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Treasurer warns counties bear costs under new CARS motor-vehicle MOU; staff to ask county attorney to review
Summary
The county treasurer briefed commissioners on a state memorandum of understanding for the new CARS motor-vehicle program that shifts equipment and technology costs to counties; she will have the county attorney review the MOU before signing and commissioners were told the change will raise county operational expenses.
Daniels County Treasurer Julie told commissioners the state’s new CARS motor-vehicle system arrives with an MOU that places more operational and equipment responsibilities on counties, and that she will ask the county attorney to review the agreement before the county signs.
The treasurer said the state previously supplied computers, printers and paper for motor-vehicle offices but that those state-supplied provisions have ended. Under the new system counties will receive some hardware (the treasurer said two ‘mini’ computers, keyboards and scanners arrived), but counties will be responsible for replacing equipment, maintaining printers and buying paper and toner going forward. The treasurer said the MOU also requires counties to adhere to new scanning and documentation standards and that some counties have chosen not to sign the MOU pending legal review.
Julie noted other operational changes: the system requires counties to collect additional documents, to scan certain forms (she cited a vehicle tax/filing form often called a 2290) and to manage RSA tokens and authentication that the state previously covered. She said some costs—printer replacements, extra RSA tokens and added staff time for scanning and compliance—are new county expenses. The treasurer asked the commission to authorize her to provide the MOU to the county attorney (Logan) for review and, pending legal clearance and any needed revisions, to sign the agreement so the county could remain an MVD site.
Commissioners discussed whether not signing the MOU would prevent Daniels County residents from getting vehicle registrations locally. The treasurer said counties that do not participate could lose local motor-vehicle services; she urged legal review and indicated that most counties continue to provide services but carry new costs.
Commissioners agreed to have the county attorney review the MOU and to return any legal recommendations to the board. The treasurer said she will quantify ongoing expenses (paper, toner and printer lifecycle costs) and report back with a cost estimate for the board to consider.
