A new comptroller’s audit raises doubts about the accuracy of how the Haslam administration measures wait times for driver’s license applicants at Department of Safety and Homeland Security-run license stations, reports the Times-Free Press.

The problem?

“[W]ait times are measured from the time a client receives a ticket at the driver license station, not when the client first enters the line at the state, to the time the examiner enters the client’s transaction into the computer upon the transactions,” auditors from Comptroller Justin Wilson’s office said.

…Regarding the driver wait time issue, auditors visited several stations to see how it all worked for themselves.

“Although we did not see lines outside the buildings during the middle of the day, some clients stated that they did wait a considerable amount of time before they got their tickets,” the 49-page audit says.

Some auditors were told of waits as long as two hours. The department is supposed to get transactions processed in under 30 minutes.

…Auditors noted the first step in the Driver Services Division’s Q-Matic computer system process, which is used to track wait times, calls for issuing tickets to each application either upon entering the (station) or, if the line is longer, setting the ticket issuer up outside the station.

“Driver license station staff are clearly not doing this,” auditors said and then went on to raise the key issue. “Without taking into consideration when clients first attempt to get services at the stations (i.e., when they first enter a line), the division cannot accurately measure all customer service delays at these stations.”

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Note: The full audit report is HERE.