MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office says unless changes are made, problems are likely to continue with the Shelby County Clerk’s Office.
The comptroller’s office issued its report Thursday, March 21, 2024, making recommendations on improvements for Wanda Halbert’s office. “Unless the Comptroller’s recommendations are adopted and implemented, it is likely that problems will persist,” said a news release from the comptroller.”
For three weeks, a team of auditors began reviewing monthly revenue reports which Halbert’s office has been submitting to the Shelby County Trustee’s Office since July 2023 through Feb. 29, 2024. They looked at the revenue collected from the new $25 wheel tax increase, how transactions were processed in the clerk’s office, and studied internal controls within the office.
According to the comptroller, the clerk collected a total of $29,942,173 from wheel tax collections during that time period. The comptroller said $8,716,584 of that was from the increase to the tax, which matches from Halbert said on March 13 had been collected from the just the increase.
Here are some of the issues the comptroller noted within the clerk’s office:
- The comptroller’s office said the clerk has access to the same computer system found in all clerk’s offices around the state, however Shelby County “is not utilizing the software to its full capabilities.” The report said the workers lack an understanding of the software and need assistance from the vendor.
- The comptroller’s report also said reconciliations were not being performed, a signature stamp was used on checks, employees were deleting their own transactions without authorization, and they were not tracking money owed to the county from bad checks from customers.
The report said the clerk’s office needs to reach out to the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) to help implement the recommendations to correct the issues.
“While I’m pleased with the results of our work, I recognize there are still many operational deficiencies within the clerk’s office,” said Comptroller Mumpower. “The Shelby County Clerk must improve operations to gain the confidence of citizens. I hope the Clerk will be receptive to additional training that will only improve the function of this important government office.”
The money raised from the wheel tax is supposed to help with the debt servicing for Regional One renovations and two new high schools in Frayser and Cordova. But the $8.7 million collected falls short of the $12 million the county had hoped would be collected at this point. The county may have to look at other sources to make up the difference, which will be determined during the budget process. By law, the county must have a new budget by July 1.