What led to Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert investigation and where are things now?

Wanda Halbert, the current Shelby County Clerk and former Memphis City Council member, has become a polarizing figure in local politics. From long lines to expired leases on buildings, Halbert has been at the forefront of controversies surrounding the Shelby County Clerk's office.

In June, a special investigation into Halbert and if she is "willfully neglectful of office," started and details surrounding the investigation have been sparse at best. The investigation is still ongoing, but there have been developments within the clerk's office since the investigation was announced.

Office closures due to unpaid rent and incorrect or missing finance reports have impacted both customers and county operations.

Who is Wanda Halbert?

Halbert is currently serving as the Shelby County Clerk, a position that manages the second-largest revenue-generating office in the county. The county clerk is responsible for selling and registering license plates, collecting liquor taxes and issuing marriage licenses, among other things.

Halbert was elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. She previously served as a Memphis City Council member for District 4.

County clerks serve four-year terms. Halbert's term in office will be up in 2026.

What prompted the investigation into Halbert?

Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright has been a long-time critic of Halbert. In order to pass wheel tax increase legislation, a deal was struck between Wright and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to investigate Halbert for neglect of her office for Wright to be the ninth vote needed.

Since the investigation, Wright submitted a formal complaint about Halbert to the Hamilton County District Attorney, which is investigating Halbert, after it was revealed that one had not yet been submitted.

The investigation was prompted by issues in the clerk's operations dating back to 2020, with office closures to handle backlogs, lease expirations and incorrect or unsubmitted financial reports.

In 2020, the Germantown location of the Clerk's office was closed due to a lease expiration. In Wright's formal complaint, he claims that many of the issues within the Clerk's office came to prominence in September 2021 after an audit of her office at her request.

Halbert has repeatedly claimed that her office is due millions of dollars in revenues generated by her office.

Halbert asked for a separate internal audit of her office, and "engaged with the accounting firm CBIZ," which produced an agreed-upon procedures report "at some point in early 2021." After the audit, Wright said in the complaint, the county's own internal auditor reviewed the findings by CBIZ and both the external auditor and CBIZ cited "a lack of internal controls in the Clerk’s office."

A letter from the Tennessee Comptroller from September 2021 asked Halbert to "cooperate with other Shelby County offices," and submit on-time and accurate revenue reports. During a March 2022 Shelby County Commission committee meeting, an appearance from county external auditors Watkins Uiberall and Banks, Finley, White & Co also said they found "several material weaknesses in internal controls related to the audit of the Shelby County Clerk’s office."

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The auditors recommended that the clerk take corrective action, and Commissioners passed a resolution to formally ask her to do so. The problems in the office only continued after Halbert said there was a backlog in license plate mailouts.

Halbert said in June 2022 that license plates have not been mailed out since May due to a shortage in postage funding. In light of customer complaints of long lines, and a backlog of over 8,600 license plates, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners almost took a vote of no confidence in July 2022.

These developments were all amid her reelection campaign for a second term as clerk. Commissioners deferred the vote until after the election and opted to ask the state to take over the office instead of a vote of no confidence.

In August 2022, the Tennessee Comptroller responded to the vote by telling Commissioners there was no legal authority or precedent that would allow for such a move and did not take over the office.

In August 2022, it was revealed that there was a backlog of 8,500 dealer applications from new car dealers. This backlog prompted a closure of the office to handle the situation. But it was discovered that during one of the clerk's office shutdowns, Halbert went on vacation.

In March 2023, Harris implored Halbert to find a new office location for the Poplar Plaza office or legal action would be taken.

What has happened since the investigation started?

Problems in the office only continued when lease expirations in two office locations were revealed by the property management company of the office locations.

Only eight months after Harris threatened legal action, the Poplar Plaza location shut its doors due to unpaid rent and a lease expiration. Shortly after, in November 2023, documents from the Shelby County Trustee's Office revealed that Halbert had not submitted a completed revenue report on time dating back to at least July 2021.

Shelby County Commissioners then asked for a formal update regarding the investigation that started in June. Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp wrote a letter to Commissioners, saying that there had been no formal complaint filed against Halbert.

Shortly after the update, Wright penned the formal complaint letter to Wamp.

Wamp's team visited Shelby County and met with stakeholders regarding the investigation. Halbert met with one of Wamp's team members during their late December 2023 visit.

In February, Trustee Regina Newman said she would begin "un-posting" revenue reports on the trustee's website as they continued to be submitted incorrectly. Shelby County Director of Finance Audrey Tipton said that payments to schools, funded by the wheel tax the clerk's office charges, were behind.

Neman said that the Tennessee Comptroller was contacted regarding the incorrect revenue reports.

In late February, Comptroller Jason E. Mumpower wrote a letter saying his office would be sending auditors to aid the clerk in submitting revised revenue reports. Days later, Halbert submitted her office's own revised revenue reports but they were still incorrect. Revenue reports "blessed," by state auditors were submitted and correct totals are now on the trustee's website.

There was a scheduled appearance in March from Halbert at a Shelby County Commission committee meeting to discuss the revenue report issues but was delayed until April 3rd.

Mumpower then gave his report on the office after the auditors left. He outlined numerous issues within the office and said his office "lacks confidence the clerk’s office will be able to accurately report revenue figures in future months."

A day after the report was released, Wamp gave her first media appearance to discuss the investigation and said she learned about things within Halbert's office that caused her "great concern."

Wamp said there is no time estimate on the conclusion of the investigation.

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

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: A timeline of investigations into Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert