The state is still committed to shutting down Warren County’s Driver Testing Center, something that will happen before May 31 if local officials are not successful in either reaching an agreement with the state or derailing the consolidation plan in the General Assembly.
“We have saved Tennessee taxpayers $1.3 million as a result of these mergers,” said Bill Gibbons, Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security during his meeting at Warren County Administrative Offices on Tuesday afternoon.
Gibbons noted Warren County's will be the ninth to close. “Not a single position has been eliminated," he said. "The employees will be transferred. All that is being eliminated is the operating costs of the station.”
Gibbons said the Warren County center costs about $77,000 to operate each year and there are empty work stations at other centers the employees from Warren County could fill. Gibbons said he looked at three different factors in deciding which centers to merge. Those included lease agreements, since some centers are stuck in leases that the state cannot break. He also said the level of activity had something to do with the choice, noting Warren County is in the bottom 26 percent, ranking 34th among the state’s 47 centers. He also said he considered alternate channels where customers can go if their center is closed.
Gibbons said Tullahoma's center is 30 minutes away, something that was objected to by state Sen. Janice Bowling who lives in Tullahoma.
“How do you get to Tullahoma in 30 minutes?” Bowling interjected to Gibbons’ claim, to which he responded he had checked MapQuest. “Well, MapQuest got lost.”
Gibbons urged the city and/or the county to consider a partnership whereby they could handle many of the tasks being done at the local state facility. He said the state has partnered with many counties and those counties can collect $4 surcharges for every transaction they make. He also said the state can enter partnerships with school systems where written and driving tests can be taken under the oversight of high school officials.
“We would love to partner with you and we can have someone down tomorrow to negotiate,” Gibbons said, noting the state could also provide a kiosk at the county government building that would help in many areas of state licensing and renewal. “We have 45 partnerships thus far.”
McMinnville Mayor Jimmy Haley pointed out licensing and photo ID for voters is a state-mandated issue.
“In the city we will have to let employees off part of a day just to renew their CDLs and parents will have to take half a day to take their children out of town to get their licenses,” Haley noted.” It’s a state mandate that puts a hardship on us.”
State Rep. Judd Matheny urged Gibbons to take a slower approach to shutting down the center, noting he feels something can be done in the state legislature this upcoming session.
“There is $700 million in discretionary surplus,” Matheny said. “We could remedy this through the legislative process.”
Gibbons gave no promises about when the local office would close but said the state will give a two-month notice before shutting it down.
“This is a difficult thing to swallow,” said state Rep. Kevin Dunlap, noting he had been assured Warren County would not be closed. “We take pride in our center.”
Mayor Haley suggested the city and county might work together to pay the rent at the existing center for a year to give lawmakers time to work out something that might save the center. He said the convenience might be worth the cost. Gibbons said he would entertain the offer but urged Haley and others to consider other partnerships with the state that could be more cost-effective to everyone.