ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, SportsMan faints in tag line, JeffCo leaders looking for solution

A man waiting in yet another long tag line outside the Jefferson County courthouse ended up needing medical treatment this morning. County officials say cases like that highlight the urgent need for more workers and revenue.

Wednesday's car tag line stretched through the courthouse and well into Linn Park. An elderly man who was waiting in it fainted.

Jefferson County commissioners say it's not how government should be run. They believe the line could be reduced by one third if the Center Point courthouse is reopened.

"We would need to rehire four staff people to do it. With our budget today, it's very hard to hire people unless we have a fix of some type," said Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos.

But that courthouse could close and the additional staff could be laid off another four or five weeks later without more money.

"It's not just reopening a myriad of satellite courthouses. We have to be strategic. We need to deploy technology," said Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington.

Like the courthouse, kiosks to buy tags on and purchasing faster processing equipment takes money. That's why an attorney is meeting with the Jefferson County Delegation to try to convince them to help find a new 40 million dollar revenue source, which will be tricky. One senator is trying to pass a statewide ban on occupational taxes.

But officials are optimistic

"It puts us in a situation where we need to find another solution," said Carrington.

Carrington says another solution could include a higher sales, gas or lease tax,

Commissioners are also supporting a bill from Representative Paul DeMarco, (R) Homewood, which allows cities to handle car tags. In the meantime, they are encouraging drivers to renew online.