DMV Administrator Makes Statement About Licensing System Problems

BOISE, Idaho (KLIX) – The Idaho Transportation Department said Tuesday afternoon it is working on solutions to problems caused by new licensing system software.

The software has been causing delays for customers at DMV offices, and offices statewide were shut down for a period of time on Monday, as were DMV offices in other states that use the same vendor. County sheriff’s offices, which provide driver’s licensing services in Idaho, have been frustrated at the problems.

After sheriff’s from across the Gem State, including some in south-central Idaho, reached out to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter in frustration, Idaho’s DMV Administrator Alberto Gonzalez responded, noting that his department is working in solutions.

"This level of service affecting citizens, sheriffs and the Idaho Transportation Department is unacceptable,” Gonzalez wrote. “ITD has been continuing to work with our vendor as they work toward a solution, but outages have increased and even spread to other states. We need an Idaho solution.

“ITD's solution is to eliminate the dependency on the real time communication with our vendor's software. ITD plans to implement the solution statewide by Thursday. It would allow county staff to input customer information in person without having to communicate in real time with our vendor. It will be stored on a server. At the end of the day, information would be provided to the vendor. We believe this will allow county and ITD staff to provide a level of service our citizens and partners deserve.”

Earlier, ITD suggested that sheriff's offices close their driver's licensing divisions until the department can work out issues with the software vendor, Gemalto.

Gonzalez expressed appreciation to Idaho sheriff’s and their staff, noting his office stands ready to meet with them and others "on solutions that will help us move forward."

Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue, president of the Idaho Sheriff’s Association, wrote a letter to Gov. Otter expressing his and his colleagues’ frustration that, among other things, millions of dollars was poured into a system that was “poorly designed and implemented without the benefit of beta testing sites.”

Other sheriffs also expressed their concerns.

Gonzalez responded to Donahue’s letter to the governor with a letter of his own, writing, in part, that while he believes the system was rolled out effectively, there undoubtedly have arisen problems that need to be addressed.

“We stand ready and are anxious to begin working on these issues,” he wrote.