In response to letter from JoCo commissioners, Kan. looks at waiving DMV renewal fees

OLATHE, Kan. - In a letter to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Johnson County commissioners expressed frustration with long wait times for residents and offered several ideas for improving the situation.

Click here to read the entire letter.

"Some residents are waiting eight hours or longer to get such transactions completed," the letter said. "We find such wait times wholly unacceptable."

As 41 Action News reported on July 6 , commissioners suggested waiving the 2.5% fee for renewing vehicles online.

"This convenience fee discourages and even penalizes customers from using the 'best option' to renew registrations," the letter said.

Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokeswoman for Brownback, said the governor thanked commissioners for the constructive suggestions on how to improve the adjustment to the new computer system.

Brownback also asked Department of Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan to see if the state could implement some or all of the commissioners' suggestions.

According to Department of Revenue spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda, the key to the decision is finding an alternate revenue source that could replace the $100,000 per month generated by the online fees.

Those fees help operate the kansas.gov web site, which handles the renewal transaction.

Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@kshb.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect with him on Facebook.