Jul 18, 2008 5:29 am US/Mountain
Colo. Loses $$$ When Residents Don't Register Cars
Written By Brian Maass
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Colorado and its counties are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, maybe millions, due to out of staters who move to Colorado and fail to register their vehicles and get Colorado plates.
"We really have a suspicion there are many out there who should be getting Colorado plates," said Jack Arrowsmith, Douglas County Clerk and Recorder.
Arrowsmith conservatively estimates his county is losing more than $120,000 each year in fees when new residents don't change over and get Colorado plates.
Responding to the issue, Douglas County has implemented a system so residents can notify officials of new arrivals who aren't getting Colorado plates in a timely manner.
By law, you're supposed to get Colorado plates 30 days after establishing residency. The tips come in through the county's Web site.
Since its inception a year ago, Arrowsmith says they've been getting about one or two tips each month. He says the information is then passed along to the sheriff's department which "actually goes to the house, knocks on the door and tells them its Colorado law and they need to get Colorado plates. And they give them a grace time."
He says no citation is issued during that personal visit, but the residents are told to immediately contact the county and get Colorado plates.
CBS4 found Denver's Manager of Golf, Scott Rethlake, was one of those newer Colorado residents who had tiptoed around state law, although he said it was unintentional. He was hired and moved to Colorado from Arizona in late 2006, but took a full year to get Colorado plates.
"I work too much, I couldn't get over there," said Rethlake. "I was not trying to get around paying it," he said. Rather it was "just an oversight."
The Colorado Department of Revenue says it has no idea how many new residents like Rethlake are cheating the state; intentionally or not. Revenue spokesman Mark Couch said the state does not have the resources to track down scofflaws who don't get Colorado plates.
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