City auto-fee hike not collected for seven months, leaves $7M pothole
“I am not a part of the City of Memphis government. I am the county clerk, and I am the collector of the fees,” said Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. “They were not ready in July of last year. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Memphis residents who have renewed their car registration since July 1, 2024, were undercharged because of a government mistake.
That mistake could put a $7 million hole in the City of Memphis’ budget.
The city’s vehicle-registration fee was supposed to double — from $30 to $60 — as of July 1. The Memphis City Council approved that increase as a way to shave more cents off a property-tax hike and balance its fiscal year 2025 budget.
But the Shelby County Clerk’s office has not implemented the change.
Topics
wheel tax Wanda Halbert Shelby County Clerk's Office Subscriber OnlyIt’s GivingTuesday week! Will you join the celebration?
Donate now to help power our free community news access program.You know the value of having unlimited access to The Daily Memphian’s news. When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians with quality, in-depth local news through
- free access at over 300 schools and libraries
- free podcasts and radio broadcasts
- free newsletters
- and more!
Thank you for keeping up with local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Samuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise and investigative reporter who focuses on local government and politics. He began his journalism career at the Tulsa World in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he covered business and, later, K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on Elon Musk’s xAI, regional energy needs and how Memphis and Shelby County government spend taxpayer dollars.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.