After ouster petition, what is next for Wanda Halbert?
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp recently filed an ouster petition to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office due to “willful neglect.” Halbert has not been removed from office, but Wamp did request that the state “suspend” her from official capacities while the ouster proceeds.
Ousters of public officials are very rare in the state of Tennessee; as of publication, there have only been eight local officials ousted from office, according to the
Municipal Advisory
Technical Service at the
University of Tennessee.
During Wamp’s public appearance in March regarding the investigation into Halbert, she said because the burden of proof for ouster proceedings are so high, making a solid case was a necessity.
“I’m not sure what our chances of success will be but what I’m called to do is to ensure in Hamilton County that we protect the public in this case, I’m here to ensure that there’s an elected official who is not neglecting her duties,” Wamp said of the ouster petition in March.
The 49-page petition cites numerous issues that have happened under Halbert’s administration as the Shelby County Clerk over the last few years. Notably, it included Halbert’s lack of presentation of her corrective action plan to the Shelby County Commission.
Halbert is scheduled to appear at commission committee meetings to present her corrective action plan on May 15.
The filing lists incorrect financial reporting, strains on auto dealers in
the county, comptroller deficiencies, office closures and Halbert’s no-show at a meeting where she was supposed to present her corrective action plan for her office as reasons for the ouster petition.
Inaccurate and untimely financial reporting has been an issue for the clerk’s office for years, according to the petition. The Hamilton County DA’S office has been in Shelby County multiple times to interview individuals for the ouster case, including in March, when Wamp made her first public appearance regarding the ouster.
In the petition, it says that a Shelby County Clerk’s office employee was questioned regarding the inaccurate reports and a discrepancy of $200,000 to $300,000. The employee said the discrepancy was “not significant given the total amount of the County’s annual budget,” according to the petition.
Halbert has said repeatedly that her office and her employees are due more of the revenue generated by the clerk’s office.
Halbert told The Commercial Appeal in January that she was unaware of the Wheel Tax increase passed in July with the 2024 fiscal year county budget. According to the petition, Halbert should have been found personally liable for not charging the Wheel Tax starting July 1.
The Shelby County Clerk’s office charges a $2 fee on most transactions which goes towards the office’s operational costs, the petition states. This money is then put in a special revenue fund where the clerk can pull money from.
Because of the county’s older technology, the money is not immediately available, which makes the clerk have to pull money from the general fund and later write an expenditure memo so funds can be taken out accordingly, according to the petition. The petition states that Halbert has never written a memo to take out funds for the expenditures for her office.
The petition has been filed. What happens next?
Halbert is scheduled to appear at the Shelby County Commission meeting to present her corrective action plan on May 15. Halbert had been scheduled to appear at a previous meeting, delayed the matter due to a personal matter. Commissioners moved the presentation to the next Committee Meeting.
In the ouster petition, Wamp requested that Halbert be suspended from office. This will only happen if a judge grants the request at an upcoming hearing. A scheduling hearing was initially set for May 15 but has since been removed.
As of publication, there was no hearing scheduled.
What happens if Wanda Halbert is removed from office?
That will be determined if a judge grants the request to suspend Halbert until the case is resolved. In the petition, Wamp requests that Halbert be suspended “until a determination is made on the case.”
The Shelby County Charter outlines who would take the clerk’s place upon vacancy for “County Charter Officers,” which includes the Shelby County Clerk.
“When a vacancy occurs in the office of the county charter officers, the chief deputy, as designated from time to time in writing to the County Attorney, shall serve until the board of county commissioners elects an interim county charter officer. The interim county charter officer shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified in accordance with the Tennessee Constitution, the general laws of the State of Tennessee, and the Charter of Shelby County,” the charter states.
It is unclear whether the vacancy of the clerk’s post because of suspension from office would call for different measures from those measures laid out in the charter.
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 @Brookemuckerman.