Commission receives positive revenue report

By ROB LARSON
Daily Press Staff Writer
Commissioner Glenn Collier of District 3 and Commissioner Royce Pearson of District 2 spoke to the Daily Press Wednesday about the most recent Eddy County Commission meeting, during which the commission moved to renew a four-year lease for Artesia’s Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) and happily received a revenue report from Finance Director Debbie Penaluna.
The four-year lease appointed Greg Bland as the MVD office manager in Artesia. Aside from that, “all provisions of the current contract will remain in effect,” according to the commission’s agenda packet. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
Pearson and Collier also said they are both in favor of implementing a MVD transaction fee of up to $4. Collier promised the fee would go directly toward hiring more staff members.
“As Glenn mentioned during the meeting, we have 1,600 transactions that take place at the DMV on a monthly basis,” Pearson said. “I’m confident the fee will go a long way towards adding another person. Also, by no means are we trying to make money off of the DMV. It’s a service to Artesia, and we intend to make it run as smoothly as possible.”
According to County Manager Allen Sartin, the commission looked into potentially adding a transaction fee a few years ago; however, “the state changed their system.”