El Paso County Tax Assessor‑Collector Ruben Gonzalez told the Commissioners Court on Dec. 15 that his office is continuing to work through a backlog of webDEALER transactions created after the state’s HB 718 changes and related administrative rules, and that staffing and training constraints have forced temporary closures at some satellite offices.

“As of last Friday, it’s December 6, we had 500 transactions pending,” Gonzalez said, describing a queue that staff had reduced to about 482 by mid‑December while also noting rejections from the state system and lingering DMV distribution and system errors. He said temporary workers the county provided cannot process cash‑handling motor‑vehicle transactions because their job descriptions do not permit it, and that training newly hired temporary staff for specialized title and registration work takes months.

The tax collector said the webDEALER change raised new fraud‑prevention responsibilities and removed some local ability to correct dealer submissions, which increased rejections and required time‑consuming follow‑ups. “Under the new webDEALER program … we cannot touch that transaction after the dealer submits it to us,” he said.

Commissioners pressed Gonzalez on why temporary positions from a county pool were not used to backfill motor‑vehicle work. Commissioner Stout and others said they expected temporary staffing to be available during high volume periods; Gonzalez replied that the positions’ job descriptions prohibited cash handling and that HR and his office have been working to correct descriptions and submit staffing requests.

County staff told the court a time‑and‑motion study is near final review and that HR is coordinating recruitment and potential reclassifications. HR staff explained that during the most recent budget cycles the county had restricted new position submissions and that prior requests were evaluated alongside the broader budget.

Dealership representatives and community members urged patience and additional support. James Hobson, a board director for the El Paso Independent Dealers Association, praised the tax office’s new strategy while warning that holiday closures plus the January property‑tax season could risk returning delays to earlier levels.

The court emphasized it supports the tax office but insisted requests for new staff be documented with workload data. Commissioners asked Gonzalez to submit formal staffing adjustment requests and the documentation used to justify earlier requests so the hiring‑exemption committee and HR can act quickly.

Gonzalez said he had taken other steps to manage workload, including rotating closures of low‑traffic satellite offices and reallocating trained staff to webDEALER review hubs, and warned that without more trained personnel some closures could continue. He also flagged a forthcoming requirement to verify residency status for vehicle registration, which he said would add further workload.

The court asked Gonzalez and HR to return with the time‑and‑motion study findings and any staffing adjustment forms needed to consider exemptions; Gonzalez said he would provide required documentation ahead of a special meeting.