Audit Finds BMV Lacked Oversight

 In the wake of lawsuits over fee overcharges and millions handed out in refunds, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles hired consulting group 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. 

Hoosiers will be getting more refunds from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles over the next couple of months as further overcharges surface.

BMV Commissioner Kent Abernathy said 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 Rep.Dan Forestal said 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.