DMV to offer Web services, Saturday hours

e-mail this story

Division of Motor Vehicles offices will open on Saturdays to further relieve congestion, the governor said.

By the end of June, officials said, drivers will be able to change their driver's license address, change the address for a car's registration, and obtain duplicate license and registration cards using computers.

Offices will open Saturdays in Florence, Aiken, Irmo, Greenville, Rock Hill and Charleston beginning June 7.

"These internal reforms - combined with the DMV restructuring bill currently moving in the General Assembly - are the first critical steps in a comprehensive makeover for the one agency that, quite frankly, has the most face time with South Carolinians of any in state government," Sanford said.

The restructuring legislation would make DMV an agency separate from the Department of Public Safety, extend driver's license renewal periods to 10 years, and allow some services to be done outside DMV offices, such as permitting high school teachers to administer driver's tests. The legislation passed the House on March 5 and is pending in the Senate.

Sanford said the agency will save about $2.5 million in the next year by using its own staff instead of outside contractors to maintain its new computer system and by using state prisoners to work on general maintenance chores.

"Our goal is outrageous customer service," said J.T. Gandolfo, a Columbia car dealer who chaired Sanford's DMV task force last year. "We're not going to get to outrageous this summer but you're going to see a major change in how customers are treated."

DMV will use "greeters" at 39 of its highest-traffic offices beginning June 2. The same day, all phones will be removed from counters at DMV offices to prevent workers from having to answer calls while waiting on customers in line. Computers also will be installed in 39 offices so customers can complete Web transactions there. And DMV offices will be closed May 28 to begin intensive customer service training.

Last summer's lines were sparked by the premature start of the agency's new computer system, Gandolfo said. Many files were corrupted and had to be corrected, he said. Corrections are far fewer now and, with the steps announced Thursday, Gandolfo said he expects shorter lines.

House Speaker David Wilkins said the upcoming changes and the passage of legislation would make the agency more accountable, save money "and most importantly, makes it consumer friendly."

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said agency officials are finally "trying to think outside the box."

"Here's an opportunity where the public is going to get better service and we're not having to throw money at it to do it," he said.

DMV's continuing financial woes surfaced in debate Thursday on the state budget, when Democrats sought to kill a transaction fee for the agency that was included in the Senate Finance Committee budget.

The provision would allow DMV to negotiate transaction fees up to $5 per transaction with businesses such as car dealers who handle large volumes of DMV transactions. In return for the additional fees, they would receive preferential treatment, such as having their own line at the DMV offices.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, said the provision raised the possibility of a "bidding war" for DMV services, and would create a class system in which those willing to pay extra fees would get better service than individual citizens forced to wait in lines for services.

"Guess who gets pushed to the back of the line? The individual who has not bid for the service," Leventis said.

Sen. David Thomas, R-Fountain Inn, said the fee system was voluntary. "How is it a tax increase?" Thomas asked Leventis. "If they don't want to participate, they don't have to."

Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Hartsville, said the negotiated fees would pit those able to pay for better service against those unable or unwilling to pay the extra fees.Malloy said improved services at the DMV should be funded out of general tax revenues.

Leventis said if DMV needs additional funds to support its new computer system and staff, those costs should be paid out of general tax revenues "instead of giving those willing to pay more an advantage."

"It's a dangerous precedent to allow the private sector to negotiate for a quick fix," Leventis said.

After winning one preliminary vote to kill the fee, the Senate reversed itself and allowed the new fee system to stand.