By Randy Foster
editor@cherokeescout.com
Murphy – DMV and license plate offices in Cherokee County had an unannounced visit from the boss on Feb. 13 – Wayne Goodwin, commissioner of the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.
Goodwin, who is based in Raleigh, was touring the western part of the state, visiting local offices, chatting with workers and checking on customer satisfaction.
He visited the license plate office in Murphy and the driver’s license office in Andrews during a three-day tour of the west, which included Henderson County, where customers and even the sheriff have complained about long lines.
Goodwin found the line short at the Murphy license plate office, which is operated by contractor Phoebe Donohue. She also operates the license plate office in Franklin.
Donohue was working the counter Tuesday when Goodwin stopped by for what he described as an “undercover boss” visit. He stood in line, inspecting bulletin board announcements and letting real customers step in line ahead of him until a lull allowed him to chat with Donohue.
“I just want to show appreciation, say hello, get feedback,” Goodwin said.
As DMV commissioner, Goodwin oversees 115 driver’s license offices, including the one in Andrews, and 125 license plate agencies, including the one in Murphy.
Complaining about the DMV is a common thing, Goodwin said. “It’s cultural, it’s in every state,” he said.
Goodwin was appointed to the job by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2022, at the tail end of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic during a time of social distancing, office closures and staffing challenges. COVID forced the DMV to do some things that at one time would be unthinkable – like providing driver’s licenses to new drivers without a road test.
Goodwin is an educated man. He was a Morehead Scholar and U.S. Senate/William Randolph Hearst Scholar. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in political science, then went on to graduate from the UNC School of Law. While at UNC, he was a member of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.
He is also experienced with government, holding a variety of elected and appointed offices at the state level. He visited Cherokee County often when he was North Carolina’s insurance commissioner.
As DMV commissioner, he said he gets out of Raleigh for local office visits one to three days a week.
During his February tour, he visited Asheville, Clyde, Murphy and Andrews before finishing up in Henderson County, which was the main reason for the tour. He met with county officials in Henderson on Feb. 14 to address complaints.
DMV offices – the ones operated directly by the DMV and where drivers get and renew their driver’s licenses, as opposed to license plate offices, which are generally run by contractors – went through turmoil during COVID and are still on the rebound.
It reached a boiling point in Henderson County, where the sheriff joined a chorus of critics complaining about long wait times at the Hendersonville office. The complaints were published in the Hendersonville Lightning, an area news outlet.
During and after the pandemic, DMV offices statewide lost several hundred frontline workers. Fewer employees led to longer lines and longer wait times. This includes western North Carolina, Goodwin told the Lightning.
Changes in the labor market and salaries not keeping up both with inflation and the private sector made it difficult to fill the positions.
Over the last two years, DMV has filled more than 250 vacant positions, including many in WNC, thanks to an intensive recruitment effort, compensation increases and hiring and retention bonuses, he said.
Still, the region’s license plate offices – which include Andrews, Asheville, Asheville Express, Brevard, Bryson City, Burnsville, Clyde, Forest City, Franklin, Hendersonville, Marion, Marshall, Morganton, Newland, Spruce Pine and Sylva – had 20 vacancies (six temporary full time, 14 permanent full time) out of 56 positions.
To keep all offices in the region open, multiple western North Carolina offices have had to share employees, which causes a domino effect impacting lines and wait times, Goodwin said.
While statewide there are only 10 percent vacancies in full-time permanent positions – a tremendous achievement in contrast with two years ago, he said – the vacancy rate among temporary full-time positions is more than 70 percent statewide. Goodwin is seeking approval to convert full-time temporary positions without benefits to permanent positions with full state benefits to address the problem.
Details: Many DMV services can be handled at MyNCDMV.gov.