VI BMV Given $450K In 2015 For Rank And File Employee Raises; Year Later--No Money Left, No Raises

ST. CROIX — Bureau of Motor Vehicles officials met Thursday at the Fritz E. Lawaetz Legislative Hall before senators who make up the Committee on Finance, to give testimony on the bureau’s fiscal year 2017 budget, which totals $3,019,813, $1 million of which coming from funds collected by B.M.V.

Lawrence Olive, B.M.V.’s director, spoke of apparent improvements made at the bureau, stating that employees met two of four performance indicators, including “the average waiting time for customers registering a non-commercial vehicle,” and “the average record retrieval time of a lost license.” Mr. Olive also said that a “significant” decrease in customers’ wait time at B.M.V. had been realized, adding that it had improved customer service satisfaction.

Of paramount importance, Mr. Olive said that B.M.V. had chosen a contractor that would bring the territory’s registration and titling system into compliance with the federal government’s Real I.D. Act, and was awaiting approval. Earlier this year, Mr. Olive said the territory would come into compliance by the end of this year; beating the federal government’s extension deadline by one year.

But B.M.V. officials stuttered when asked by Senator Kurt Vialet about some $450,000 that the legislature appropriated to B.M.V. in 2015, to be used specifically for rank and file employee raises.

Read more: http://viconsortium.com/breaking-news/bmv-given-450000-in-2015-for-rank-and-file-employee-raises-one-year-later-the-money-is-gone-but-with-no-raises-given/