Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Regarding the service offered by our employees: Our version of events differs, unequivocally, from Ms. Schorr's. However, I will not enter into a frivolous devate over these. I do contend that some of the issues she brings up are not in the purview of DMV/PS. Her initial problem, not having required insurance documentation, is an issue she needs to address with her insurance agent. We are not responsible if she was given inadequate documentation or advice by her insurance agent.
Second, she expresses dismay at not being allowed to use the telephone at the customer service station. To allow every customer to use a state phone would dramatically slow the registration process and create great outcry from other customers waiting for expedient services. While inconvenient to M.s Schorr and her insurance agent, this policy, we believe, is fair to all.
Ms. Schorr also is aghast at being charged what the law demands for county privilege tax. For expediency, we calculate vehicle value on an industry standard scale provided by the automobile industry. When a customer requests, we can take the additional time to appraise an older car or check actual retail price for a new car. When that is done and we have specific information, we are statutorily bound to calculate fees on the update figure. Ms. Schorr's problem is with the law. As is the case with many new residents, she is also suffering from a bit of shellshock at the figures. Other states charge privilege tax differently, collecting them at a time other than when vehicles are registered. Because >Nevada collects these taxes at the time of registration, some new residents receive an unhappy welcome to the ways things are done in Nevada. They may be pleasantly surprised when they don't have to pay that large bill in April, or whenever they are used to paying it.
For brevity's sake, I will stop; simply saying that some of the points made in the article were not, as implied, problems at the DMV.
Regarding the tone of the article, I find it an unpleasant, unsuccessful attempta t humor at our expense. The snide, loose tone throughout the article is dramatically out of character for a publication like the Las Vegas SUN. I am especially upset at the repeated references to the physical appearance of our employees. The color of our employees' hair and the appearance of their skin is, in polite society, not something for reference in the manner Ms. Schorr used in her article. I am shocked that these elements in particular made it past the eyes of experienced editors. The professional damage it has done to your newspaper is only exceeded by the personal hurt suffered by the individuals belittled in your newspaper's article.
We are an organization accustomed to criticism. If your intention is to criticize the way we do things, then do so. Do not use our organization or its employees as a punching bag to inflate the value of an amateurish attempt at satire.
Finally, the Las Vegas DMV offices received a national award for customer service innovation this past year. That, too, was belittled in the article. The DMV in Las Vegas has not only built one completely new office on West Flamingo, we are remodeling our East Sahara office and will break ground on another new office in Henderson in a few weeks. We are the only state agency offering customer service hours before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. on weekdays. We are the only state agency open on Saturdays. These improvements were made to address two- to three-hour long lines in the fast-growing Las Vegas area over the past two years. The award we received was in recognition from our peers in other states to recognize the achievement we made meeting the needs of the fastest growing metro area in the country. In her article, Ms. Schorr simply demonstrates her lack of understanding of our community's problems.
Hope to see the SUN at our groundbreaking for the Henderson facility. Although Ms. Schorr may greet the construction of a DMV office in her neighborhood with all the enthusiasm of a sewage treatment plant, tens of thousands of Green Valley and Henderson residents are eagerly looking forward to extended-hour service in their area.
Donna West,
assistant chief,
DMV/PS
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