MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There is more trouble involving the Shelby County Clerk’s Office, and this time, the entire county budget is in jeopardy.
This comes after county officials say Clerk Wanda Halbert has submitted inaccurate revenue reports for at least three months.
A county commissioner said this could impact the county’s plans to renovate Regional One Hospital and build two new schools for MSCS because we were told they have no idea how much money Clerk Halbert’s office is really bringing in.
“We do not have reports from the county clerk that are accurate all the way back to July,” said County Trustee Regina Newman.
Newman reported this to the county commission at Wednesday’s committee meeting, the latest of a long list of issues that continue to follow Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s office.
This time it is involving revenue reports, following the increased wheel tax that took effect last summer.
“We are looking into the situation and attempted to get the information we need in order to accurately report what the wheel tax increase is bringing in so that it can be segregated for the purposes that it was originally proposed for,” said Newman.
Back in June, the commission passed a $25 wheel tax increase with the intention of building two new schools and renovating Regional One Hospital.
The increased tax was forecast to bring in $44 million for the projects. But County Commissioner David Bradford said the latest reports all show the same, evidently inaccurate, numbers.
He says despite several attempts for answers from Clerk Halbert, he and the other commissioners have no idea how much money the office is bringing in.
“We don’t know if we have enough money to fund those items or if our plan is not going to be effective because we don’t know what the data looks like,” said Bradford.
Halbert’s office has come under recent scrutiny for long lines at her offices, unexplained closures, and alleged failure to pay rent. These issues have prompted an external investigation in Halbert by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp.
That investigation is still underway.
But at the committee meeting Wednesday, one thing was clear. Answers are needed now, because the budget is due in just a matter of months.
“The clerk has been informed, and we have not received corrected reports back to July 1. So I have been in communication with the comptroller’s office about what to do about that and how they want me to handle it,” said Newman.
We reached out to Halbert and District Attorney Wamp, who is conducting the investigation into the Clerk’s office. So far, neither has responded.