Rocky Mount, VA, town officials unanimously backed an appeal for the state to find a way to reopen the city's Department of Motor Vehicles branch, The Roanoke Times reported recently.

The branch was among 12 DMV offices closed at the end of October as Gov. Mark Warner made cuts in state agencies to address a $1.5 billion budget shortfall.

Officials in the town, which lies south of Roanoke, VA, on U.S. 220, stress the closing was unfair to the elderly and handicapped residents of Rocky Mount and Franklin County, who now must travel as far as 60 miles to visit the Roanoke or Martinsville DMV branches. Officials claim the closing also harmed area automotive dealers that relied on the DMV office to conduct transactions.

Warner has warned additional cuts would occur early next year, when he and the General Assembly will craft a plan to close the remainder of the budget gap. By the time the books are balanced, entire state agencies may be eliminated, the governor said.