Every once in awhile, the wheels of bureaucracy come cranking to a halt and, even more rarely, kick into reverse.

That loud screeching noise you may have heard Monday came from just such an event happening at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Plans to privatize the state license-plate distribution to for-profit vendors have been withdrawn.

This came after strong objections were mounted by the county tax collectors who sell the plates for the DMV now.

Monroe County Tax Collector Dee Dee Henriquez joined colleagues in opposition to the idea, telling the Keynoter back in October — when DOT first floated their trial balloon — that this would be bad for motorists.

If license tags were outsourced, she said, “There is no benefit to the consumer. There will be longer waits and it could take three to five days longer to receive their tags if they go to centralized tag issuance. My office provides immediate turnaround.”

Apparently the message was heard at DMV headquarters. On Monday, Director, Julie Jones told the Miami Herald: “Based on the input, we have decided to withdraw.”

The agency still plans to move forward with a redesign of the state’s license plate, employing larger, bolder letters. The purpose: “To make the plates more readable by toll booth cameras.”

The wheels grind on.