Harris to Halbert: Choose a replacement office site or face county action
If Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert doesn’t select an alternate location for a busy clerk’s office with an expiring lease by this Friday, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris will call on the County Commission and district attorney to discuss state law that says they may act if a clerk “is derelict in his or her duty.”
The letter from Harris does not explicitly use the word “ouster,” but state law provides for ouster proceedings for county officials who “knowingly or willfully neglect to perform any duty enjoined upon such officer by any of the laws of the state.” Proceedings can be instituted by the attorney general, district attorney general or county attorney.
The letter from Harris says that while the lease for the clerk’s office, located at 3412 Plaza Drive, in Poplar Plaza, expires at the end of June, there are alternative spaces in the same shopping center.
“The current lessor of Poplar Plaza and others have made repeated, good faith efforts to urge you to select an alternative, available location within Poplar Plaza that would accommodate your needs, improve resident access, and prevent any disruption of services to Shelby County Residents who rely on this location,” Harris wrote. “However, you have not made a selection and now time is running short.”
It will take time to outfit a new location prior to June 30, and the clerk “should do everything you can to avoid the chaos that would come from a location closure when such a closure is completely unnecessary,” Harris writes.
The new location must be selected by close of business Friday, or Harris will call the special meeting of the County Commission and district attorney.
Halbert told The Commercial Appeal she is writing a response to Harris and that she would provide her letter to the paper. This story will be updated with her response.
Also in limbo is the opening of a new clerk’s office on Riverdale, which Harris’ office said in October was ready to open.
Halbert has previously said the office would be ready by the end of last year, but Wednesday said she still does not have the staff or equipment required to open the location, and that Harris’ administration is blocking her from being able to hire or equip the office.
In 2020, the clerk’s office in Germantown also closed because of a lease expiration.
Halbert has become a controversial figure in Shelby County and Memphis, often clashing with other officials like Harris over finances, whether her office is supported and whether her office spaces are up to code.
Her office has faced backlogs of license plates and of processing car dealer applications, resulting in her closing the clerk’s office several times to tackle those backlogs. During one closure, Halbert went to Jamaica, sparking fierce criticism, including from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
House Rep. Mark White (R-shelby County) has also introduced legislation aiming to decrease the number of signatures needed on a recall petition from 15% of qualified voters to 1%, something he has said was triggered directly by Halbert.
Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.