Flathead County treasurer warns state DMV changes will shift equipment costs to counties
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Summary
In a May 1 budget review the county treasurer told commissioners that recent State of Montana changes to motor vehicle services and equipment support will move some ongoing costs from the state to counties, and that staff are still adapting to a new motor-vehicle software rollout.
Flathead County Treasurer’s office officials told the Board of County Commissioners on May 1 that recent changes in how the State of Montana provides motor-vehicle equipment and services will transfer some ongoing costs to county government.
The treasurer said equipment the state previously provided is now being returned to county responsibility, which will increase county costs for supplies such as toner and paper and for maintenance. “They are putting that back on the counties. So my IT department will have to put that in the program where they maintain that. I have to purchase the toner, the paper…the everything, which to me, I don't agree with, because we're doing their business,” the treasurer said.
County commissioners were also briefed on the treasurer’s budget lines that shifted compared with last year. The treasurer described a roughly $8,000 increase in “small item equipment” to cover a new copier charge and said a prior $31,000 line for computer replacements was reduced because last year’s replacements were completed.
The treasurer described operational effects of a new motor-vehicle software rollout. Staff reported intermittent outages — one multi-hour outage was noted — and mismatches between renewal cards mailed to vehicle owners and amounts shown in the new system that required adjustments. The office gets about 100 title transactions a day by mail and is currently operating with a backlog of roughly two and a half weeks, the treasurer said.
Commissioners asked whether privatization of some motor-vehicle services (third-party agents charging per-transaction fees) would reduce county revenue. The treasurer said Flathead County receives only nominal revenue per title transaction and that many out-of-state entities register LLCs in Montana without holding property in Flathead County, so those transactions do not affect local revenues.
No formal action was taken during the briefing; commissioners received the budget presentation and asked questions about operational impacts and staffing.
