Millington could sue Halbert’s office
“Everything is on the table,” Millington’s city manager said.
There are 122 article(s) tagged Wanda Halbert:
“Everything is on the table,” Millington’s city manager said.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert says there’s no lease agreement between her office and the City of Millington, so she owes the suburb nothing.
In the latest installment of “Ask the Memphian,” we try to answer why Memphis seems to be overrun with temporary tags on cars. But it’s not just a Memphis problem.
Wanda Halbert and Millington officials are in disagreement over whether the County Clerk’s office owes the suburb any money for using space.
The Millington city manager says Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert hasn’t paid rent since 2023 for an office at City Hall. But Halbert says the lease must have been signed by a different county government team.
Due to a delay in collecting the increased car-registration fee, a county clerk misstep cost the city more than expected. Plus, there’s no money for Mud Island amphitheater renovation this year.
“We have to get our act together. The city and county mayors need to sit down together for a cup of coffee. Strong coffee. A pot of it.”
County officials aren’t putting any dollar figures to the deficit they expect when County Mayor Lee Harris presents his budget proposal in late April. But it’s the talk of the County Commission’s early budget hearings.
A group of countywide office holders was frustrated when the Shelby County Commission again delayed a vote on changes to hiring and funding they wanted. They were told that County Clerk Wanda Halbert needed to be included in the discussions.
The city’s vehicle-registration fee was supposed to double — from $30 to $60 — as of July 1. But the Shelby County Clerk’s office has not implemented the change.
Robert Meyers, who is representing the county in the ouster petition, filed the appeal Friday, Jan. 17. The timetable for when the appeal will be heard is uncertain, but Meyers asked that the case be expedited.
The year in politics was topped by the presidential general election and several local election races that warmed political fires left untended by the distant campaign for president. The top political stories of 2024 also include the transition from elections to governing for other leaders.
I say it’s time to end the costly courtroom haggling. It’s clear that Halbert is not leaving on her own, and conditions in the Clerk’s Office don’t appear to have further deteriorated. And soon she’ll be a lame duck.
This has been the second attempt to remove the Shelby County clerk.
Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson will hold a hearing on a motion by Wanda Halbert’s attorneys to dismiss attempt to remove her.
The question before Chancellor Felicia Corbin-Johnson is whether the county attorney’s office could hire a special counsel to pursue an ouster lawsuit that the county attorney could not pursue because of a conflict of interest.
A motion to dismiss the ouster lawsuit against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is pending before Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson. If dismissed, it would be the second ouster lawsuit against Halbert to be thrown out in less than a year.
Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson wants briefs from both sides in the ouster attempt as she weighs a motion to dismiss it.
Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson plans to make a ruling in writing “in a week or so” on whether to dismiss or hear the ouster complaint filed last month against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
All sides are back in court Tuesday for a hearing on Halbert’s attorney’s motion to dismiss the case entirely.
All sides in the ouster lawsuit are due in Circuit Court next week to sort out various motions including one seeking to declare Wanda Halbert in default for not responding directly to the complaint.
“No law or rule that allows Shelby County to utilize taxpayer funds to circumvent the will of the people,” reads a memorandum defending Halbert from ouster. “The people voted for Ms. Halbert.”
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is facing a second ouster petition after the first was dismissed in June.
The location at Mullins Station Road will continue to provide all other services.
Lee Whitwell, chief litigation attorney for the office, confirmed to The Daily Memphian in an email Friday night that he has hired Robert Meyers of law firm Glanker Brown to continue the proceedings.