By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Customers at North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles are waiting longer in lines that are often far away from home, while agency staffing fails to keep pace with the state’s surging population, according to agency reviews that also recommend major reforms.
Elected Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek on Monday released two audits totaling nearly 600 pages that scrutinize the DMV — the bane of motorists in many states. But long lines and frustrations are acute in the ninth-largest state.
“Our DMV affects the economy. It affects people having to take off of work unnecessarily. It takes our students out of the classroom,” Boliek told reporters. “This has to be fixed and it has to be a top priority.”
Constituent complaints, REAL ID brings problems to fore
Boliek promised during last year’s campaign to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the DMV if elected.
Elected leaders’ constituents have complained about the inability to book appointments online close to home and the struggles for their teenagers to complete driving tests.
It’s not unusual for customers to camp outside driver’s license offices in the wee hours hoping to get seen later that day. Problems continued as federal REAL ID license security requirements took effect in May.
Erin Van Dorn of Holly Springs said at Boliek’s news conference it took her and her teenage son four trips to the DMV — the last time 130 miles (209 kilometers) away in Mount Airy — to obtain his license. Information technology and staffing shortages were to blame.
“My son has missed a total of four days of school,” Van Horn said while mentioning additional delays. “It’s just been a very big ordeal for us.”
New Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s administration brought in former state legislator Paul Tine as the new Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner and has pledged a turnaround.
Longer waits, continued examiner shortages
A DMV performance audit Monday said average wait times for customers at the state’s driver’s license locations increased by over 15% since 2019 to 1 hour and 15 minutes. And close to 14% of the visits lasted over 2 hours and 30 minutes — a 79% increase from 2019.
And nearly half of all transactions by customers aren’t happening at the license office closest to where they live.
“The employee experience has diminished as well,” Boliek said.
The audit said there were 160 vacant license examiner positions as of April. And while the state’s population has grown by 29% over the last 20 years, the number of examiner positions has grown by just 10%. Boliek’s staff heard DMV employee complaints about burnout, security and low pay — average examiner position salaries were well below $50,000 last year.
The audit attributes many problems to DMV’s relationship with the Cabinet-level state Department of Transportation that oversees the agency. The auditor said DMV has undersized influence within DOT when it comes to decision-making and getting budget requests approved by the legislature.
Agency independence among recommendations
Boliek’s most significant recommendation is for policymakers to consider turning DMV into an autonomous agency separate from DOT.
Boliek said the recommendation is no slight upon Tine and current Teansportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, whom he said are taking steps toward reform. But he said a permanent change is needed to address situations where the commissioner and secretary wouldn’t cooperate as well.
Other recommendations include creating a public online dashboard measuring keys performance goals and initiating nonconventional initiatives to reduce wait times and backlogs.
Boliek said outside driving school instructors could administer road tests required of new drivers. The DMV could open “pop-up” license offices at a vacant mall anchor store or create “fast-pass” options for customers who pay extra to reach the front of the line.
“We can’t keep doing things the same old way,” he said.
DMV, DOT chiefs back most recommendations
In a written response to the audits, Tine and Hopkins agreed with nearly all of the recommendations and said many already getting carried out.
But they opposed the recommendation to separate DMV, saying the agency’s core functions align with the Transportation Department’s mission to improve highway safety.
“We know that with the right leadership and follow-through, we will get results -– getting people out of lines and empowering our hard-working DMV employees,” Stein spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said.
The GOP-controlled General Assembly could still attempt to implement the change.
A stopgap budget measure on Stein’s desk provides funds to hire over 60 license examiners. And a new state law has established a temporary moratorium on renewing standard licenses, allowing them to remain valid within North Carolina for up to two years beyond the expiration date.