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Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.
Longtime residents of Southern Nevada remember the days in the 1980s and early 1990s when visits to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles were so miserable it could take longer to register a vehicle or obtain a driver’s license than it would to drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. A trip to the DMV wasn’t simply a chore like going to the supermarket or bank. It was a day-long nightmare in a bureaucratic jungle.
Over time, the DMV worked hard to improve customer service. It opened branch offices, extended hours of operation and made it easier through the Internet to renew vehicle registrations and transact other business.
The last thing residents need is to return to the days when the DMV was one of the most despised government agencies.
But a plan by Gov. Jim Gibbons would return the agency to the Dark Ages. As reported Sunday by David McGrath Schwartz in the Las Vegas Sun, the governor informed legislators last month that he intends to eliminate Saturday hours in Las Vegas and Reno and place DMV employees on work furloughs in response to the department’s $3 million budget shortfall.
Think of the hardship this would create for Nevadans who work Monday through Friday, especially for those without Internet access. With DMV offices closed on Saturdays, many people would be forced to take time off from work simply to get a driver’s license or register a car. Business productivity would suffer and longer lines would return to the DMV, thanks to one fewer day of operation per week and fewer employees to serve the public.
It’s a sure bet that Gibbons wasn’t thinking about any of those ramifications when he devised his senseless scheme.
Instead of finding creative ways to preserve and improve government services, the governor uses the only weapon in his arsenal — a machete — to address a problem. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said she’ll introduce emergency legislation, if necessary, to preserve DMV’s service levels.
Anything less would be intolerable.
How dare the governor cut expenses. State employees are "entitled" to jobs for life. Raise taxes on someone else and keep these people working. It's way too much to ask to go to DMV on 4 days a week instead of 5. Just don't raise my taxes, raise the other guys.
neiman: Nothing like dodging the actual argument. What about the potential impact to businesses? If you're going to critique, at least offer intelligent alternatives. For instance, why not still cut it to 5 days but leave it open on Sat. and close it on a week day?
Yeah teaser. Neiman as it is MOST branches in Las Vegas are open 6 DAYS a week. This is done mostly to accomodate people who work 9-5 Mon-Fri (unlike you). The idea should be to close the DMV on a Monday or a Tuesday, so that people who rely on that Saturday to get things done can still do so.
I honestly don't give a buck-toothed **** about DMV salaries. I only care about being able to take care of state business without having to take a sick/vacation day from work in order to sit in lines for a whole day. THAT is why people are so angry, because Gibbons lives in Bizarro World where he (and by extension) the rest of us have all the time in the world.
Shocker.....the Sun wants to tax and spend.
I agree with redferret if they have to close down on a day it should be Monday and not Saturday.
The plan was an emergency plan because of a budget shortfall. Gibbons during an emergency can't raise fees or taxes. He can only cut. I guess the other option would have been to cut funding somewhere else. How about cutting UNLV budget instead?
How come all of you are missing the obvious solution -- let DMV keep the budget it needs from the fees it collects. That's the reason for the fees in the first place. Instead it's only allowed to keep what, 30%? Otherwise it would be self-supporting.
This also shows how inflated the fees really are. Of course one must look to who and what's behind the curtain, like whether the $$ is going to keep Carson City fat, and such. Redecorating executive offices is one likely sign of hypocrisy.
It goes without saying since the rest of us cattle are being forced to tighten our belts in these lean times, they must also.
Oh yeah I forgot the irony in the title of Return of Long Lines. Hate to break it to you, but the lines are already long. If Gibbons' boneheaded idea goes through you might have to bring a change of underwear and some toiletries to get through the DMV.