Current state of affairs in the Shelby Co. Clerks office, Halbert response to investigation
The special investigation into Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has brought many officials into the forefront of conversations. From the Shelby County Trustee to Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright, their statements regarding Halbert have dominated the conversation.
Halbert has only spoken publicly once since the announcement of the special investigation regarding the closure of the Poplar Plaza location.
While the investigation is ongoing, Halbert was limited to how much she could speak on it, but she did say last week that Shelby County Government has denied her legal representation. But she was able to speak to some of the claims surrounding her office including leasing issues and missing or incorrect revenue reports.
The Commercial Appeal toured the Downtown clerk's office in early January and was able to speak with Halbert.
Late revenue reports blamed on system, Trustee refutes that
Shelby County Trustee Regena Newman told Shelby County Commissioners on Nov. 8 she had not yet received the most recent revenue report from the Clerk. Newman said that the clerk has repeatedly submitted revenue reports days later than the state requirement, which is the 10th of every month.
The Tennessee Comptroller's Office urged Halbert to submit her financial reports on a "timely basis" in a letter from September 2021.
According to Halbert, the revenue reports are required to be submitted within 30 days of the end of the collection period, outside of two state of Tennessee payments.
"The first one, motor vehicle registration, that occurs by the 10th of the month, but because this directly in the state system is automatically uploaded....We pay out two additional line items by the 15th of the month. We didn't even get that revenue back until somewhere near the 23rd 25th of the month," Halbert said. "County is wanting us to pay out by the 10th of the month did not always compete outside of the two that are required to directly from us."
Halbert claimed that the county wanting her to submit revenue reports by the 10th of every month is "illegal" and against state statute.
Newman said that Halbert's claim is not true in an email. The reports reflect all monies collected from the first of the month until the end of the month, Newman said in an email to Halbert.
"What that means is that the actual monies/cash that arrive to your office or get deposited to the bank accounts assigned to you, between the 1st of the month and the end of that month, are what goes on your report by the 10th of the following month. Do not include anything you have not actually received during that month," in an email to Halbert in November which was reviewed by The Commercial Appeal.
During the Jan. 31 committee meetings for the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Shelby County Government finance administrator Danielle Schonbaum presented the most recent financial update.
Schonbaum said that the county is underreporting the revenue from the county wheel tax because of "inaccuracy or incompleteness either in the reports themselves or in the delivery of the reports." The wheel tax is collected through the clerk's office. Schonbaum said that through the clerk's reports, the revenue looks like it is around $20 million. But what is currently reported on the county books is $14 million.
"Until the clerk is fully and accurately reporting her revenue out, it makes our job extremely difficult," Schonbaum said.
Special investigation for willful neglect of office: 'It is a lie'
Halbert said she found out about the special investigation through television, and she has not received any communication from the Hamilton County District Attorney's office regarding it. Halbert did meet with a member of the Hamilton County DA's office during their meetings in December in Shelby County. Prior to that, special assistant to Wamp Jay Price said that they had not spoken with her.
As for a comment regarding the investigation of "willful neglect of office," Halbert said simply that "it is a lie." Halbert added that "the documents and the facts will show that."
"It saddens me to see anyone having to go through this with limited resources and be accused when another branch of government controls the purse strings," Halbert said. "You can't hold the people accountable when you've decided not to fund them."
Halbert said that the special investigation has been rough on morale for many of her employees, saying they work tirelessly to keep the office running as smoothly as they can.
In a letter from late December, penned to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Hamilton County DA Coty Wamp said that she had yet to receive a formal letter of complaint regarding Halbert's inability to perform her duties.
Days later, Wright submitted a formal complaint regarding Halbert to Wamp and her staff. In the letter, Wright went through a timeline of events that have transpired at the clerk's office, and why they point to Halbert being "willfully negligent."
Price said that the Hamilton County DA's office has received the complaint and is working through the document. Price also said that there is no estimated timeline for the completion of the investigation.
"When you think you've closed one side, another one opens up," Price said.
Halbert on status of current leases around Shelby County
The city of Millington has been trying to get a lease contract for the Millington County Clerk's office for over two years. The clerk's office location in Millington operates out of a city-owned building and has not been required to pay rent.
Millington City Manager Ed Haley said that the lease for the Millington office "has been activated." Haley continued, saying that the staff in the Millington location has done a great job and that the office would negatively impact the customers in the area.
"We're gonna provide a service as long as we can provide it as safe as we can as efficient as we can...When we have issues ― we will deal with them," Haley said.
Halbert said she was unaware of the Millington location having a contract.
In 2023, the Poplar Plaza location for the Clerk's office was closed due to unpaid rent. Halbert claims that the office was not evicted, but documents provided to The CA show that months of unpaid rent and limited communication with the management company led to the closure.
On multiple occasions, Halbert has said she knew that the office had to be relocated due to another tenant in the building wanting to take over the space. Halbert said that she was in talks with stakeholders to relocate the office, and offered 60 properties to lease or rent, but the plans never materialized.
Halbert said her office has always gone through the Shelby County Land Bank to execute leases for properties. She also said the lank bank had not had a "lead" in their office for some time when the Poplar and Highland location closed.
"At that time, they did not have a (administrator) in the land and so we have to wait on the land bank, I can't engage in a contract... without the land bank," Halbert said.
In previous interviews, Halbert said that due to the land bank being closed, some leases have expired.
"We don't perform leases. If we have an idea for a facility, whether it is you know a purchase or rental we always went through the land bank, but the land bank has been shut down," Halbert said.
While the land back does handle the negotiations for leases for various county buildings, the clerk is responsible for authorizing the land bank to proceed to present leases to the County Commission to be voted on. The Commission votes on the leases and the Shelby County mayor is the formal contract agent for all contracts associated with Shelby County Government as he signs the resolutions associated with buildings.
The land bank negotiated contract extensions with property managers when leases had neared expiration. But, ultimately, it is up to any elected official who conducts their business in rented spaces to let the land bank present leases to Commissioners.
The lease for the Poplar Plaza location expired in June but the clerk's office was asked to leave in November after occupying the space for months without a lease. The property management company that owns the Poplar Plaza location, Finard Properties, also owns the Whitehaven location.
Halbert said that the Whitehaven office is currently in negotiations for a different location.
As for the Riverdale location, Halbert said it is in operation but only for motor vehicle services. The location also needs more personnel to operate the drive-through kiosks Halbert said, but an increase in personnel would have to come through a budget request.
Halbert said during the upcoming budget season, personnel increases will be a part of her proposal.
Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at 901-484-6225, brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What's the current state of the Shelby County Clerk's Office?
