June 27, 2007 — An overall budget of approximately $4.7 million will take the Bureau of Motor Vehicles through the next fiscal year, BMV Director Jerris T. Browne told senators during the first round of budget hearings Wednesday.
The figure represents a substantial increase in the agency’s budget, which jumps from an overall operating budget of $3.47 million for fiscal year 2007. Of that amount, $1.9 million was appropriated from the General Fund — a figure that has now increased to approximately $2.4 million for FY 2008.
Additional money will be appropriated from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Fund and the Personalized License Plate Fund, both administered by the Department of Finance.
A large portion of the agency’s proposed budget is devoted to personnel costs, including funding existing vacant positions and switching the bureau’s current unionized employees to a new pay plan, Browne explained. Another $80,349 is included for salary increases and corresponding fringe benefits, while $15,846 will be used to cover the cost of raising employees’ minimum salary from $15,000 to $20,000.
While most of the vacancies have carried over from FY 2007, the bureau has also requested five new employee positions, which includes the addition of an enforcement officer in each district. Browne requested that senators consider amending sections of the V.I. Code so officers will be able to arrest individuals found in violation of certain local and federal laws, or internal rules and regulations.
General-fund money included in BVM's proposed budget will also go toward covering technological upgrades aimed at streamlining customer-service operations, Browne said. He explained that the Bureau, which was severed from the V.I. Police Department in 2006, has since embarked upon the creation of new online systems targeted at improving processes associated with the renewal of drivers' licenses and the registration of vehicles.
"This concept will enable all three islands to merge and have the capability to support each other," Browne said. "This includes the retrieval of statistical and management reports on vehicle registration and drivers' licenses on demand. It will also give us greater capacity and reliability in the form of a backup system internally and externally, designed to mitigate a potential malfunction or loss of information if a catastrophe occurs in any one district."
Browne remained positive about the upgrades, but still cited several challenges experienced by BMV on a day-to-day basis, including poor conditions at facilities located in both districts. MVB's St. Croix headquarters was of particular concern, since the agency has continued to share space with VIPD at the Patrick Sweeney Police Compound.
While Browne said a recent "fiasco" with Department of Property and Procurement's proposed motor-pool facility has hindered the bureau's ability to construct a new headquarters, he also explained that new acreage in Estate Anna's Hope has been identified as a possible site for future MVB operations.
One of Browne's short-term goals — to be accomplished within the next two years, he said — also includes the construction of a new facility on St. Thomas, since MVB headquarters in Sub Base has several structural problems.
The bureau hopes to tear down the current headquarters and put up a new two-story metal structure in the parking lot attached to the building.
"Our biggest issue is the facilities on all three islands," Browne said. "It is unacceptable to me operating in these conditions, but once we get the property we need and the all the necessary funding, we will be able to build a bureau that's conducive to customer service."
Other short-term goals include the creation of new licenses and fees for commercial vehicles, such as tractors and trailers, and the implementation of new drivers' licenses territory-wide, Browne said.
Deviating briefly from the meeting's focus on the budget, Browne also gave an update on an investigation conducted into the recent approval of illegal licenses for local taxi operators. While Browne explained that he has identified at least 19 "questionable" licenses on file, he also said that he has turned over all findings to the territory's Attorney General for further investigation.
Present during Wednesday's hearing were Sens. Liston Davis, Dowe, Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill, Neville James and Terrence "Positive" Nelson.
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