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Report Finds Rampant Problems Within BMV

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Hoosiers will be getting more refunds from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles over the next couple of  months as further overcharges surface. An outside assessment of the BMV revealed rampant problems within the embattled agency.

The BMV, in the wake of lawsuits over fee overcharges and millions handed out in refunds, hired  consulting firm BKD to evaluate the agency.  BKD’s report, released Monday, uncovered numerous  issues, including problems with the BMV leadership structure, a complex fee system, and a lack of  internal controls and effective oversight.  

The report also identifies new refunds, the details of which are  expected next month.  And BKD’s evaluation says the catalog of about 1,200 fees and taxes the  bureau is responsible for is riddled with errors.  

BMV Commissioner Kent Abernathy says the agency is  already moving to address some issues, an effort that includes hiring a Chief Information Officer and  creating an internal audit team for the BMV Central Office, which the report says hasn’t been  independently audited in more than five years.  

Indianapolis Democratic Representative Dan Forestal  says the report confirms what his party has been saying – that the BMV is a mess.  And he says the  legislature must overhaul what he calls the BMV’s “labyrinthine” fee system.  

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.