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Carver County weighs options as license‑center losses deepen
Summary
County staff presented a 10‑year finance and operations review of the Chaska and Chanhassen license centers, showing post‑2016 revenue declines and a projected 2026 deficit tied to wage and benefit costs. Commissioners discussed RFPs, city takeover and pressing the state for fee sharing.
Carver County leaders spent more than an hour Tuesday examining the finances and future of the county’s two license centers, with staff warning that longer‑term operating deficits and capacity limits mean the board must consider alternatives.
Dave Frishman, the county’s property finance director, told the board the county operates two centers — Chaska (which includes a state exam station) and Chanhassen (a service center that handles passport applications and non‑licensed work) — and framed the facilities as “discretionary but considered essential services.” He ran a 10‑year operations slide showing a surplus near $400,000 and about 132,000 transactions in 2016 that subsequently fell after state software and program changes. “The state brought in MNLARS, which was just a disaster of software,” Frishman said, adding that later moves to MnDRIVE improved reliability but did not restore prior transaction volume.
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