Full Report (PDF) - Office of the Legislative Auditor

BACKGROUND 11Figure 1.6: Criteria for Establishment of New Deputy Registrar OfficesLocationMinimum Distancefrom Existing DeputyRegistrarsMinimum EstimatedTransaction VolumeMaximum Numberof Deputies inMunicipalityHennepin and Ramsey Counties Smiles 35,000no standardother Metropolitan Counties;Non-metropolitan cities withpopulation over 50,000Smiles20,000no standardNon-metropolitan cities withpopulation between 25,000 and50,000no standard 4,000 2Non-metropolitan municipalities withless than 25,000 population15 miles or25minutes drivingtime4,000 1Note: In addition, no office location may be approved if it will reduce the annual transactions of an existing deputy registrar to lessthan:1. 35,000 for eXisting deputy registrar offices in Hennepin or Ramsey County;2. 20,000 for existing offices in other metropolitan counties or in non-metropolitan cities with a population over SO,OOO; or3. 4,000 for existing offices in non-metropolitan municipalities with a population less than 50,000.Source: Minnesota Rules. Ch. 7406.0300.tween deputy registrars, minimum transaction levels the deputy must be projectedto meet, and maximum numbers of deputies in a municipality.In Hennepinand Ramseycounties, a newdeputy may notbe locatedwithin 9 112miles ofadeputy thatprocesses fewerthan 50,000transactionsper year.For municipalities in metropolitan counties or with a population over 50,000, newdeputy registrars cannot be located within 5 miles of an existing deputy registrar.For municipalities with a population less than 25,000, new deputy registrars cannotbe within 15 miles or 25 minutes driving time of an existing deputy. Currently,no distance standard exists for municipalities with populations between25,000 and 50,000, though there cannot be more than two deputies in such municipalities.8A proposed new location must have a projected level of 35,000 transactions peryear ifit is located in Hennepin or Ramsey County, 20,000 transactions in othermetropolitan counties or cities with population over 50,000, and 4,000 transactionsin the rest of the state. Projections are based on a percentage of transactionsmade at all nearby deputy registrars.DPS rules also prohibit a new deputy registrar if it were projected to bring thenumber of transactions of an existing deputy below a level ranging from 4,000 to35,000, depending on location. For example, the rules assume that a new deputyregistrar would take away 30 percent of the transactions of an existing deputy inHennepin or Ramsey county that is less than 9-112 miles of the proposed location.8 The Department of Public Safety is drafting new rules for the deputy registrar system. The departmentplans to apply the five-mile standard to all municipalities with a population exceeding25,000 and to delete the 25 minute driving time standard.