After years of trying to update decades-old IT infrastructure, the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has started a massive $50 million project to overhaul its computer systems and expand online services for customers.
The DMV rolled out the first phase of its two-part modernization project in mid-November, introducing a new online portal for digital services and beginning an update of the department’s internal IT infrastructure.
The transition included the first steps in completely replacing the department’s 50 year-old core mainframe system. The department also changed its point-of-sale system, where payment transactions are processed.
“Really what we’re trying to do is to automate a lot of manual activity, resulting in more efficiency for the department, better service for our customers and for businesses,” said DMV Commissioner Wanda Minoli, in an interview.
Phase two, set to roll-out in mid-2025, will primarily feature internal changes related to services for the Vermont’s drivers as the department completes its shift to the new mainframe system.
State agencies in Vermont have historically struggled to execute major IT overhauls, and the DMV is no exception. Efforts to bring the motor vehicle department’s technology up to date trace as far back as 2006, when the state invested approximately $18 million in an ill-fated attempt to overhaul the department’s IT systems.
This time around, however, officials say the effort has been a success.
“We have had some bad experiences with IT projects in the past, some experiences where you just can’t seem to get to the end of them,” said state Rep. Laura Sibilia I-Dover, who sits on the state’s Joint Information Technology Oversight Committee.
Despite the large cost and trouble, Sibilia said that such projects are “not optional” moving forward. “This is how modern government and society functions,” she said.
“This is a major, major undertaking at the DMV,” said Sibilia. “As best we can see, the commissioner has just done a terrific job working with the Agency of Digital Services and outside consultants to get the first part of this project done on time, and that’s a great service to Vermonters.”
The current project comes as a part of Vermont’s broader push to update IT infrastructure throughout state government.
In 2022, the state created a special fund of just over $50 million to pay IT modernization projects. Over $20 million of that has been allocated to the DMV, which is also relying on funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the state general fund and its existing budget, according to Minoli.
“Our processing time was just unbelievable,” said Minoli of the old system. “We were working with multiple different database systems that didn’t talk to one another.” Minoli noted that some transactions could require different employees to enter the same data up to 7 different times and could thus take up to 30 days to process.
With the elimination of those extra steps, most transactions can now be completed on the spot at the DMV offices, which as a result no longer needs to provide documents like temporary license plates.
“Say you came in to register a new vehicle, you would leave with temporary documents, you’d leave with the temporary plate and all of that,” explained Minoli. “Then it would go into the back room and we would process it, we would process the title, put all of the information into our systems, and then mail you some duplicative information with your official documents.”
“When you come in now, you will leave with your license plates. You will leave with your title. You will leave with your registration,” said Minoli. “You are done with the DMV.”
But the IT upgrades won’t necessarily slash wait times at local DMV branches — at least not right away.
Minoli said in a written statement that it was “too early to provide any concrete data” demonstrating that recent changes had substantially decreased wait times.
The commissioner also emphasized that staff shortages remain an obstacle to lower wait times, noting that the agency was experiencing a 15% total job vacancy rate at DMV offices across the state.
As DMV employees continue to get accustomed to the new system, certain transactions may also take longer even as overall backroom processing times decrease.
“For now, things are a little more complicated just because it’s a brand new system and everyone’s still learning,” said Paul Chunn, a DMV district supervisor based in the South Burlington branch, in an interview.
“Transactions themselves typically take a few minutes longer at this point. The more we familiarize ourselves with the system, you know, the speed naturally comes along with that, as with any kind of training,” he said.
“I think the new system is going to help customer flow,” Chunn said. “I know in our old system we always had people coming back because they had issues because something was keyed wrong or something like that, but now that we’re doing everything on the front line, the system is able to catch a lot of potential issues and there are going to be a lot fewer errors down the line.”
Chunn also expressed his optimism that the increase in electronic services would make the DMVs in-person operations more efficient.
“In terms of business, I think, comparing what we’re doing now compared to the beginning of the year, I find that there’s actually fewer people coming to the DMV and more people are doing things online and through the mail,” said Chunn.
