The population of NC has grown about 30% in the last 20 years, but staffing has been capped. Wait times to get a license are ridiculous. https://www.wral.com/consumer/5onyourside/ncdmv-long-waits-d...
'“Whether the root cause is a lack of money, that’s still to be determined. Or whether it’s how we’re spending the money that’s already appropriated,” Boliek said.' From your article.
Yes, they can't even fill positions - that is how incompetent Republicans are.
You can also read the articles back in the context, including things like the audit where they are investing if it's that they don't get enough money or if they aren't spending it well. If you can make technological advancements that increase efficiency, then it's stupid to just throw more bodies at the problem. Studying the problem makes sense before political finger pointing.
They can't fill and retain the positions because of a number of factors, but in a large part the pay is about $45k/yr and people find better options. They had almost 25% vacancies after covid, likely due to the wage growth in many other low paying sectors.