Vermont DMV outlines $104 million IT modernization, schedules phase-two November rollout

The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles told the Senate Institutions Committee on Feb. 13 that its DMV core modernization project is on schedule and on budget, with a total project cost of about $104 million and a planned second‑phase go‑live this coming November.

The presentation to the committee came from Andrew Collier, commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, who said the project started after legislative authorization about three years ago and is being developed in partnership with Fast Enterprises, state DMV staff and the Agency of Digital Services (ADS). “It’s a really unique situation where we have an IT company that brings people into the state to do the development work, and they partner with the DMV staff, ADS staff, all on‑site at Berry City Place,” Collier said.

The project replaces multiple legacy systems and consolidates registration and licensing workflows onto a single platform accessible to Vermonters through the myDMV website. Collier said phase one, covering vehicle services, went live last November; phase two will complete driver‑services functionality and the systemwide back end. “Phase 1 went live last November,” Collier said. “The last phase, phase 2, which will go live this November,” he added.

Why it matters: committee Chair Wendy Harrison said the DMV touches a large share of Vermonters and stressed the importance of predictable costs and reliable service. The committee pressed the department for a five‑year cost forecast and questioned how the modernization would affect customer wait times, employee workflows and data privacy.

Key details from the presentation and committee questions: - Total project cost: Collier reported a total cost of about $104,000,000. He said roughly half covers development and half covers maintenance and operations that begin after go‑live. - Development spending and timeline: Collier said slightly over $51 million is allocated to development costs, with remaining recurring costs spread through fiscal year 2031. The department characterized the annualized operations cost as roughly $10 million per year during the FY ’26–’31 period, though Collier said he did not have the exact annual breakdown on hand and agreed to provide it to the committee. - Staffing: Collier said 14 limited‑service DMV positions were dedicated full time to the project; those positions are funded through the FY‑26 budget and will sunset July 1 unless extended. He said DMV’s permanent headcount will return to about 231 staff after the limited‑service positions end. Collier also said eight ADS staff and about 44 Fast Enterprises staff are working on site. - Minor cost overrun: Collier said a small overage — about $322,000 — was absorbed early in the project to cover upgraded cameras and document scanners used at public counters; the vendor (Fast Enterprises) absorbed that cost. - Customer experience: Collier said staff have largely embraced the new workflows and customers are walking out with completed transactions more often. He noted a small increase in time customers spend at the counter — roughly an additional 10 minutes on average — but said the extra time reflects completion of the entire transaction in one visit rather than delays from mailed documents. - Operational efficiencies: Collier said the integrated system reduces paper movement and postage; the department is showing an estimated $420,000 decrease in postage costs in its budget so far because fewer transactions require interoffice mailing. - Plates and printing: Committee members asked about specialty and tenant plates. Collier said about half of a new run of tenant plates were ready and that the department is exploring modernized plate production methods to reduce lead times. - Data privacy: Collier said access to personally identifiable information is limited to department employees who pass background checks, and that vendor contracts include language to meet state security requirements. “Anyone that’s utilizing or access to the PII data…have to pass background check,” Collier said, adding that vendor obligations and monitoring are part of the project.

Committee request and next steps: Chair Wendy Harrison requested that DMV provide a five‑year financial breakdown and a projection of ongoing operating costs. Harrison said, “If you wouldn’t mind sending us the financial…just the cost over the next 5 years and future cost, that would be terrific.” Collier agreed to supply the requested figures.

Background: Collier said the modernization replaces numerous legacy databases — including aging Access systems and other older platforms — and that the project team intentionally co‑located vendor engineers with state staff to accelerate development and testing. The project lead at DMV was not present for the hearing; DMV policy director Matt Kostick ran a slideshow for the presentation.

No formal votes or committee actions were recorded on the modernization during the hearing.