HARTFORD —Gov. Dan Malloy has announced his new leadership team at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The team will bring a combination of inside knowledge at the DMV and experience in the private sector.
Current Deputy Commissioner Michael Bzdyra will bump up to commissioner and Judeen Wrinn will be deputy commissioner.
Bzdyra said, “Our combination will create a smooth transition to the path of change and out of the box thinking for creative, innovative solutions.”
The DMV is definitely in need of solutions. Since rolling out its $26 million software in August it's been a bumpy ride. It started with much longer lines, to faulty notices about expired car insurance, and even cities and towns getting the wrong tax bills for cars.
Wrinn says, “When I was approached about DMV, it felt eerily familiar.”
Wrinn relates several months of frustration for drivers at the DMV to a major problem at Aetna when she was a front-line customer service representative. “Customers were screaming, employees were crying every single day and if you think I'm exaggerating, I'm not. I lived it.”
Wrinn put a team together and substantially improved service to the customer. She said, “We have to understand the underlying cause of the issues.”
Wrinn and Bzdyra say they are ready to take on the challenge of fixing the glitched system.
Another challenge they face is dealing with the pushback Malloy has received since proposing legislation to reduce wait times. Part of that would allow drivers who owe car taxes to be able to register their cars.
Malloy says it's the cities' and towns' responsibility and the DMV is not a collection agency, but he's willing to compromise. His new leadership also is.
Bzdyra says, “We can certainly look at that and try to address it so that our customers wait time comes down as a result of that, but at the same time try and recognize some of the town's concerns.”
The new leadership roles take effect Friday.