks last week. A full-service DMV office in Gardnerville, about 16 miles from Carson City, also closed because of budget cuts.
All told, the cuts will save about $1 million over the biennium.
Entering the legislative session, the department had plans to close one Northern Nevada express office and open offices in North Las Vegas and Fernley (up north). But the combined cost of those offices was $1 million a year, according to DMV spokesman Tom Jacobs.
In May, the latest period for which numbers are available, wait times at Southern Nevada DMV offices continued to climb compared with May 2008.
Wait times at the two Northern Nevada offices that keep track — in Reno and Carson City — remained largely unchanged. At the Galetti office in Reno, the wait time increased by four minutes, to 28 minutes. At Carson City, the wait time remained flat at 18 minutes.
The DMV does not track wait times at the 10 other offices in the rest of the state.
The Las Vegas Valley last saw an increase in the number of DMV offices in 1998, when the Henderson office opened. (A North Las Vegas office was replaced by the new facility on Decatur at the Las Vegas Beltway in 2006.)
Southern Nevada legislators regretted that they couldn’t open another office, but said it came down to dealing with a sagging state budget.
“We need money to open up new facilities,” said Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, head of the Senate committee over transportation, said the disparity between north and south needs to be addressed. “We need more locations here in Southern Nevada, but when your revenue is whacked 45 percent, it makes it pretty tough,” he said.
The DMV’s budget is limited to 22 percent of the state’s highway fund, which comes mainly from the gasoline tax. (The state’s vehicle registration fees go to the general fund.) Legislation to increase the gas tax to increase funding for highways and the DMV died.
Wait times could grow July 1, when furloughs for state workers begin. Most state employees, including DMV workers, will be forced to take one day off a month without pay.
Any complaints about the likelihood of longer lines irks the head of the state workers union.
“If you want smaller government, you’re going to have to take a half-day off of work to register your car,” said Dennis Mallory, head of the state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “You can’t cut government, advocate for lower taxes and expect to walk in and out of the DMV in half an hour. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
maybe the local government should look at ways to stop wasting money, all over las vegas they waste money....
Why should Government care? The truth of the matter is DMV is simply a tax collecting agency and you will pay or else. It's employees are not being paid to think but to only be a human conduit between their monitors and the tax payer. Look at your DMV receipt and look at the taxes tacked on to the tax you waited in line to pay. Government wonders why a Revolution is on the horizon.
I've had great experiences with the DMV since they went online. I renewed my driver's license and have registered my car every year without going into the office. It was quick and efficient. I've been in the DMV once in the past 6 years to register a new car and it only took 30 minutes.
Online renewal does not work for new registrations, changes of plates or drivers license issues.
I normally get my number, look at how many away I am from being called and go run errands. Last week I was 90 away and left for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I came back and was 4 from being called.
DMV should update their website to show the numbers being called in a live format so you could leave and come back in proper time.
Additionally, DMV should use technology to help it's customers manage the wait issue either by allowing appointments or allowing you to pick a number over the web and then show when it is close to being called.
Remember the DMV gave back 117 unfilled positions statewide due to budget crunch. I know one office that lost 16 positions and had people 5 people retire/quit within the last month. It is now normal to see work stations at the offices empty and wait times of one hour or more depending on the time of the day.
We wait for service wherever we go, hotels, casinos, shops, banks and utility companies. Get used to it until the economy improves.
'"If you want smaller government, you're going to have to take a half-day off of work to register your car," said Dennis Mallory, head of the state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "You can't cut government, advocate for lower taxes and expect to walk in and out of the DMV in half an hour. You can't have your cake and eat it too."'
How very true. We get the government we pay for. Hopefully, people will realize this when DMV lines grow even longer and class sizes grow in schools. Does Nevada like the dysfunction?
Just about everybody has a computer and those that don't have access to one through their local library. Why not offer an on-line DMV for services that don't require physical proof?
biodysl, Your post is ridiculous. There are some things worse than Obamas health plan and that is to continue the lobbyiest bought and controlled right wing agewnda which enrich the insurance industry and leave the tax payers with a hidden tax of paying for indigent people who use health care facilities and can't pay thus higher property taxes as well as higher costs to everyone who can pay.
It is amazing how right winers continue with their lies and deception that the American public has figured out decades ago. And by the way just what did bush do to help the problem? Nothing. He enabled the same broken policies that we have now.
Please think before you quote Rush Limbaugh,McConnell,Boehener and the rest of the right wing who have sold out to lobbyiests.
Hey, Mr Union Chief - how about giving up your Union benefits and Union wages and let the marketplace dictate the wages and benefits. With 11% unemployment, I'm sure we can get double the amount of workers at half the price. Win-Win!!
The long waits at DMV in southern Nevada is a direct result of its economy. Every time a mega-casino opens and jobs are announced, 10,000 applicants and their family members migrate to town. And most of these transplants are broke and have no access to the internet. As a result, the wait times in the north will NEVER be like those in Vegas. Bring a good book.
Believe Gibbons use to harrass DMV folks so his personal friends got priority service.
Don`t believe we will see him in a DMV office texting girlfriends anytime soon.
Too busy working his tax free ranch in Elko.
If ya want less government and low taxes, what did you expect?!?!?!
YOU SEE, YOU GOT LAID OFF SUFFERING FINANCIALY PLUS ALL THESE LONG WAIT. PEOPLE SUFFERS NO MATTER WHAT.
WHY? WHY? WHY? ALL THIS HAPPENING NOW.MY GOSH.
I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU GUYS.NOT ONLY LAS VEGAS, THE WHOLE AMERICA IS SUFFERING. THANK GOD I'VE DONE WITH AMERICA. RETIRED AND NOW LIVE IN THE PHILIPPINES. I LIVE IN AMERICA FOR ALMOST 4O YEARS. I'M REALLY GLAD I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THIS.
and they complain that people do not register their cars here? Hello.
Keepin the Cali, have no time for this non-sense.
By LasVegas2009 "Every library has computers for people who don't own one. We can automate most state jobs."
..... How can you automate most state jobs??? You can automate the Highway Patrol, Firefighters, Welfare, P&P, NVDOT, Prisons???????....you are a complete .......
Here is a hint, instead of trying to look at porn at the library (Which is having hours there cut also....Geee what happened to automating those....) Look at what the State provides and see how many of those psoitions can be automated....Look and see how many county and city jobs can be automated... The workers at the sewer plant....yea, lets automate that.
Since by the name you have choosen suggest that you have just moved here in 2009, I would highly suggest that you move back to where you came from...and try and instill some of your backwoods logic on them. Get out of our State, idiot.
Is it just me, or do right-wing nuts have a lot of time on their hands and choose to spend it posting on newspaper websites? Teehee! Let's indeed automate the state services like the DMV. I will take my own picture and put it on a license I make myself. The photo will probably resemble Angelina Jolie and have a birth date much newer than the real one, but the automated police won't be able to tell the difference.
i want to know who the girl in the green shirt is in that photo.
Why not turn over the DMV to a private company which could operate much more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Private companies will cost more. Look at utilities. ie GAS- Exxon makes more money than any corporation on earth. Gas at $3 a gallon and climbing.
Look at healthcare...
Stevem;
Thanks for the laugh!