by Kate Shunney
Talk recently that there may be a Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office coming to Berkeley Springs has been confirmed by a state spokeswoman, and a bill is now before the West Virginia Legislature that could fund that facility.
Natalie Holcomb of the West Virginia Department of Transportation confirmed to The Morgan Messenger that a new regional office here is in the works.
“We are in the early stages of planning an additional office in the Eastern Panhandle. We have not formalized any plans yet,” she said by email.
Meanwhile, HB 3313 was introduced on March 31 that would add $1,400,000 in supplemental appropriations for the Division of Motor Vehicles in fund 9007. The bill doesn’t mention Berkeley Springs, but in a budget adjustment letter to legislators, Gov. Jim Justice on March 29 asked for $1.4 million to be added to the DMV budget with the line specifying the money “To add a new DMV Regional Office in the Eastern Panhandle.”
The nearest DMV office to Morgan County is in Hedgesville, in Berkeley County. Some county residents used to drive to the DMV office in Romney due to shorter wait times, but that office was closed this winter and moved to Keyser.
No further details about a local DMV office location were available, or a timeframe for when it could open. If it passes, HB 3313 would add funds for the agency in the 2022 fiscal year, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2022.
