Brief by Central Staff
Driving – August 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Most of the recent session of our state legislature was devoted to budget-cutting. One result, thanks to reductions in funding for the courts, will be even lengthier litigation.
Another is that it will be more difficult to get a driver’s license in rural Colorado.
As of Aug. 1, the driver’s license offices in Silverton, Creede, and Del Norte will close. All had been open just one day a month with a traveling examiner.
The Colorado Department of Revenue said the closures were on account of low volume; with budgets tight, the state needs to focus its spending.
During fiscal year 2003, the Silverton office produced only 34 licenses; Creede had 76, and Del Norte 145. Since November of last year, 28 offices have been closed.
The Department pointed out that 56 offices remain open, and drivers aged 21 to 66 can generally renew their licenses by mail.
That’s what the Central management did a couple of years ago. It should be noted that the mail-renewal licenses use the same old pictures. That’s not entirely a bad thing (Ed had a lot more hair on his scalp then, and it was red instead of gray), but then again, what’s the purpose of a “Photo ID” if the 12-year-old photo doesn’t resemble its subject?
