56°F
weather icon Clear

Scandal-plagued DMV computer revamp to continue despite funding loss

Updated May 19, 2021 - 10:03 am

The Nevada DMV will continue its scandal-plagued computer modernization program despite the state Supreme Court striking down a key funding source.

The court unanimously ruled Thursday in favor of Republican lawmakers who argued that legislation extending a $1 DMV transaction fee and a business tax were unconstitutional because lawmakers didn’t pass the bills by a two-thirds majority. The state Constitution, under a 1994 voter-approved amendment, requires taxes to be approved by such a supermajority, but Democrats argued that those votes just extended an existing fee and tax.

The surcharge on DMV transactions went to modernize the agency’s 20-year-old computer system — a contract that has been a failure and the focus of corruption allegations for years.

“The project, now known as DMV Transformation, will proceed as planned,” wrote DMV spokesman Kevin Malone in an email exchange. “The 2021 Nevada Legislature has approved funding for it that made a contingency plan for the potential loss of the Technology Fee. The Department will be seeking highway fund appropriations to cover the loss of this revenue.”

The Legislature appropriated $59.6 million over the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years to complete the project. Most of it will come from the highway fund, but losing the fee creates a nearly $14 million gap that lawmakers will need to determine how to fill.

In 2017, state auditors found the project had been mismanaged, and the contractor, Tech Mahindra, was fired the following year.

The state used an “unproven” technology with no history of successful implementation, and had “nonexistent” project management controls at the DMV, according to a report from a contractor, Gartner, that the state hired to determine what went wrong.

State officials selected a low-performing vendor that produced low-quality deliverables, provided employees that lacked core skills and had low team morale and poor communication, the Gartner study concluded.

The Review-Journal broke exclusive stories in 2019 showing the retired head of the DMV, Troy Dillard, went to work for Tech Mahindra right as the company was awarded the $75 million contract. The paper also successfully unsealed a lawsuit filed by a company executive, Brian Coffey, that charged that DMV employees sabotaged the modernization when their demands for millions in bribes were not met.

As much as $25 million was spent on equipment and technology that wasn’t usable.

No one was charged in case, and the DMV employees who worked on the contract remain on the state payroll, Malone said. Tech Mahindra and the state agreed to go their separate ways and the tech company was not required to pay back any of the money in a settlement designed to avoid litigation.

A Tech Mahindra spokesman and Tech Mahindra’s court filings in the Coffey case previously said that no corruption was involved in the contract.

The DMV is still collecting the technology fee, which brings in about $7 million a year, despite the ruling because computer programmers need time to remove the charge from the agency’s computer system, according to a DMV news release.

The agency is also determining how it will refund the fees that were unconstitutionally collected.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Looking for some family fun for Easter? Hop over to Simkins Park

Anyone looking for a fun, family-friendly festivity to enjoy this holiday can hop on over to Simkins Park to join the Mills family as they celebrate Easter Sunday with worship music, free food and an enormous 14,000-egg hunt that is sure to bring a smile to hundreds of faces.

Campground fees to increase at Death Valley National Park

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — Visitors to Death Valley National Park can expect a slight increase in entrance fees for various campgrounds beginning on May 1.

Clerk staffer Cori Freidhof appointed interim leader

Nye County Clerk Mark Kampf’s time in office officially comes to a close on March 31 and deputy clerk Cori Freidhof has now been selected to assume that vacated seat. Freidhof will take over the office as of Monday, April 1 and fulfill the unexpired term ending Jan. 1, 2027.

Gaming can have impact on us

When does gaming cross the line from recreational relaxation to problematic behavior? How do video games and gambling relate? What resources are available for those who find themselves struggling to control their relationship with video games and gambling?

County eyeing impact fee increases

The cost to develop in Pahrump could go up, with a public hearing on a proposal to raise local impact fees set for next month.

Here’s who filed as political candidates in Nye County

Locals have filed their political candidacy as of March 15 and this year two major offices in Nye County will be up for grabs in the general election. Nye County residents have to first narrow down their preferred party candidate on June 11 in the primary and then vote in November to support their preferred candidates.

Second Source donation for Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Nye County Sleep in Heavenly Peace is now better off thanks to a second donation from The Source dispensary’s Round Up program.

Beatty riled by sheriff’s substation closure

Lone staffer will be relocated to Pahrump to help with workload there; be onsite in Beatty just once a month.

Sales tax question headed to the ballot

Road conditions in the Pahrump Valley are a sore point for many drivers as well as a source of frustration for the crews dedicated to maintaining them but with only so many road dollars to go around, it can be hard to keep pace with the demand.