A letter from a landlord to Shelby County government shows the Clerk's Office owes nearly $10,000 in back rent.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert sent the document Monday, after speaking to the media in downtown Memphis Nov. 9, 2023. after her Poplar Plaza office closed a day earlier than planned. During the press conference, Halbert claimed the office had not been evicted from the property, saying Finard Properties did not abruptly ask them to leave.
"Something was sent to the news media to suggest that we were being evicted," she said.
In a notice posted Monday, Shelby County CAO Harold Collins said the branch on Plaza Drive near Highland and Poplar would close as of Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. ABC24 crews went by the office Wednesday morning and found the office closed with a sign on the door.
The notice said the clerk's office "received word from the landlord on October 11 that it must vacate within 30 days." However, Halbert said she knew the office would need to be moved before then.
"We already knew we had to be out... We knew three months ago... and I cannot get into the specifics because there have been too many meetings even surrounding it."
Halbert said rent was behind by two months but did not provide a reason for the late payments other than an open staffing position.
"We recently lost our top finance person to another local government agency and so we did find that they were two months behind and that was taken care of," Halbert said.
Additionally, she said rent for all other locations has been paid.
The letter from the landlord Finard Properties at the Poplar Plaza location to the clerk's office showed the office owed $9,867 in back rent, which the letter said had been building since July. In the document sent to the county government, the landlord said the original lease expired at the end of June and an automatic three-month extension ended Sept. 30.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright, a long-time critic of the clerk said his expectations are simple.
"Make sure that something as simple as a rental payment continues whether or not any particular person is serving in that office," Wright said.
Amid all of this, Halbert's office is under investigation by the Hamilton County District Attorney's office. Commissioner Wright said he spoke with the office earlier this week and the office is looking into the clerk's ability to keep offices open and to keep people on the payroll.
Halbert also mentioned Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris during her media tour on Thursday.
"I have not spoken to the mayor in quite some time but he sure has a lot to say," Halbert said.
She then invited the mayor and any other local leaders to join her at the local, state or federal level to discuss any issues they see needing attention.
Halbert also said a "much larger facility" has been picked out for a Whitehaven location.
Halbert had not responded to calls or emails from ABC24, and when reporters went to the Shelby County Clerk headquarters Wednesday, employees said Halbert was out for the day.
Shelby County announced Monday the Clerk's Office would no longer have a branch at its Poplar Plaza location due to being behind on rent for several months.
In a response to the closure, Halbert sent an email saying the office was working with Shelby County Support Services on upgrading all of its facilities over the past five years, but when it came to the ‘Midtown’ location, the office was “ultimately told, the 2 potential new locations would not be large enough for our customer base.”
Halbert said current employees of the Poplar Plaza location would be reassigned to other locations and that her team “continues to work with Shelby County Government to open locations that give you a more modern/up-to-date experience, where there are no long lines, slow technology and the inability to upgrade your and our team’s best expectations.”