Hamilton County DA files petition to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office

Editors note: A previous version of the story stated Halbert was suspended from office. It has been updated.

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp has now presented an ouster petition after a near 10-month-long investigation of Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. The ouster petition, filed in court Monday, does not officially remove Halbert from office, but it does request that Halbert is suspended of her official capacity as county clerk.

"The State of Tennessee further requests that as a part of this petition that this honorable Court suspend Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from performing any duties of her office pending a final hearing and determination of this matter by this Court," the petition says.

The filing lists incorrect financial reporting, strains on auto dealers in the county, comptroller deficiencies and Halbert's no-show to the May 1 Shelby County Commission meeting where she was supposed to present her corrective action plan as reasons for the ouster petition.

"We are unaware of any proceedings," Halbert said Monday afternoon.

The investigation started in June 2023, and with the findings from Wamp's office, ouster proceedings can now begin to form.

The petition requests an out-of-town jury if Halbert demands a jury.

Financial reports have been "consistently inaccurate, with collected dollar amounts not added properly," the petition says, making it “impossible” for the county to rely on them for funding distributions. There has not been a single accurate revenue report that Halbert has turned in both timely and accurately, the petition said.

“This gross neglect of duties has, over time, caused county officials to have zero confidence in Ms. Halbert’s ability to run an office that collects large amounts of taxpayer dollars,” the petition said.

The petition also alleges that Halbert has rejected offers for assistance and has threatened to kick other employees out of her office.

The petition went on to say that Halbert had not reported wheel tax allocations properly and that she was unaware an increased tax had passed in 2023 “for a period of months.”

“In September of 2023, Ms. Halbert’s office finally realized that they were not collecting the proper amount of wheel tax from residents of Shelby County,” it said. “Some residents were still only paying $50 even when they were obligated to pay $75.”

Further refuting claims Halbert has made about her office being underfunded, Wamp wrote in the petition that the clerk’s office has been “consistently” below its budget, and “has historically given a significant amount of her budgeted money back to the county general fund at the end of each fiscal year.”

Since the announcement of the investigation, Halbert has come under fire for lease expirations and late and incorrect revenue reports. The Poplar Plaza Clerk's office location had to shut its doors in November after months of unpaid rent.

Most recently, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution that requested Halbert submit a corrective action plan in response to findings from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury's audit report and the annual comprehensive financial audit from the county's independent auditors. Both audits reported that the clerk had failed to address systemic issues within her office.

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More: Shelby Co. Clerk Wanda Halbert asks for $2.5 million, delays corrective action plan presentation

The Tennessee Comptroller's Office announced in late February that they would be sending a team to Shelby County to "perform the necessary reconciliations and reporting the Clerk's Office has failed to accurately provide despite repeated requests."

This came after it was reported by The Commercial Appeal that the revenue reports continued to be inaccurate, and payments to the suburban schools were behind because of it. According to documents from the Shelby County Trustee's Office, Halbert has not submitted a completed revenue report on time dating back to at least July 2021.

During the investigation, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners asked Wamp's office for an update regarding the investigation. Wamp responded with a letter saying that her office had yet to receive any formal letter of complaint.

Commissioner Mick Wright, who negotiated during the previous budget season to have Halbert investigated, penned a formal complaint letter to Wamp's office in response to the lack of any formal complaint letters.

Wright has requested Halbert step down from office numerous times and renewed his request after the closure of the East Memphis office.

When reached for comment, Halbert said her office was "unaware of any proceedings.

Lucas Finton contributed to this report.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for the Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at (901) 484-6225, [email protected] and followed on X @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert could be removed from office