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Thursday, May 22, 2003 |
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Posted on May 16, 2003 Avoiding DMV lines may soon get easier
COLUMBIA -- Lengthy visits to the DMV -- or any visit at all -- could be a thing of the past as early as this summer under a series of reforms announced Thursday by Gov. Mark Sanford. The changes at the Division of Motor Vehicles include creation of an Internet-based system for license renewal, address changes and other ordinary transactions that often result in long waits in line at DMV offices. The DMV features "great people, but a flawed system," Sanford said. "This is about changing those systems." In addition to the Web-based resources, the reforms include: uSaturday office hours this summer at six regional offices around the state. u"Greeters" in 39 busiest offices to help customers find the right line and make sure they have the right forms. uRemoval of all telephones from counters in DMV offices so clerks are not interrupted while helping customers. uComputers in those same 39 offices for customers to access the new Internet services. The reforms are the result of work by a DMV task force Sanford appointed early this year. The changes complement other reforms included in a bill before the Senate that would remove DMV from the Department of Public Safety and put it directly under the governor's office. None of the changes announced Thursday would happen unless that bill, which has passed the House, becomes law. State Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, plans to amend the bill to include a new $5 fee for registering car titles, which happens whenever a car is sold. The additional money would go to the DMV to pay for the re-forms, said J.T. Gandolfo, head of Sanford's DMV task force. While the plan does include new costs, it also includes big savings. Sanford said the agency would save: u$2 million by bringing operation and maintenance of its computer system -- dubbed Project Phoenix -- in-house, eliminating an outside contract expense. The $25 million computer system was installed last summer and has resulted in shorter lines. In January, the Department of Public Safety said DMV waiting times have dropped to about 20 minutes, down from an hour last summer. But Gandolfo said lines traditionally increase in the summer. u$500,000 by using Department of Corrections inmates to handle maintenance and janitorial services at DMV offices. Sanford was joined Thursday by Gandolfo and leaders of the House and Senate in announcing the changes. Standing with him was state Sen. Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat, who said he was particularly excited about the new Web-based options. "I don't know how many times people have talked to me about being in the lines at the DMV," Hutto said. "And they say, 'Why couldn't I just have gotten this off the computer?' " The reforms allow people "to recognize we've moved into the 21st century, and let's deal with that at the DMV," Hutto said. House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, urged the Senate to pass the DMV reform bill the House sent over in March. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said he expects that to happen soon. The attention to problems at the DMV has been a long time coming, Wilkins said. The reforms mean "the DMV will no longer be dealt with as an afterthought," Wilkins said. "This bill brings accountability and efficiency to the agency." Sanford urged patience as the new reforms take hold. "Does this mean that all the lines will immediately end at the DMV? No, this is a progression of different changes." |
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All material ©2003 Spartanburg Herald-Journal | |
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