TRENTON, N.J. – This November brings with it three mid-week closures for state offices – Election Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving – and no discussions about possibly keeping the Motor Vehicle Commission open this Thursday to address the ongoing backlog.
Gov. Phil Murphy said he had not thought about the question of Veterans Day and motor vehicles, according to a Nov. 8 New Jersey Globe article. Assemblyman Brian Bergen said his response is typical.
“While the public pays for services that don’t work for them, government takes a day off,” Bergen (R-Morris) said. “He should use his power to keep MVC offices open so people can do what they need to do. Otherwise, the backlog will never end. He has no solutions, he only creates more problems.”
The Motor Vehicle Commission, headed by Sue Fulton, is the only state agency to continue closing its offices when an employee tests positive for Covid-19, despite vaccine and testing mandates for employees, and mandatory masking for workers and visitors.
“It’s the governor’s lockdowns and the commissioner’s hair-trigger closures that caused this mess with the Motor Vehicle Commission. It’s not surprising he didn’t even consider keeping the offices open,” remarked the assemblyman.
The commission’s website announced today that its Camden Licensing Center is closed until Nov. 12 for that reason. Customers will be offered courtesy return passes for those missed appointments.
“For example: what good does a courtesy pass do for missed appointments? The answer is it doesn’t do any good at all. It makes going to the MVC even more inconvenient than it already is. Many people have to arrange childcare and transportation, and take off work, to keep these appointments,” Bergen added. “I think our citizens, including veterans, would be better served having motor vehicle offices open.”