El Paso County officials, dealers discuss staffing, closures as vehicle title backlog persists

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Used car dealers and veterans groups urged patience from the public while calling for additional staffing at the El Paso County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office during and after Monday’s Commissioners Court meeting, saying state-mandated changes have created months-long delays for vehicle registrations.

Representatives from the El Paso Independent Dealers Association said House Bill 718, which took effect in July, fundamentally changed how dealer transactions are processed, creating a backlog that affects buyers, sellers and county offices alike.

“We’ve been dealing with this problem with the new bill of HB 718 for quite some time now,” James Hobson, El Paso Independent Dealers Association board member said. “The challenges and the demands of the citizens of El Paso and the used car dealers of El Paso are great.”

Dealers said the registration process, which once could be completed the same day, can now take months.

“Prior to (HB 718), we would take the transaction down to the county, and the transaction would be done that day,” Hobson said. “Now, we’ve had transactions that we are waiting two and three months for the registration to come back.”

Those delays affect dealership financing, since dealers must complete registration before banks release payment.

“The dealers want their white slip so they can get paid,” Hobson said. “It’s just been a ripple effect.”

Hobson added that early problems with the state system led to repeated rejections of paperwork, compounding delays.

“We had several rejections going back and forth, back and forth, sometimes two and three times for one transaction,” he said.

Tax Assessor-Collector Ruben Gonzalez has responded by closing some tax offices to the public on Fridays to reassign staff to dealer transactions.

“He’s doing the best he can,” El Pasoan Darryl Mond said at the meeting. “But the reality is this, (Gonzalez) needs more people.”

Mond said shifting staff creates a bottleneck for residents renewing registrations.

“You pull off three, now you got two people, but you still got more people coming in that front door,” he said.

Mond added that at one point, he even volunteered to help the Tax office with small tasks to free up employees to work on registration, but learned that state rules prevent volunteers or dealership employees from assisting with basic tasks, even when help is offered.

Dealers said Gonzalez’s strategy has reduced the backlog but warned the progress may not last.

“The numbers have come down,” Hobson said. “But what we’re concerned about … is the fact that the holidays are coming. Tax season is coming. So the numbers are going to go back up.”

Despite the frustrations, dealers emphasized that the delays are not their fault.

“Be patient,” Hobson said. “And don’t blame the dealer.”