Future county commissioners silent on 'private' meeting with leaders, including Clerk Wanda Halbert

SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is still nowhere to be found, days after the Tennessee State Comptroller’s Office said she went AWOL.

Her office is closed as her staff is getting caught up on a backlog of work. During this time, Halbert was in Jamaica, a decision that’s been heavily criticized by many.

RELATED: TN Comptroller says though Shelby County Clerk closed to deal with backlog, Wanda Halbert is in Jamaica

Some newly elected leaders were scheduled to meet with Halbert Wednesday after her Jamaican vacation. However, no one was very forthcoming about it.

Here's what we know:

Current Shelby County Commissioners as a body did not schedule a private meeting with the clerk. That would be against Tennessee's 'Sunshine Law,’ also known as the Open Meetings Act.

Next, ABC24 reached out to all six newly elected county commissioners to see if they were meeting with Halbert.

That's how we learned there was a private meeting for newly elected leaders, who have not been sworn into office. Halbert was one of several county leaders who received an invitation to attend. But for some unknown reason, leaders kept the time and location a secret.

RELATED: Incoming county commissioners address oversight plans for Clerk Wanda Halbert

On Tuesday, one of those new members, Britney Thornton, said: "Shelby County government already has distrust issues and this latest news with the Shelby County Clerk exacerbates this. While the voters just spoke re-electing Clerk Halbert, my first priority is to figure out where the breakdown is in operations that can't meet the demand of the customers."

We checked the clerk's office downtown and the County's Administration Building. Both were closed and locked.  

RELATED: Tennessee Comptroller's Office describes temporary Shelby County Clerk's Office closures as 'unusual'

At this time, there's no word on if Halbert actually attended that meeting Wednesday. Halbert still hasn't answered or returned our calls or voicemails.

There's also no word yet on whether current commissioners or incoming commissioners will seek to have Halbert removed from office.

There are two options:

One is a voter recall petition starting next February that would require signatures of 15% of registered voters and then 50% of the vote to agree.

In the other option, the Shelby County Commission could ask the Tennessee Attorney General if there's been misconduct and if so, the AG could remove the clerk.