Motorists can take heart DMV escaped budget ax

When Gov. Brian Sandoval unveiled his $5.8 billion budget proposal for the ailing state on Monday, it made for a less than pleasant evening for Nevada's educators, social workers and officials who oversee local governments.

Although representatives won't admit it publicly, Monday was more like Christmas for the Department of Motor Vehicles. It wasn't subjected to cuts, but rather was presented the gift of 30 new positions that will be placed on the front line, helping customers with new driver's licenses and registration renewals.

Not that other local entities and schools don't have a need for more money or additional employees, but the lack of personnel at Southern Nevada's DMV offices was obvious to all. It really is the only state agency that services every single resident 16 and older, and long wait times annoyed many.

"The governor's budget treated the DMV well," DMV Director Bruce Breslow wrote to his employees.

The last time the budget was announced, the motor vehicle department was not treated so well. The office lost 137 positions, 93 of which were the employees at the counter helping customers. Coupled with mandatory furlough days, it wasn't uncommon to see a third of the DMV counters vacant on a busy day.

Sandoval wants to do away with the forced days off and instead reduce state salaries by 5 percent.

Breslow is aiming for more than the 30 employees, all of whom will be stationed in Southern Nevada offices. He hopes to secure the Legislature's approval of a "Stay Away from the Lines" program.

The idea is to expand kiosks, like those in DMV offices that allow customers to conduct business on their own, to other areas of the Las Vegas Valley. The DMV now pays the kiosk vendor for the service using highway funds. Under Breslow's plan, that fee would be passed along to the user.

"If this legislation passes, I anticipate vastly expanding our kiosk program by putting them in regional neighborhood communities, universities, community colleges, unemployment center and rural areas where there isn't a DMV office," Breslow wrote in his employee memo.

So the DMV doesn't look like it's in bad shape. How about our Department of Transportation?

Funny I should ask, since Susan Martinovich, director of the department, was recently in Washington, D.C., speaking before Congress about funding. At the time, she was wearing a different hat; she also serves as president of the American Association of Highway Transportation Officials.

Sandoval's budget had no effect on the Department of Transportation because it receives no general fund money. The department is funded solely by gasoline tax revenue.

Allow me to explain where your tax dollars go.

Fifty cents of every gallon of gasoline is a tax; it makes no difference whether gas is $3 a gallon or $5 a gallon. The state collects 18 cents; so do the feds. Counties collect 6 cents of that revenue and can add up to another 9 cents under an option tax implemented by each county. The revenue falls into the highway fund and is used to expand the state's network of roadways and maintain existing ones.

States battle for the funds in federal coffers. Nevada should have success in acquiring a good chunk of money by arguing that the state's unemployment rate is the highest in the country and the maintenance of its roads is crucial to commerce. We are a "bridge" state between the ports and farms in California and the rest of the country, so it's important that Nevada's highways are in decent shape.

Martinovich didn't waste time lobbying on behalf of Nevada, explaining how federal funding and transportation projects help boost our state's economy.

Obviously, these projects create jobs for contractors and engineers and businesses that supply gravel, asphalt, concrete and other related materials. Those are the direct beneficiaries. There are others, as Martinovich explained when she described a roadwork project in Lovelock, a town a long, lonely 90 miles away from Reno.

"An owner of one of the hotels in town told me that during construction the hotels in the town were busy. Its restaurant was busy," she said. "Stores made lots of sales, and it kept businesses in town from laying off people. He asked me when we would start another project."

I guess that depends on whether Martinovich can work her magic and, like the DMV, hope Christmas comes early.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an e-mail to roadwarrior@reviewjournal
.com. Please include your phone number.