Why does the Shelby County Charter need to be amended?
The Shelby County Attorney’s Office issued Opinion No. 07-009 to the County Mayor on January 26, 2007 recommending that the Shelby County Charter be amended because the offices of the Sheriff, Trustee, Register, County Clerk, and Assessor are not specifically created in the Charter and the duties and functions of those officers are not assigned under the Charter. This opinion was issued following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s holding that the Knox County Charter was incomplete because it failed to specifically provide for the offices, and/or otherwise assign the duties and functions, of the Sheriff, Trustee, Register, County Clerk, and Assessor. This opinion was also issued in light of the fact that the Knox County Charter, adopted in 1988, is patterned after the Shelby County Charter.
