New DMV office opens in Wasilla

WASILLA -- The Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles is opening an office in Wasilla -- but it won't be a state-run DMV.

DMV Director Duane Bannock announced Tuesday to Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce members that the division was going into competition with itself -- by contracting with a private operator to open a new office in the Mat-Su.

Alaska Transportation Services Inc. has contracted with the state to open DMV Express offices in Soldotna and Wasilla. The Wasilla office will be located on the corner of Hermon Road and Parks Highway, in the Hunter Plaza building. Alaska Transportation Services is a sister company to Northern Industrial Training, which currently contracts with DMV to provide testing for commercial and private driver's licenses.

"The wait lines at the DMV are legendary," Bannock told the meeting attendees. "Statistics say we're moving in the right direction, and we're going to take a giant leap forward."

Fees collected by the DMV added $56 million to the state's general fund last year, Bannock said. With the privatized offices, that won't change.

"The funds collected by this firm are being electronically transferred to the state of Alaska," Bannock said. "One hundred percent goes to the state."

Bannock said the Alaska Transportation Services will recoup overhead costs through transaction fees added to the cost of vehicle registrations, title information or other services.

"The cost is not being funded by the state," Bannock said. "A transaction that costs $150 at the Palmer DMV will cost a little bit more at Alaska Transportation Services.

Krista Crum is the executive director of Alaska Transportation Services. Crum is the daughter of Joe Crum, the owner of Alaska Transportation Services Inc. and Northern Industrial Training. Her father, Crum said, has contracted with the DMV for more than 10 years.

"He's been around the block," Crum said.

She said the Wasilla office is set to open to dealerships and financial institutions on Sept. 7, to allow them to set up accounts. The office will be open to the public on Sept. 13, and will be able to do nearly everything currently available at the DMV except issue driver's licenses and perform license testing. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call the office at 373-DMV1.

Crum said the holdup on the licenses is because they're waiting for cameras, which they hope to have within the next few weeks. Bannock said there are a few other details to iron out before the licensing process can begin.

"Driver's license information is like the Holy Grail," Bannock said. He said he is working out proper security measures to be sure the confidential information, such as Social Security numbers and driving records, for example, are kept confidential.

Bannock wasn't ready to give an estimated date of launch for the licensing portion of DMV Express, he said.

"Until I'm satisfied, until it's all done, I'm not going to launch it," Bannock said.

Crum said her staff has gone through training and will be operating much like the state-run office.

"In essence, we are state employees," Crum said. "We are held to the exact same standards and ethics as state employees."

Crum and her staff have received training to have a security clearance from the state, she said, and their computers and the information they submit will be monitored similarly to a state-run office.

"I assure you, there are a lot of security measures in place," Crum said. "They track our office just like they track their own -- we're going to be watched like hawks."

Bannock said the DMV Express office will likely prove valuable even before it can issue licenses and perform testing. He said the services it will begin offering Tuesday should help cut down on long DMV lines. About half the transactions that take place at the Palmer DMV, he said, focus not on licensing, but on vehicles.

"What I'm doing is, I'm shortening my line at the Palmer office," Bannock said. "For every person in line at [DMV] Express, there's one fewer in line at the Palmer DMV."

This is a pilot project, Crum said, and although other models exist in the Lower 48, the DMV Express office has been tailored to fit Alaska's laws. There are changes she'd like to see, however, and she hopes some of those changes could be addressed during the next legislative session.

"We hope to get to where we don't charge a transfer fee, but take a percentage," Crum said.

Bannock said the idea of privatizing DMV services came up as a solution to tight state budgets.

"Alaskans have made it very clear they're looking for equal to or better service than they have had in the past," Bannock said. "Also, in my opinion, I think they've made it very clear they're not interested in growing government."

Privatizing the office, Bannock said, was one way to allow customer service needs to be met without added governmental costs.

Crum said customer service will be the focus of DMV Express. She'd like to eventually put in a drive-through window to make the process easier for parents and people who have difficulty getting into and out of vehicles.

She's also planning to offer things that may be more difficult to provide at state-run offices, such as timed drop-off and pick-up of paperwork. Coupled with later hours and open hours on Saturdays, she said she believes people will find it's worth their money to avoid long DMV lines.

"The public will pay for fast and friendly customer service, instead of having to wait at the Palmer DMV," Crum said.

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.