CT DMV Issues Could Cost State Millions

By: Bridget Clerkin February 9, 2016
A glitch in the DE DMV's computer system may cost the state millions of dollars.
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The state of Connecticut could be at a loss of millions in taxable property due to another glitch in the newly-installed computer software at the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Among the latest batch of mishaps being caused by the technology rollout is tens of thousands of vehicles being listed in the wrong municipality by the DMV’s computers. The effect of the misinformation has caused tax assessors in local towns to see hundreds of cars suddenly “missing” from their tax rolls, and the total economic effect could be huge.

In West Hartford alone, where more than 500 cars are now “missing,” the town could lose out on nearly $7.6 million in taxes, according to numbers presented by the Hartford Courant.

The erroneously reassigned vehicles are just one of a spate of new problems to be caused by the software. The computers have also listed vehicles made in 2015 as 1995 models and matched zip codes on the registration of nearly 100,000 cars and trucks to the tax codes of the wrong towns.

The issue was discovered after West Hartford town officials realized that nearly 90 school buses in the city were no longer accounted for.

By law, tax assessors in Connecticut must have had their list of accountable motor vehicles compiled by January 31, but in the wake of the widespread errors, nearly all of the state’s 169 municipalities have applied for an extension.

The tax issues are the latest in a series of problems caused by the CT DMV’s $25 million technology switch. A backlog stemming from the software installation resulted in hundreds of drivers being falsely labeled as having suspended vehicle registrations last month, which caused a number of residents to be wrongfully pulled over and ticketed.

And in the immediate wake of the upgrade last fall, DMV patrons in Connecticut saw average wait times as high as 98 minutes—nearly an hour longer than wait times during the same period the previous year.

It seems that the wait for this problem to be fixed will likely be much longer for local tax assessors.

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