It’s long been noted that the process of getting your license renewed, obtaining a Real ID or doing anything, really, that involves a trip to the DMV office in Clinton is time consuming, frustrating, and downright painful. While it seems to be true everywhere, Clinton’s DMV office certainly mirrors many of the issues we see across the country.
Today, however, there seems to be a light at the end of that proverbial tunnel.
Monday afternoon, officials cut the ribbon on a new DMV office in Garland, a much anticipated move that we — and residents, alike — hope will cut down on excruciating wait times and long lines at the sole DMV office we have had here for a while.
In fact, that’s what the DOT promises in a press release sent to The Sampson Independent, which stated that the office will “provide convenient access to driver license and ID services for residents of Sampson County and surrounding areas, helping to reduce wait times and improve customer service across the state.”
A bold claim, indeed, as most of us have no doubt experienced standing in a long, slow-moving line, waiting for our number to be called, no matter where we may have lived before. It’s definitely not a Sampson County-unique experience to end up spending half a day at the DMV.
We applaud the Garland town board, our representatives in the General Assembly and the community for rallying to get this done, and done so quickly in terms of the snail’s pace that is often experienced when government red tape is involved.
When he began his campaign for Garland mayor earlier this year, Ralph Smith Jr. stated that getting a DMV office in the town was one of his top priorities. He was sworn in as mayor on Dec. 1, and now, before the month is even out, the office is open and ready for business. Impressive to say the least.
A lot of legwork was done ahead of time by both Smith and former Garland Mayor Austin Brown, and the entire town board and staff. They all deserve credit for making this happen so quickly, and for their commitment to improving their town.
Garland has been written about many times on this page, and not always in a glowing light. But we like to give credit where credit’s due, and we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the hard work everyone has put into making a second Sampson County DMV office a reality.
We see this as a step forward for the county and for the small southern town. And, we believe it could be the catalyst for more good things to happen in Garland and among a town board that seems more intent than ever to right the governmental ship and do the right things to ensure a brighter future.
We hope this new location will, indeed, reduce wait times and improve customer service. We’re hopeful that people in that area of the county (and neighboring communities) will utilize the new office and help ease the burden on the Clinton location.
The holiday season is often called the most wonderful time of the year, and for Garland, at least, it seems that is true, especially this year.