The city is hiring seven additional people to help issue state identification cards, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced today.

The five driver licensing sites on Oahu all saw long lines last week after the city officially took on responsibility for issuing state ID cards from the state Attorney General’s office.

People trying to get their licenses and state IDs waited two to three hours to complete their transactions, longer if they did not have the proper documentation.

The seven new staffers will be put in temporary, part-time positions. 

Besides hiring additional staff, Caldwell said a hotline (768-CITY) has been created for people to call with questions about the state ID process and the city Web page will be updated with explainations of what’s needed, said city spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke.

City officials are continuing to urge those who do not need to obtain or renew state IDs immediately to wait a month or two until lines die down.