Sarcoxie license fee office put up for bid

Operation of the Sarcoxie license fee office and five others have been put up for bid, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Revenue:

Six local motor vehicle license offices are the latest to be put up for bid by the state under a new competitive system championed by Gov. Jay Nixon.

“Although some license offices were awarded in the past to cities or local chambers of commerce, most were given away to political supporters,” Gov. Nixon said. “Under the new system, however, any interested person or group can submit a business proposal, and the best plan will be chosen without regard for politics or patronage.”

All 183 of Missouri’s local license offices will undergo this new competitive bidding process this year. Gov. Nixon’s new system was also recently put into state law after it was approved by large, bipartisan majorities in the Missouri General Assembly.

“Legislators from both political parties realized that customer service and efficient office operations should be what’s most important when awarding a license office,” Gov. Nixon said.

The six offices up for bid this week are in Keytesville, Milan, Perryville, Sarcoxie, Viburnum and Willow Springs. Bidders will have five weeks (or until September 22) to respond to bid proposals overseen by the Office of Administration (OA). Teams from the Missouri Department of Revenue will evaluate the bids.

Alana M. Barragán-Scott, acting director of the Department of Revenue, stressed the need for interested bidders to be specific in how they will improve customer service.

“Detailed proposals are evaluated better than vague promises,” she said. “It’s important for bidders to be specific about how they will deal with customer complaints, assist elderly or disabled patrons, measure customer satisfaction, and how they will cope with peak customer demands at the end of the month.”

Common transactions that take place at local license offices include renewing or applying for a driver license, renewing or applying for registration on motor vehicles, boats and outboard motors, and applying for titles and paying sales taxes on these units.

Copies of the Request for Proposals (RFPs) that bidders will use to develop their bids can be viewed at https://www.moolb.mo.gov/. To review an RFP, select “Guest” on the home page, click on “Open Bids By Agency,” then scroll through the list of bids until the appropriate bid is located. (Bid numbers for this week’s offices are located below.) Additional information regarding the bidding process can be obtained at http://oa.mo.gov/purch/vendorinfo/DORoffices.pdf or by calling OA at (573) 751-2387.

The time to bid for 141 of Missouri’s 183 license offices has ended. The list of bidders on offices for which the bidding time has closed can be obtained at http://oa.mo.gov/purch/dorlist.pdf. Fifty-eight offices have been awarded under the new bidding process.