Mayor Harris skeptical Riverdale clerk’s office will open by June 3

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has promised to open the brand-new, one-of-a-kind Shelby County Clerk’s office on Riverdale Road by June 3, but Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he is not confident.

This is now the third opening date set by Halbert after the new branch was first slated to open by Oct. 31, 2022, then after that target date was missed, it became Dec. 1, 2022.

“We know there’s been a lot of departures in the clerk’s office, we know they don’t have the capability to do some of the basic accounting work anymore, and so just worried whether or not they’re going to be able to keep up with some of the compliances and accounting issues,” said Mayor Harris.

There are about three weeks left until the Riverdale location is set to open, just as the Poplar Plaza location is set to close.

Halbert said only four employees will be working out of the Riverdale branch for now, despite the location having 15 service terminal windows.

Last week, she requested the mayor allocate $1.1 million for her office next year for the hiring of 22 additional positions, updated resources, and the purchase of a new building.

“It’s mind-blowing that somebody could be really out of touch to that level, to not realize that several offices have closed and therefore, since the services have been reduced, there’s no reason to increase investment given the real hemorrhaging of services,” said Mayor Harris.

Harris went on to say it is up to the public to demand accountability for changes from election officials, including the mayor himself.

Action News 5 reached out to Halbert for comment, but we did not hear back.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WMC. All rights reserved.