New revenue reports from Shelby County clerk released, OKed by state auditors

New revenue reports from the Shelby County Clerk's office were posted Tuesday, all of which have been overseen by the audit team recently sent to Shelby County by the Tennessee Comptroller's Office.

According to an email obtained by The Commercial Appeal, the Shelby County Trustee's office received the reports Monday night and has begun posting them on its website. The Tennessee Comptroller announced that four to five members of the division of local government audit would aid the clerk in revising and resubmitting incorrect revenue reports in late February.

The team arrived last week and began the audit. A spokesperson for the comptroller's office said in an email the auditors completed their initial fieldwork in the office last week but are expected to return.

Since a special investigation into Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert was announced in June, the office has come under fire for late and incorrect revenue reports and leased expirations at office locations. Halbert was expected to speak at last week's Shelby County Commission Committee meeting but asked for a postponement due to the auditors in her office.

What do the revised reports say?

The revised reports date from July 2023 to February, and have correctly divided out the wheel tax amounts. Previously, the clerk's revenue reports did not separate the regular wheel tax and the $25 increase in the reports.

The $25 wheel tax increase is intended to fun the rebuild of two new high schools for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and debt services incurred by the construction of a new Regional One.

More: MSCS says costs of building new high schools in Frayser, Cordova have doubled. Here's why

Halbert initially said she did not begin charging the wheel tax increase in July after it passed through the Shelby County Commission, but the revised revenue reports say differently. A little over $4,000 was garnered by the $25 wheel tax increase in July, according to the reports. Only 171 individuals paid the increased amount in July.

In total, from July 2023 to last month, the wheel tax has raised almost $30 million for the county. The forecasted amount for the wheel tax is $44 million for the fiscal year.

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: Shelby Co. clerk releases revised revenue reports after auditor visit