County investigates running tag office

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners is investigating the possibility of re-opening the license plate agency as a county office.

The board was informed Monday that County Manager Don Adams and Tax Administrator Mary Walker had met with North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles representatives to discuss the move.

"The previous board had an interest in possibly taking that over," said Adams.

However, no move was made in that direction pending the retirement of Georgia Warden. Ms. Warden closed down her office and retired effective Nov. 16. She had operated the office since first opening it in 1967.

While several other counties do run their own tag offices, most, like Alleghany, have typically been operated by private individuals. Ashe and Watauga counties both operate their own tag offices.

Adams said he had considered combining the office with the county tax office. That office is located in the new County Administration Building at 348 South Main St. However, concerns about space and the distraction and difficulties arising from the heavy traffic created by combining the two offices was a concern for tax officials.

The DMV requested that the tag office have its own dedicated window, if it were co-located in the current tax office. The tag office also would need to have a separate computer system.

 

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