MEMPHIS, Tenn —
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert said she's not resigning, one day after one county commissioner called for her to step down, and amid growing frustrations from Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris on her leadership overseeing tens of thousands of people getting new tags, license plates, and marriage licenses.
For now, Mayor Harris has not initiated a meeting with county commissioners and the district attorney that could possibly begin the process.
Clerk Halbert's presentation to the Shelby County Commission Wednesday grew heated with the commission and customers fed up and out of patience.
“I stood there for about an hour before I got my tag,” Lois Braden one Shelby County Clerk customer said. “So, if you can’t do your job let someone else have the seat.”
For Braden and countless Shelby County Clerk customers, that’s a far too familiar complaint.
“From your standpoint as the clerk what thing is holding you up,” one commissioner asked Wanda while in hot seat today.
This comes after county commissioner Mick Wright sent a letter Tuesday asking for Halbert's resignation. Mick, other commissioners and Shelby County mayor Lee Harris said their fed up with long wait times for plates and tags and the months-long delay in opening a new location on Riverdale Rd.
“It’s just a really hard burden on those constituents throughout Shelby County who are having a hard time with the clerk’s office and just don’t see the kind of service that they deserve,” Wright said.
Halbert said she's not resigning.
"I am not stepping down,” Halbert said. “I am not even entertaining the question.”
Instead, she blamed the Shelby County Commission for not approving the needed money to open larger locations and hire more staff.
“We’re still here talking about 25, 30-year problems,” Halbert said. “Your practice is old, and it’s got to change and change sometimes is not easy.”
To oust a Shelby County Elected official such as the clerk Wright says the county mayor must call a meeting with the commission and district attorney. There should be an investigation and findings should be presented to the commission and if a majority votes in favor of removal the commission would then name a replacement until the next election.
Commissioner Britney Thornton said the clerk's resources should be bolstered before any removal proceedings begin.
“I just want to see her able to be successful and I want to ensure that she has the supports that she needs,” Thornton said.
The commission did approve the appointment of an adviser to help the clerk’s office with some of its ongoing issues.
Halbert also plans to open a new location on Quince and Perkins - even though the opening of a Riverdale office is months behind schedule.