The county mayor calls on the cooperation of Wanda Halbert to open the new clerk’s office on time

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says Clerk Wanda Halbert is not cooperating with the county’s Information Technology (IT) department.

That could delay the opening of the new Shelby County Clerk’s office on Riverdale Road, which was scheduled to open Oct. 31, according to a letter sent to Halbert.

The letter states that the IT team needs to move to a new location.

It takes them five days to complete all the new technological devices.

The mayor continues in the letter: “The problem, as I understand it, is that you have not yet worked with the IT team for these purposes.”

However, Clerk Halbert says that is not true.

Action News 5 reached out to him Sunday and he told us he did not want to be interviewed.

However, she gave us her response to Mayor Harris.

In the letter, Halbert says that his team has has been communicating with the city’s IT team and even said he met with them last Wednesday.

He continues, “Since we are in regular contact with IT and BIS with Shelby County, please let us know. exactly That’s what you’re referring to in your statement.”

This is just the latest in a laundry list of issues facing Secretary Halbert and her office.

For much of the summer of 2022, the clerk’s office was bogged down by a backlog that led to long lines in the dangerous heat — a backlog Halbert says was the result of new state numbers.

It even forced Clerk Halbert to close the offices for two long weeks in an attempt to update.

It remains to be seen whether the termination will result in a permanent fix for the Shelby County Clerk’s Office.

Last week, calls and e-mails poured into the newspaper office about the long lines they were getting again.

Halbert told Action News 5 he will meet with the county commission tomorrow afternoon.

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