Department of Revenue News Release

JEFFERSON CITY - One local motor vehicle and license office will remain under the guidance of its current agent while another office will have new management.  The winning proposals for both offices were chosen as part of a reformed, competitive bidding process for all of Missouri's local license offices.

Alternative Opportunities, Inc. will continue to be the agent for the Joplin office, which is located at 1110 E. 7^th St.  The Springfield not-for-profit corporation provides a variety of services for youth, veterans and the physically challenged, and it has been the Joplin office agent since August of 2009.

The winning bid for the Joplin office was one of three submitted.  The contract with the state is good for one year, and the state has the right to renew the contract for three additional one-year periods.  According to figures from Fiscal Year 2009, an estimated 148,916 transactions were conducted at the office during that year, and $505,833 in contract agent processing fees were generated.

The Joplin License Office is one of 10 offices initially awarded in 2009 that are being re-bid at the request of the Missouri Department of Revenue because of incomplete information provided by the winning bidder during the first round of bidding.  Four of the 10 offices have been re-awarded.

The Linn License Office has been awarded for the first time under the competitive bidding process.  The winning bid, which was one of two submitted, was provided by the City of Linn.  The new office will be located at 1200 E. Main St. (City Hall).  An estimated 14,552 transactions were conducted at the office in FY 2009, and $49,031 in agent fees were processed.

Bidders have the option of returning a portion of an office's revenues to the state.  Alternative Opportunities' winning bid included a 7 percent ($35,408) annual return to the state.  No return to state was included in the winning bid for the Linn office.  More than $1 million is estimated to be returned to the state in the first full year of operations from the 182 license offices that have been awarded so far under the reformed bidding process. There are 183 offices statewide.

Details about changes in office operations, if any, will be announced by the agents.

Although Gov. Jay Nixon authorized the Department of Revenue to implement the new bidding system in January of 2009, it didn't become part of state law until legislation was signed by the Governor in July of 2009. The new law was overwhelmingly approved by both Republican and Democratic members of the Missouri Legislature.

Alana M. Barragán-Scott, director of the Department of Revenue, noted that the benefits of the competitive bidding process are especially apparent in Linn.

"The City of Linn really stepped up, and I was thankful that its bid and the other bid were submitted for the local office," she said.  "Among the improvements in the winning bid is the opening of a new and larger location, so the customers in the Osage County area will be the main beneficiaries of this change."

All local license offices provide services that are overseen by the Department of Revenue, but each office is operated by an independent contractor.  Transactions that are conducted at these offices include the issuance and renewal of driver licenses, issuance of titles for motor vehicles, and the issuance and renewal of registration for motor vehicles, boats and outboard motors.

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