July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
BMV hearing set for September (8/3/05)
State considering closing Dunkirk, Albany branches
By By Robert Banser-
DUNKIRK — A public hearing concerning the prospect of closing the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles License Branch here has been slated for mid September.
BMV director of communications Greg Cook said the Dunkirk hearing is being planned for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Dunkirk license branch facility.
The BMV has proposed closing license branches in smaller communities across the state as a way to trim expenses and save money. Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard said that BMV director Joel Silverman told him this was a cost-cutting move which could save a total of $7 million for the BMV overall.
A similar hearing has tentatively been scheduled for the next day in nearby Albany in Delaware County. Set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, plans call for holding that hearing at the Albany license branch.
Cook said he wanted to emphasize that these were “tentative dates,” and the locations of the public hearings could also be changed to a different building in the local community.
Cook said that currently his office is focusing on setting up hearings at other BMV branches in August, and has not really turned its attention to the September schedule yet.
Meanwhile, petitions are circulating in Dunkirk, Albany and the surrounding areas in an attempt to change the minds of state officials about closing the local BMV branches. Those petitions are expected to be presented to state officials at the public hearings in September.
Dunkirk resident Oma Scruggs, who is helping coordinate the petition drive as a volunteer in her community, said that so far she has collected more than 500 signatures on the Dunkirk petitions. However, she noted that the petitions are still circulating and available for area residents to sign at several local businesses and other locations.
Scruggs said that she feels having a license branch in Dunkirk is a great benefit to the many elderly residents in the community. “When my dad was alive, I always thought it was so much easier for him to go there instead of driving out of town. And it made me feel a lot better, too,” she said.
Hubbard said he wants to encourage as many area residents as possible to sign the petitions and attend the Dunkirk hearing.
Hubbard said that he has already contacted local state legislators including State Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, and State Sen. Allen Paul, R-Richmond, in an attempt to enlist their aid in preventing the local branch from closing.
Also in recent weeks, several state legislators, including Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, have expressed concern to Gov. Mitch Daniels about possible political implications for the GOP, if the license branch closing proposals continue to go full speed ahead.
Bosma said that a substantial number of the branches on the chopping block are located in districts represented by Republican legislators, some of whom are relatively new, like Davis, in what could be described as a swing district which could go Democratic or Republican in the next election.
The Dunkirk license branch was included on a list released by the BMV in June of 24 branches which have been targeted for possible closing by the end of the year.
In addition to Albany that list also included Hagerstown, Middletown, Ossian, Parker City, Bicknell, Brownstown, Cambridge City, Chesterton, Churubusco, Clay City, Fairmount, Gary, Mooresville, Morristown, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, North Judson, Odon, Rockport, Syracuse, Versailles and Walkerton.
Earlier this year the BMV closed its branch office in Montpelier in Blackford County.[[In-content Ad]]
BMV director of communications Greg Cook said the Dunkirk hearing is being planned for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Dunkirk license branch facility.
The BMV has proposed closing license branches in smaller communities across the state as a way to trim expenses and save money. Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard said that BMV director Joel Silverman told him this was a cost-cutting move which could save a total of $7 million for the BMV overall.
A similar hearing has tentatively been scheduled for the next day in nearby Albany in Delaware County. Set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, plans call for holding that hearing at the Albany license branch.
Cook said he wanted to emphasize that these were “tentative dates,” and the locations of the public hearings could also be changed to a different building in the local community.
Cook said that currently his office is focusing on setting up hearings at other BMV branches in August, and has not really turned its attention to the September schedule yet.
Meanwhile, petitions are circulating in Dunkirk, Albany and the surrounding areas in an attempt to change the minds of state officials about closing the local BMV branches. Those petitions are expected to be presented to state officials at the public hearings in September.
Dunkirk resident Oma Scruggs, who is helping coordinate the petition drive as a volunteer in her community, said that so far she has collected more than 500 signatures on the Dunkirk petitions. However, she noted that the petitions are still circulating and available for area residents to sign at several local businesses and other locations.
Scruggs said that she feels having a license branch in Dunkirk is a great benefit to the many elderly residents in the community. “When my dad was alive, I always thought it was so much easier for him to go there instead of driving out of town. And it made me feel a lot better, too,” she said.
Hubbard said he wants to encourage as many area residents as possible to sign the petitions and attend the Dunkirk hearing.
Hubbard said that he has already contacted local state legislators including State Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, and State Sen. Allen Paul, R-Richmond, in an attempt to enlist their aid in preventing the local branch from closing.
Also in recent weeks, several state legislators, including Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, have expressed concern to Gov. Mitch Daniels about possible political implications for the GOP, if the license branch closing proposals continue to go full speed ahead.
Bosma said that a substantial number of the branches on the chopping block are located in districts represented by Republican legislators, some of whom are relatively new, like Davis, in what could be described as a swing district which could go Democratic or Republican in the next election.
The Dunkirk license branch was included on a list released by the BMV in June of 24 branches which have been targeted for possible closing by the end of the year.
In addition to Albany that list also included Hagerstown, Middletown, Ossian, Parker City, Bicknell, Brownstown, Cambridge City, Chesterton, Churubusco, Clay City, Fairmount, Gary, Mooresville, Morristown, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, North Judson, Odon, Rockport, Syracuse, Versailles and Walkerton.
Earlier this year the BMV closed its branch office in Montpelier in Blackford County.[[In-content Ad]]
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