Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower announced an audit of Shelby County due to the alleged “incompetence and willful neglect” of the county by Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
Mumpower announced his intention in a letter to Mayor Lee Harris and the Shelby County Commission, expressing “deep concern and lack of confidence” in Halbert’s office.
“The well-documented issues have not only frustrated citizens but are now having a negative impact on the county’s ability to accurately manage its finances,” said Mumpower (pictured above, left).
The comptroller referenced recent news that Halbert’s office has allegedly been providing the county commission with inaccurate financial reports since at least July 2023, potentially jeopardizing the county’s budget.
She was invited to explain the inaccuracies before Shelby County commissioners on Monday but instead sent a letter claiming the county failed to provide her office with the necessary tools for her to succeed at the job.
Halbert’s tenure as the Shelby County Clerk has involved alleged late rent payments and evictions from buildings used for state services, as well as reports of micromanagement and poor judgment that caused at least one employee to describe the office as “hell” under her watch.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright welcomed the decision in a thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I appreciate Comptroller Jason Mumpower’s decision today to send an additional audit team to put eyes on the Shelby County Clerk’s office,” wrote Wright.
I appreciate Comptroller Jason Mumpower’s decision today to send an additional audit team to put eyes on the Shelby County Clerk’s office. Some additional thoughts. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/NMQWxy6Zcl
— Mick Wright (@mickwright) February 27, 2024
The commissioner noted the ongoing investigation into Halbert (pictured above, right) by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, which was prompted after he detailed Halbert’s alleged failures in a 20-page December letter to Wamp’s office.
According to Wright’s December 2023 letter, Halbert typically replies to questions or criticisms with a “laundry list of grievances against the Mayor’s Administration, the County Commission, the Trustee’s Office, and other parties charged with” assisting her in providing services to the public.
Some of Halbert’s criticisms, according to Wright, include “complaints that her operating budget is less than the revenue her office generates, that the county’s policies and operations are improper, that the clerk’s facilities provide inadequate space for employees and citizens, that her office has not been afforded a ‘comprehensive fiscal and operational audit,’ that its technology is old, and that other departments and elected officials interfere with her duties.”
Wright said that he hopes Wamp “is also in receipt” of the letter by Mumpower, and wrote, “In addition to the additional help of state auditors, we need the ouster investigation to conclude quickly.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert” by Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
Why is she not being suspended immediately with pay pending outcome of the audit? Not only has she created a hostile work environment of which the county could be a defendant, she could also potentially destroy nonexculpatory evidence within the office. She needs to be removed to allow audit fidelity as well as to provide her needed defense protection for any impending lawsuit.