SUN CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- Officials told a
legislative subcommittee Tuesday
they don't know when they will
complete fixing 300 "critical bugs"
in the new state motor vehicle
computer system that has
spawned long lines, resulted in
overcharges to customers and
caused some businesses to lose
money.
Ginny Lewis, deputy director of the
state Department of Motor
Vehicles and Public Safety, and
Jon Lemelin of Deloitte & Touche,
which designed the system, were
quizzed for more than two hours
about Genesis but could not
present a timetable when crisis
mode would be over.
Meanwhile, Gov. Kenny Guinn will
hold news conferences Thursday
in Las Vegas and Reno to release
details of his plan "to help remedy
the problems" in the new $25
million system, which came online
one month ago. Guinn is going to
order a 30-day grace period for
motorists who don't get their
registration renewals on time.
Guinn's press secretary, Jack
Finn, said today the Nevada
Highway Patrol will not cite
anybody with an out-of-date
registration because of the
computer snafu. Finn said the
governor doesn't have authority
over other police agencies but
hopes they will follow the suit in
giving motorists some breathing
room until the state fixes the
problems.
Other details of Guinn's plan are
still being worked out, Finn said.
Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las
Vegas, chairman of the
subcommittee on Genesis, said it
will "have to wait to see what
direction he (Guinn) is taking." His
subcommittee, he said, is only a
fact-finding body, but it suggested
the department return to the old
computer system until the bugs
are fixed.
Lewis rejected the suggestion and
said some new procedures going
into effect immediately should
ease some of the long lines in Las
Vegas. And she said another
improvement should speed up the
handling of the backlog of mail-in
registrations.
Starting Wednesday, those people
in line at Las Vegas offices will be
asked if they have a simple
transactions -- renewal of a drivers
license or a car registration or a
change of address. They will then
be directed to another line, which
should take care these procedures
quickly.
Others with the more complicated
transactions will still face long
waits.
Lewis and Lemelin also said that
this week, a new computer
"express screen" will be in use at
the Carson City office to process
the rising backlog of mail-in
registrations.
Before the system started, the
backlog of mail-in motor vehicle
registrations was 12,000. They
were processed in five to seven
days. It has now ballooned to
56,000 with Genesis with the
delays of a month or more. Lewis
said the addition of 15 more
people could help cure this
problem.
Since the system went online,
there have been 1,926 bugs
reported, but Lewis said 66
percent of them are fixed. "This is
a good indication we are
addressing the issue."
But Beers said there were no
"critical" malfunctions detected
when the system started and now
there are 250-300 problems that
must be solved. Lewis and
Lemelin said more malfunctions
are being fixed than are cropping
up again. But they had no
estimate when the problems would
quiet down.
Beers suggested the agency
return temporarily to the old
computer system called Legacy
until the "staggering problems" are
cured. And Sen. Joe Neal, D-North
Las Vegas, hinted that the state
should try to collect some of the
$8 million performance bond
posted to ensure the system
worked properly.
Lewis replied, "There is now
reason to consider going down
that path. We are working through
the problems. The contractor is not
going to leave until the critical
bugs are taken care."
When she said, "The system is
working," there was laughter in the
audience at the meeting, which
was held in Las Vegas and
televised to Carson City.
Assemblywoman Vonne
Chowning, D-North Las Vegas,
said, "We're 60 percent worse than
a year ago. I keep hearing more
and more delays. When is the
customer going to get service?"
Lewis said, "I can't give you a
date."
Besides the long lines and the
delays in processing mail-in
registrations and auto title
transfers, there have been
overcharges to motorists on their
privilege tax. Lewis said the
problem with overcharges should
be fixed by today. And when the
system returns to normal, there
will be refunds.
Some motorists have had their
vehicle registrations suspended
because they have no insurance,
when they do have coverage.
Lauren House, representing the
Nevada Independent Insurance
Agents, told reporters license
plates had been yanked because
of the erroneous information.
He suggested that until the system
is fixed, the insurance verification
program should be suspended.
The state agency is working on
new innovations, even while it is
trying to cure the present
problems. Lewis said she hopes
that Internet transactions, such as
renewing motor vehicle registration
and drivers licenses with credit
cards, could be ready by June.
She said planning is going forward
on telephone transaction service.
And there are plans to allow car
owners to register their vehicles in
Las Vegas and Reno when they
get their annual smog inspections.
"We want to accelerate this
technology this fiscal year," Lewis
said.
The committee heard from citizens
who were losing money because
of the snafu in the registration and
title procedures.
Brent and Sonja Pack, who own
Motor Vehicle Title Service in
Carson City, told the committee
the DMV employees received little
training. The Packs, whose
business takes care the business
of registering a vehicle for the
owner or dealers, said the backlog
"is costing us money."
"The (car) dealers are not getting
their paychecks, and I'm not
getting a paycheck," Sonja told
the subcommittee. "But it's not
costing them (the state
employees) anything." She
complained the new system will
never be as fast as the former
computer program.
Robert Smith, owner of a towing
company in Reno, said his
business performs lien sales on
abandoned vehicles. That's about
one-third of his business. But the
logjam in processing the titles is
going to hurt business. "A number
of companies depend on this
business," he said.
There also were complaints that
people had submitted their car
renewal forms in time, but the
paper work has never been
processed. Now they are driving
around with expired plates. Lewis
said the department has been
issuing temporary registrations or
a 10-day renewal to help motorists
through the delays.
-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 07, 1999