Chattooga County Tax Commissioner Joy Hampton is asking for patience from the public as her office starts using the new statewide computer program called “Georgia DRIVES.”

According to Department of Drivers Services Commissioner Spencer Moore, the state initiated the new system to “optimize performance and ensure that DRIVES is always running modern, state-of-the-art hardware.”  The DRIVES system is used by all 159 tax offices in the state for vehicle and license renewals.

On Tuesday, the day the new system debuted, the statewide network crashed for a period of time.  Chattooga Tax Commissioner Hampton told WZQZ News that her office was full of people who had been waiting for several days to do their tag and license business because of the statewide system being down from December 30th through January 3rd.

Hampton said that the public has been very patient and understanding during the transition.

The tax commissioner said, “We are having some issues with things running slow but they are running. Also, the phone has rang off the hook and we can’t keep up with the lines. So if you try and can’t reach us, just keep trying.”  Hampton added, “The whole state all at once playing catch up is bogging down the system .”