County Clerk to close offices for two separate weeks in continued backlog saga
The offices of the Shelby County Clerk will close for two separate weeks in a "blackout," according to a Monday email from Clerk Wanda Halbert to members of the Shelby County Commission and County Mayor Lee Harris, to "catch up on critically outstanding services."
The anticipated closure dates will be from August 22 through 26 and Sept. 19 through 23, Halbert wrote in the email.
The announcement of the closures comes after the Shelby County Commission requested that the state intervene in the distribution of license plates in the county, a request made after months of backlog.
For months, Halbert has laid the blame for the backlog on the county mail room, a separate entity that performs mailing for numerous county departments. And, she has said there's no money for mailing license plates because the county takes those funds out of the clerk's coffers.
More: 'There’s been no cooperation': Shelby County to ask state to intervene in Clerk's Office
However, commissioners in June approved $540,000 in funding for postage, a resolution Halbert opposed, saying she did not need approval for the expenditure.
Currently, employees of the clerk's office are stuffing envelopes and taking them to the post office themselves, Halbert said in her email, but are caught up on mail through August 11.
This time, the closure is due to a different backlog, Halbert said, one in processing paperwork for newly purchased vehicles. This backlog, Halbert told The Commercial Appeal, was caused by having to focus on fixing the backlog in mailing license plates.
"Public notice is being advertised today and customers will be given the option to purchase online, renew by mail and/or come into the office after the blackout dates," Halbert said.
Halbert, a Democrat, was reelected on August 4 with 49% of the vote, compared to Republican Jeff Jacobs' 41% and Independent Harold Smith's 10%.
So far, there is no indication that the state is taking over any services in her office, Halbert said.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: County Clerk to close offices for two weeks in continued backlog saga
