North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is praising efforts by the
state Division of Motor Vehicles to fill 41 positions at offices around the
state — part of an ongoing effort to speed service at the division, which has
struggled to recruit and retain employees.
State lawmakers approved $1.2 million in funding for the
division last month. The goal of the funding was to hire more license examiner
positions. Lawmakers approved additional funding for several new DMV offices in
fast-growing parts of the state, including the Wake County town of
Fuquay-Varina.
Stein says the positions were filled in less than a month —
a considerable feat, considering the state has had difficulty filling jobs
across agencies as it competes for talent with the private sector. About 20% of
the state’s positions are
vacant, according to Stein.
“We have a lot of work to do to fix the DMV,” Stein said Sunday in
a post on the social media platform X. “I am proud of the team for taking
just one month to fill every single one of this year’s examiner positions
funded by the mini-budget I signed … and I appreciate the legislature’s
appropriation. Now it’s time to get those new employees to work.”
During a transportation summit in Raleigh last week, Stein
urged the General Assembly to pass a budget that includes raises for all state
employees, including NCDOT workers.
NC DMV Commissioner Paul Tine said at the summit that Stein
had urged him to make the hires in 30 days, a goal his division accomplished.
“That’s unheard of in government,” Tine said. “It’s difficult to do that.”
He said the division worked with state human resources and
commerce officials to ramp up the hiring effort, holding job fairs across the
state and interviewing people immediately after the new finding was approved in
August.
“We have moved mountains [to hire new workers] and are
pleased with that,” Tine said at the conference, which included a career fair.
“When the legislature gives us resources, we’ll put them to work fast and in a
way we can measure results of that investment to us.”
A recent state audit found that staffing shortages and an
overwhelmed workforce were major contributors to long lines at DMV offices
across the state — particularly as the division deals with a crush of newcomers
and existing residents needing services, including upgraded IDs to meet new
federal standards.
The audit found that additional driver’s license examiners
were needed to meet demand and reduce wait times at DMV offices. State Auditor
Dave Boliek said more flexibility is needed in current personnel rules to allow
the DMV to hire and retain staff more effectively.
Tine, who took
leadership of the DMV in May, says recent technology upgrades have reduced
hundreds of thousands of potential physical interactions at DMV locations. He
also said legislative changes that ease the ID renewal process have also helped
ease the workload on the division.
Tine said that until recently, the DMV didn’t know exactly
how long people were waiting, which was about 2 hours and 45 minutes on average.
He said that was “not anywhere near where we need to
be.”
Tine has asked frustrated residents to voice their concerns
and ideas at ncdmv.gov
by clicking on “help.”