Boucher on Resignation of DMV Chief: 'Couldn't Come at a Worse Time'

State Senator Toni Boucher, (R-26), the Ranking Member of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, who has been critical of the operations of the state Department of Transportation, issued this statement Wednesday evening on the resignation of DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala Jr.

This is indeed a sad day for the beleaguered DMV, their employees and their customers who continue to endure a series of problems:

• • Tripling wait times.
  • 3 months to schedule a driver’s test.
  • Cars getting unregistered due to backlog.
  • Cars getting unregistered due to tax communication errors.
  • Vehicles held hostage for fees due to errors.
  • Private insurance agents are being blamed for DMV failures.

Unfortunately, the loss of leadership at the top of this organization could not have come at a worse time. The software system implementation that the CT DMV has embarked on is incomplete and the issues it has caused remain unresolved.

Related story: Embattled Connecticut DMV Commissioner Resigns

This is, however, an opportunity for the Governor’s office to conduct a search for individuals with the proper knowledge of the technical requirements necessary to bring the CT DMV into the 21st century. A person in this vital position, that affects all our lives, should have the background and experience to effectively run an organization as large, important, and customer focused as the CT DMV.

Rather than make a purely political appointment, the Administration should do a nationwide search to find a Commissioner that will be able to resolve the troubling issues currently plaguing the CT DMV.

Image by Jordan Fischer via Flickr Creative Commons.