RMV must tighten oversight
The Registry of Motor Vehicles continues to earn its reputation for inefficiency, inconvenience and incompetence.
Nearly 2,000 dead people were issued driver’s licenses and more than 10,000 dead people received coveted disability parking placards by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, according to an audit of the agency released yesterday.
Bad bookkeeping aside, the fact that there are thousands of licenses and disability parking placards floating around likely means there is fraud, abuse and other nefarious activity happening as we speak.
State Auditor Suzanne Bump performed her duties diligently in uncovering this problem and she had strong words for the Registry. “The failure to prevent individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people creates a significant public safety risk to the Commonwealth. Fixing this problem must be a top priority for the RMV,” she said in a statement.
The RMV rarely evokes pleasant thoughts but it does itself no favors with oversights such as this, never mind more serious incidents like the arrest of six clerks last year in connection with a scheme to produce false IDs, some of which were used to fraudulently register to vote in the city of Boston.
Also concerning is the indignant response to the audit by the RMV yesterday. Registry spokeswoman Jacqueline Goddard said her office “rejects the findings in the auditor’s report, especially the false claim that the RMV is issuing licenses to 1,900 deceased individuals who the RMV has verified are alive.”
“This audit is outdated, as it was conducted before the implementation of an entirely new software system, which has improved management and tracking capabilities,” Goddard added.
The tone from the Registry of Motor Vehicles is reminiscent of that of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, whose spokesman said of a Herald story which revealed that the agency had spent taxpayer dollars lavishly on food, “This is the best you can do? For goodness’ sake, we’re a $20 million agency and you’re talking about sandwiches.”
Like handicap placards for dead people, arrogance amongst state agencies is abundant in Massachusetts.
Officials at the Registry of Motor Vehicles need to shape up. They should abide by the recommendations called for in the audit, including additional oversight in the issuance of disability parking placards, such as requiring permanent holders of the placards to reapply every five years, and generally improve its processes for issuing the permits.
Taxpayers are already funding the RMV and getting poor service in return. They deserve better, now.