State license office control faces change

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- There was a time in Missouri government when a change in administrations from one political party to another meant that nearly all state employees lost their jobs.

Under the old patronage system, the incoming governor didn't just replace department heads and other high-level officials with his own people, as is currently the case. State employment was a reward for supporting the winning side, and just about everyone, including prison guards and janitors, were political appointees.

Today Missouri has a professional, merit-based bureaucracy. Rank-and-file state workers need not fear ending up in the unemployment line while their jobs go to loyalists of the new regime.

A vestige of political patronage, however, remains with the allocation of contracts to run state license bureaus.

Of the 182 offices around the state where Missourians can go to get new drivers' licenses or vehicle plates, all but the 11 state-run offices are operated by private parties who are awarded the franchises by the governor through the director of the Missouri Department of Revenue.

With a captive customer base and guaranteed fees for every transaction, license offices can be lucrative operations for those aligned with the party in power.

Once he takes office in January, Republican Gov.-elect Matt Blunt will have the contracts for 171 offices to distribute. Since Democrats have controlled the executive branch for the last 12 years, a good deal of turnover is expected.

Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson said decisions concerning the license offices won't be made until after the first of the year. The calls from hopefuls, however, are already rolling in.

"We are just getting started on that process and hearing from interested individuals in almost every county," Jackson said.

The privately run license offices collected $656.9 million in revenue for the state during the last fiscal year, according to the revenue department. Fee agents grossed an estimated $30.9 million based on the number of transactions processed.

From their gross collections, however, fee agents have to pay all operating expenses, including employee salaries, rent for office space, utilities and taxes. The revenue department doesn't track how much profit fee agents make.

The bulk of the license offices are run by individuals. At present, however, 37 offices are managed by local governments, charitable foundations or service clubs such as the Jaycees, Rotarians or Lions. Local chambers of commerce run the bureaus in 15 cities.

In 18 Southeast Missouri counties there are 23 license offices. For the last fiscal year, they collected a combined $59 million for the state, while grossing an estimated $3.3 million for the agents who run them.

Southeast's office prizes

All of the region's license offices are run by individuals except for those in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, which are operated by the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation.

Then-Gov. Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, awarded the foundation the contracts for those offices in September 1993. During the preceding 12 years under Republican administrations, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson chambers of commerce ran the offices in their respective cities.

Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins said he hopes Blunt will allow the foundation to maintain control of the license bureaus.

While the two offices grossed approximately $447,000 combined last year, Dobbins said the foundation typically clears between $50,000 and $75,000 annually from them after expenses.

From the profit, $17,000 goes to support the Small Business Development Center, which promotes economic development in Southeast Missouri. The remaining proceeds are deposited into an endowment that provides a perpetual revenue stream for need-based scholarships.

The endowment is currently at approximately $425,000, enabling Southeast to distribute $20,000 a year in scholarships. The university's goal is to build a $1 million endowment that would allow for $50,000 in annual scholarships.

Without the need-based scholarships, Dobbins said many of the recipients would not attend Southeast.

"In essence, those students come to Cape Girardeau and put money into the economy," Dobbins said.

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, which had operated the bureaus 12 years ago prior to the foundation, is investigating the possibility of getting them back, said John Mehner, chamber president.

Southeast board of regents president Don Dickerson said he understands the license office contracts are political plums but expects Blunt will carefully weigh any decision affecting the foundation's continued operation of the bureaus.

"Obviously, it is the governor's call," Dickerson said. "I hope he takes into consideration not just the good it has done for students but the economic impact."

As the fund-raising arm of the university, the foundation might be at less risk of losing its contracts than individual Democrats who run the offices in other cities.

Donnie Kiefer, who operates the Chaffee office, plans to apply with Blunt to keep his contract but isn't optimistic. Carnahan originally awarded the contract to Kiefer, who unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket in 2002.

Kiefer's two primary concerns are about the fate of his three employees and the office's continued future in Chaffee.

"If somebody south of us or even in Scott City or the Benton area gets the appointment, they might move the office," Kiefer said. "That would be a shame."

While fee agents sign are contractually obligated to follow state law and revenue department regulations, most decisions related to operations made locally, including where offices are located and personnel matters.

A couple of years ago, current Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, reassigned the contract for the Stoddard County. The new fee agent subsequently moved the local license bureau from Bloomfield to Dexter.

Revenue department spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said that when new fee agents take charge they often retain existing employees because they are already trained. However, the agents have no obligation to do so.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608