BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Jefferson County likely will not meet a fall deadline to install a computer software system to shorten the wait time for residents who buy car tags, county officials said Friday.

Contract issues with a vendor is the reason for the delay, County Manager Tony Petelos said.

County commissioners were expecting a new software system in the revenue department by Oct. 1 to speed the wait time for frustrated customers who sometimes stand up to four hours to get motor vehicle services in the downtown and Bessemer Courthouses.

"Our technical and legal staff will continue to look at the contract," Petelos said. "The problem is that we never should have set the Oct. 1 date" until we had the contract with the vendor, he said.

County Commissioners said they are not pleased.

Last month, they told Petelos they wanted a new computer software program in place by this month to speed up the process. It was later discovered that the earliest the software could be in place would be October.

George Tablack, the county's chief financial officer, said it's not realistic to set a deadline with negotiations ongoing with software vendor Ingenuity, Inc., a Pelham-based business and technology services company.

"We continue to negotiate to protect the county from the potential risk of costs in the future," Tablack said. "It'll be done when it's done. Negotiations require two parties to come to a meeting of the minds."

Efforts to reach Ingenuity for comment were unsuccessful.

Other problems may arise that could cause further delays because "it's impossible to anticipate all of the anomalies," Tablack said. "We're taking a 30-year-old mainframe system and bringing it up to today's technology. There are always challenges in data conversion."

"I'm very disappointed," Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said Friday. "If there are problems in the negotiations there are other alternatives such as using another system or company. We're trying to do what's best for the county, but time is of the essence.

"The citizens' quality of life and wait times will be improved," Stephens said. "If any company chooses to participate in that, that's wonderful. If they choose not, that's okay too. But the citizens are the ones that will be a beneficiary."

In May, Stephens told finance department officials, "The largest county in the state should not have the poorest service. We expect changes."

Rushing into a system would be costly, Tablack said.

"I very much understand and empathize with the complaints that the commission receives from the taxpayers and they have every right to be frustrated with the inconvenience," Tablack said. "On the other hand, if we are going to fix this we want to do it with a good product and a good plan and a good implementation and good training."

Tablack said he also remembers cautioning commissioners against setting deadlines.

"I spoke up during an agenda setting meeting and said, 'commissioners, I don't think we should put an artificial date to a system development this important," Tablack said. "It's good to have a goal, but you want it done efficiently and effectively."