FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Poor planning led to issues at the DMV – according to an audit released Wednesday from the Department of Finance.
The audit details failures at the California Department of Motor Vehicles during the rollout of the Real ID.
It explains how the department failed to properly plan to issue Real ID cards to California drivers despite a decade to do so.
Computer programming was a “non-priority” until 2017, – just one year before the cards were to be offered to the public, according Assemblyman Jim Patterson, who commented Wednesday on the document.
“This audit explains what the public and the legislature have known for some time – The DMV directors were asleep at the switch for a decade leading up to the Real ID rollout and customers paid the price with exploding wait times,” said Assemblyman Patterson.
Patterson said there were other notable findings:
• DOF auditors also reported on their findings that on average, 30 percent of windows at the DMV were closed during regular operating hours to do staffing shortages and scheduling problems.
• The validity of wait times provided by the DMV are still questionable according to the audit. DMV claims wait times are down to 30 minutes but that there is still regular inconsistent reporting of customer “pre-que” wait times.
“It’s also very disappointing to hear that they are still misleading customers on the wait times. This is real opportunity to change the DMV from the ground up. They need a new director, a new culture of customer service, and a new goal of embracing 21st century technology,” said Assemblyman Patterson. “Without those changes, I agree with the DOF – the DMV will continue to fail.”
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
