SUN CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- An emergency
loan was received by the state
Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety Wednesday but only
after the agency promised that the
public would not have to wait
longer than one hour for service
after April 1.
The Legislative Interim Finance
Committee authorized a loan of
$216,716 for the DMV to hire an
additional 57 employees.
The department will start an
eight-week training course for 20
of the workers on Monday.
Gov. Kenny Guinn appeared
before the committee and said the
wait of two hours or more that
motorists in Las Vegas and Reno
must now endure is unacceptable.
Guinn said the current staff is tired
and in some cases undertrained
and underpaid.
The extra workers will allow full
staffing of the service windows.
The loan will see the department
through the end of the fiscal year,
June. 30.
Assemblywoman Vonne
Chowning, D-North Las Vegas,
said employees have to correct
many problems in the new
Genesis computer system that
came on line in September.
"I agree these employees need
help desperately but we need
accountability," she said.
Assembly Majority Leader Richard
Perkins, D-Henderson, said he
hasn't seen the benefit of the new
computer system for which the
state has spent more than $20
million so far. He said the Guinn
administration should report back
when the lines are reduced to less
than one hour.
Perkins said the loan would give
the agency the tools to do the job.
After the hearing, Assemblyman
Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, who
is chairman of the finance
committee, said he did not know
what would happen if the DMV did
not live up to its promise of better
service by April.
"I don't know what we have as a
hammer to derail this runaway
train," Arberry said.
Ginny Lewis, deputy director for
the department, said service is
getting better but is still not at an
acceptable level. She said the
employees are burned out. They
have not been able to have two
consecutive days off since the
problem arose last September.
Perkins said that when the
computer system was promoted,
there were promises there would
be savings. So far, he hasn't seen
any.
Assemblywoman Chris
Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, also
wondered where the savings are.
This problem, she said, is eight or
more years old. The Legislature
had approved more help in the
past and the lines were down to 30
minutes. But along came Genesis
and the problem magnified.
The new workers will be coming
on line just as the department rolls
out its new technology to allow
motorists to renew their vehicle
registration and driver's licenses
by telephone or Internet. And
those in Clark and Washoe
counties will be able to renew the
vehicle registration when getting
their annual smog checks.
Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas,
praised Guinn for the plan to add
extra workers.
"The proposal is a good one. I
don't think anybody can disagree
with it," Neal said.
Although the loan will last through
the fiscal year, the department will
have to either turn to the
committee again in the fall or turn
to the 2001 Legislature to get
additional money for the next fiscal
year.
Lewis wants to station 23 of the
employees in Clark County, with
17 at the Henderson office, to
allow it to offer Saturday service.
There would be 24 at the Reno
office, which is the worse trouble
spot now.
-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), February 03, 2000