Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is in Jamaica this week, her offices are closed to catch up on the controversial backlog of license plate requests from citizens, and the Tennessee Comptroller is having none of it.
Halbert has been under fire for weeks as requests for Tennessee’s new plates have gone unfulfilled and lines stretch down the sidewalks at her offices. Halbert has given numerous excuses for the backlog, winning her a vote of no confidence by the Shelby County Commission.
However, she was re-elected in August and vowed to clear the backlog. To get there, she made the move to close her offices for two separate weeks. That move was called “unusual” by Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower recently.
On the first day of the closure, Mumpower’s office confirmed that Halbert was out of the country, in Jamaica, while her staffers were left to “clean up the mess.”
Here’s the statement Mumpower’s office tweeted this afternoon:
“The Comptroller’s office has confirmed that Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is currently out of the country in Jamaica.
“This comes as the Shelby County Clerk’s Office has closed its offices this week to “catch up” on a backlog of work.
“The clerk’s trip shows a lack of leadership and concern for her staff who are left to address the backlog without her presence in the office. It also shows a lack of respect for the citizens of Shelby County who are forgoing many of the clerk’s services this week in hopes that she is addressing her office’s deficiencies during the closure.”
“The clerk’s decision to travel to Jamaica this week shows that her apologies were meaningless,” said Comptroller Jason Mumpower. “Her decision to take a trip damages her credibility and shows a complete lack of awareness. The clerk is [absent without leave] while her staff is left behind trying to clean up the mess.”