State sporting license operations to go online

DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is shifting its licensing operations over to an electronic system that is expected to reduce paperwork and improve efficiency.

By late next year, instead of writing out a license by hand, agents for the department’s licensing division will simply type the licensing information into a computerized program that’s linked to the state department.

“It’s going to put all of the customers and their transactions into a database, thereby it’s going to make it easier for our agents,” Vesta Billing, DIF&W director of licensing and registrations and project manager for MOSES, the Maine Online Sportsmens Electronic System, said recently.

“The overall effort is to eliminate paperwork, simplify the process and save money,” Billing said. The most efficient way was sought so the department could spend more of its resources on enforcement and management, she said.

Billing said the system will have a “tremendous” amount of security built into it.

A number of municipalities that act as DIF&W agents, however, have complained that the new system will require them to make costly investments in new computer equipment. They also have complained that they haven’t been sufficiently informed about the change.

The department has contracted with MCI World Com to serve as the vendor for MOSES at a cost of $3.7 million over a five-year period. Of that amount, $2 million is for the development of the program.

A cost benefit study done about two years ago showed that the new program will bring considerable savings to the department, according to Billing. In addition, the new program is expected to help with law enforcement by providing a centralized listing of licensees.

In order to participate, the approximately 1,200 DIF&W agents, which include about 450 municipalities that issue hunting, fishing, snowmobile, boating and all-terrain vehicle licenses and registrations across the state will have to have a computer and printer. The software will be provided by the department.

The details of the system are still being devised, and much more work is needed for the transition, including training the agents on the program, according to the project manager. She said she expected the program to be offered to all agents by the fall of 2001.

Billing said a meeting was held last week with agents during which the changes were discussed. The agents, she said, pointed out the positive and negative aspects of the new program to state officials.

Among the negatives identified by a few agents is the local cost to participate in the program, which means for some, the purchase of equipment. For agents in remote areas who serve sporting camps visitors or in tiny communities that have limited funds, this would prove difficult, if not impossible.

A survey of agents completed a year ago indicated that 65 percent of them already have a computer, and many of those who stated they did not own one said they intended to purchase one, the official said.

Billing admitted there will be some situations in which current agents won’t be able to comply with the new change, such as those who live in areas without utilities. She speculated that there will be an alternative way offered to these agents for the issuance of licenses. She suggested that it might still be a paper license, but one that is simplified.

The DIF&W has discussed the need for a change in licensing for about two years and has conducted several meetings about the matter, according to Billing. The official said the department has been preparing a database for the last five years.

Still, some agents say they are ill informed about the department’s plan.

Cathy O’Leary of Houlton said this week that she had received only one notice about the project. Town officials there haven’t discussed it, she said, because they figure it will take a while for the state to resolve its issues.

Dover-Foxcroft selectmen last week discussed the department’s new system and the fact that it will be costly. Because the licensing program is a public service, the board agreed to look into updating the computer system to accommodate the licenses.

In neighboring Guilford, the agent said cost will be a factor in whether town officials decide to continue as an agent for the department.

“It will all depend upon the cost to the town,” Town Clerk Dorene Graf said this week.

Shirley Tax Collector Geneva Beckwith, who also serves the unorganized territories from her home, said this week that she doesn’t think the town will purchase the equipment needed. She said it will be too costly for a small town with only about 200 year-round residents.

Despite the costs, some town officials say any change in the system will be an improvement. Kathy Lee, Medway town clerk, said she thinks the changeover will be great for all municipalities. Her town will need to make some improvements to accommodate the program, she said.

“Most are receptive, but apprehensive in what it will evolve,” Billing said. “The majority are anxious to make the move because they don’t like the paperwork.”

Among the benefits to the agents, Billing said their liability will be decreased because they will not have to pay for lost documents as they have in the past, and they will have quicker access to information. Agents will receive the same filing fee from the state but will have less work.

Presently, agents receive $2 for each hunting license, $1 for each pheasant license, 25 cents for each duck stamp and $1 for each registration.

Additionally, the agents will have less paperwork. Billing said agents currently record their inventories, send back receipts, file monthly reports and return unsold licenses at the end of the year, for a long paper trail. In return, state officials record the information provided by the agents, send out monthly bills and file the monthly reports. “There’s a lot of manual labor going into this on both ends,” she said.

Along with less paperwork, customers will see improved services. Billing said customers who purchase all of their licenses at one time will have one document to retain. For those who purchase them separately, the license will be upgraded each time and the information combined onto one document. Customers also can apply at the same time for participation in DIF&W lotteries.