Following the motion to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office, a pair of resolutions totaling $2.4 million to provide pay raises and equipment upgrades to the beleaguered department were pulled during the commission meeting on Monday, May 6.

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp made the removal request in Circuit Court earlier in the day. In addition to noting a “willful neglect to perform a duty,” it also cites the recent filing of inaccurate reports in February.

On Tuesday, Halbert took to Facebook to respond:

“The Office of the Shelby County Clerk over the last 5+ years has repeatedly “sounded the alarm” regarding a host of findings/concerns (financial included). Said concerns have been documented and reported to multiple legal County & State entities but never investigated. Fortunately, the day has come that FINALLY begins direct attention to the matters we have raised. While our team cannot discuss these and other matters, we will not be afraid to do what the law requires of us. When given authority, we commit to being transparent and will report accordingly,” Halbert responded via Facebook.

Wamp was appointed independent prosecutor by Shelby County Criminal Court Division 8 Judge Chris Craft in June. He has been investigating whether Halbert’s removal from office is warranted.

“Ms. Halbert consistently fails to turn the monthly report in to the Trustee in a timely manner … Ms. Halbert’s reports are consistently inaccurate with collected dollar amounts not added properly,” Wamp stated in the petition.

The reports are part of a set of recommendations for a corrective action plan mandated by Tennessee State Comptroller Jason Mumpower.  

A team of auditors was sent to review Halbert’s operation in March, after Shelby County Trustee Regina Newman pulled erroneous financial reports. Some have been resubmitted.

A corrective action plan that addresses the state-mandated set of recommendations also hasn’t materialized. However, financial reporting from the office has reportedly picked up steam.

Meanwhile, sponsor Erika Sugarmon pulled the funding resolutions as the items were being read. The commissioner has been one of the few consistent supporters of Halbert, who has blamed her office’s woes on outdated equipment and short staffing. They were withdrawn without comment.

During a recent committee meeting, Shelby County Human Resources Director Gerald Thorton opposed the funding request. He argued that the six percent raise for county employees in Mayor Lee Harris’ proposed FY2025 budget offered a better deal. 

Accurate reports are needed to gauge the amount of tax revenue the office is generating. This includes a recent $25 wheel tax increase the commission passed in June. It will be used to shore up funding for the new Regional One Hospital campus, along with two new high schools in Cordova and Frayser. The latter have also experienced cost overruns.

Members Edmund Ford, Jr. and Britney Thornton have pointed to other divisions’ state audits. None have been singled out for increasing scrutiny and possible removal of leadership. 

Commission ire with Halbert dates back to the pandemic, after a months-long backlog of thousands of vehicle tags and other issuances occurred during her first term. After being reelected in 2022, she first attracted Mumpower’s attention with an impromptu vacation to Jamaica while her office was digging out of its hole. 

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presented his proposed $1.6 billion budget FY 2025 dubbed “Taking Care of the People of Shelby County” to members of the Shelby County Commission’s Budget & Finance Committee during its Wednesday, May 1 meeting.

In addition to funding a series of priorities – like a six percent across-the-board raise for nearly all county employees – the submission also preserves the second-term mayor’s annual pledge not to raise property taxes. 

“Like every year, I present to you a budget with no tax increase. I’m the only county mayor – Democrat or Republican – in the last two decades or so, to never have proposed a property tax increase. With your help, we’ve always run a lean operation. We find efficiency and savings that help us do more with less,” said Harris.

The boost in employee compensation will amount to the “largest raise in Shelby County history.” Moreover, the proposal lifts the minimum wage for county employees to $18 an hour. The current rate is $15. 

“They pour their hearts and souls into the service of this community and Shelby County Government. That’s why we’ve included a six percent raise for employees in both part-time and full-time positions,” said Harris.

The cost of living adjustments are an effort to retain employees. Due to low wages, many employees have left for higher pay on the private market – or other municipalities.

First responders, like Sheriff’s Office employees will also benefit from a raise too. However, workers who have received a raise in the past month are ineligible.

To free up payroll cash, long-vacant positions within the county government were repurposed into funding. It also puts a freeze on new hires.

“We must constrain government growth. That’s why this budget contains no new employees,” said Harris. “This is a time to take care of things we must take care of, but this isn’t a time to grow government. We simply cannot afford it.”

FY 2024’s budget also came in at $1.6 billion. Harris team started with a $60 million deficit before crafting this year’s submission.

This includes a $15 million funding gap in the county’s employee pension fund. This year’s total grew to $101 million from $86 million. Harris chalked the poor performance to the choices of previous decision makers. 

It also absorbs the loss of federal ARPA funding that flowed in during the pandemic years. 

“I really appreciate your finding a way to not have a property tax increase, because we need to retain our current tax base,” said Commissioner Brandon Morrison. “I would just encourage our body to also hold the line there.”

The budget proposal also allows for up to a half-billion dollars investment – over 10 years – to the rebuild of the Regional One hospital campus. The health care facility is the region’s trauma center. It is also the only hospital in the area that accepts uninsured patients. 

A $25 wheel tax was passed in June to cover Phase I of the Regional One project’s $350 million price tag, which also includes funding for two new high schools. The proposed budget also includes funding for the Cordova and Frayser schools. Nevertheless, Harris signaled his intention to find additional money for further school builds.

“Furthermore, our administration has signaled to the school system what we will bring a supplemental to this commission at the end of the calendar year to cover additional capital funding needs. But, before we do that I want to make sure we do everything possible to identify savings.”

To address crime, the administration’s draft invests $2.9 million in the Shelby County District Attorney’s office. It would also provide another $2.3 million to the Juvenile Court, while the Shelby County Public Defender’s office would receive $2.2 million.

The plan also calls for the construction of a mental health facility, to divert mentally ill criminal suspects to proper treatment. To drive down long-term costs, the administration’s budget calls for expansion of the county’s solar-utility facility at its Shelby County Government’s East Campus to fully power the mental health facility. It would also be located at the East Campus.

“The new facility would rapidly divert certain detainees to appropriate trauma-informed mental health care, instead of languishing at 202 Poplar. This makes moral sense, but it also makes financial and common sense,” said Harris.

Following the presentation, commission members requested a hard copy of the plan, which was not offered.

“We don’t know what cuts you’ve made, but we know we’ll hear about them soon. And we’re going to be spinning our wheels not really knowing until we see it,” said Amber Mills.