The Fourth in an ongoing series of Monthly Stories The salary information provided shows the 2026 budgeted salaries compared with the actual salaries in place as of April 29, 2026, with the August 30, 2024 budget included as a historical comparison.

Overall, the Knox County Clerk’s Office has approximately 91 budgeted positions across the classifications listed. The data identifies approximately 17 vacant positions, meaning the office is operating with a significant number of positions below its authorized staffing level.

The largest groups of positions are Deputy Clerk I (27 positions), Deputy Clerk II (29 positions), Deputy Clerk III (11 positions), and Accounting Technician (8 positions). Most of the actual salaries for these employees are below the established budgeted salary for their respective classifications. For example, Deputy Clerk I positions are budgeted at $45,252.22, while actual salaries generally range from approximately $30,087 to $44,757. Deputy Clerk II positions are budgeted at $55,572.66, while actual salaries generally range from approximately $32,466 to $49,266.

At the administrative level, several positions also have actual salaries below the 2026 budgeted amounts. The Chief of Staff is budgeted at $119,053.48, compared with an actual salary of $110,078.28. The Director of Finance & Accounting is budgeted at $113,534.20, compared with an actual salary of $84,985.94. The Personnel Coordinator is budgeted at $83,402.80, compared with an actual salary of $52,282.88. The Administrative Deputy is budgeted at $72,840.56, compared with an actual salary of $65,871.78.

The County Clerk position is budgeted at $169,850.72, which is the same amount shown as the 2024 budgeted salary in the information provided. The Recorder Clerk classification is budgeted at $74,883.90 per position, with two positions listed.

The historical comparison also shows that many salary classifications have remained at or near their 2024 budgeted levels, while some administrative classifications changed between the 2024 and 2026 budgets. For example, the Chief of Staff increased from a 2024 budget of $104,746.20 to $119,053.48, while the Director of Finance & Accounting increased from $70,352.88 to $113,534.20.

In summary, the information indicates that the 2026 budget authorizes substantially more salary spending than is currently being paid in many positions because of vacancies and because numerous employees’ actual salaries are below the maximum/budgeted amounts for their classifications. The largest staffing and salary differences occur among the Deputy Clerk and Accounting Technician classifications. The separate “P County Clerk Emp” line has a $360,000 budget with two actual salary amounts listed—$23,174.58 and $13,312.00—and should be treated separately from the regular position classifications when analyzing the overall personnel budget.

On September 1, 8 year, 2018-2026 (two term) Clerk Sherry Witt will become the Register of Deeds, a position she held for 11 years from 2007-2018. Former Knox County Commissioner and Chairman of Commission Richie Beeler, will be the County Clerk on September 1, he has been the Chief of Staff of the Clerk since about 2021.

Knox County Clerk Employee Salaries as of 4/29/2026 [the 2024 budgeted salary]

County Clerk $169,850.72 <4/29/2024 budgeted $169,850.72> [8/30/2024 budget $164,903.70]

Chief of Staff $110,078.28 <4/29/2026 budgeted $119,053.48> [8/30/2024 budget $104,746.20]

Dir. of Finance & Accounting $84,985.94 <4/29/2026 budgeted $113,534.20> [8/30/2024 budget $70,352.88

Recorder Clerk <4/29/2026 budgeted $74,883.90> 2 positions [8/30/2024 budget $74,883.90] 2 positions

$47,434.66

$69,232.02 

Administrative Deputy $65,871.78 <4/29/2026 budgeted $72,840.56> [8/30/2024 budget $72,840.56]

Personnel Coordinator $52,282.88 <4/29/2026 budgeted 83,402.80> [8/30/2024 budget $83,402.80

Accounting Clerk $44,814.12 (vacant) <4/29/2026 budgeted $57,471.44> [8/30/2024 budget $57,471.44]

Logistics and Supply $62,788.70 <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $68,083.58> [August 30, 2024 budget $68,063.58]

Services Leader I <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $69,305.34> 3 positions [August 30, 2024 budget$69,305.34]

$56,841.98 

$59,741.76 

$56,841.98 

Services Leader II <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $69,304.33> 4 positions [8/30/2024 budget $69,305.34]

$63,301.42

$60,831.68

$63,934.52

$63,934.62

Accounting Tech <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $66,061.84> 8 positions [ 8/30/2024 budget $66,061.84]

$59,292.48

$57,548.92

$65,407.68 VACANT 

$45,323.20

$58,130.03 VACANT

$56,414.54

$55,856.32

$39,824.20

Deputy Clerk 1 <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $45,252.22> 27 positions [8/30/2024 budget $45,252.22]

$38.169.56

$35,957.48

$39,719.42

VACANT

$39,719.42

$40,116.44

$35,957.48

$39,719.42

$40,116.44

VACANT

$35,957.48

$40,116.44

$39,719.42

$40,116.44

$39,719.42

$40,116.44

$39,527.80

$44,756.66

$40,116.44

$39,719.42

$39,719.42

$41,745.34

$35,957.48

$30,087.46

VACANT

$40,116.44

$39,719.42

Deputy Clerk 2 <4/29/2026 budget per position $55,572.66> 29 positions [8/30/2024 budget $55,572.66]

$42,434.86

VACANT

$42,434.88

VACANT

$43,288.18

$43,288.18

$43,288.18

$44,599.88

$42,434.86

VACANT

$42,434.86

$48,295.00

VACANT

$43,288.18

$42,434.86

$32,466.20

VACANT

$49,265.58

$40,375.40

$44,157.88

$49,265.58

$42,434.86

$43,721.08

$45,045.26

$45,496.10

$43,288.18

VACANT

VACANT

$44 157.88

Deputy Clerk 3 <4/29/2026 budgeted per position $60,548.54> 11 positions [8/30/2024 budget $60,548.54]

$48,694.36

$46,326.28

$49,668.32

$50,164.92

$51,684.88

$51,684.88

$49,228.40 VACANT

$45,867.64

VACANT

VACANT

VACANT

P County Clerk Emp <4/29/2026 budgeted 360,000> 

$23,174.58

$13,312.00

THE BACK STORY

My friend Phil Hamby (Philip W. Hamby, 1944–2013) was a Knoxville, Tennessee, businessman, builder, and the driving force behind the revived Knoxville Journal. Around 1995, as part of Premiere Publishing, Hamby helped purchase and resurrect Knoxville’s oldest newspaper name. He served as publisher and editor for nearly a decade, running it as a local weekly that dug into real community issues.

One of Phil’s most notable projects was a detailed, year-long series on the salaries of all Knox County School employees. That kind of straightforward, public-record journalism left a lasting impression.

Fast Forward to Today

As many of you know, this site — along with Backroom Knox on Facebook and Compass — has covered the Register of Deeds office, including the July 2025 Workforce Reduction Plan. Through public records requests, we learned that 14 employees were offered the plan and 5 accepted it.

#TheMegaBullhornofTruth investigative reporting also revealed that at least one employee had been working remotely from more than 800 miles away in Florida for more than two years at a salary of more than $80k a year. Those stories, April 9 HERE, April 15 HERE and April 16 HERE, Combining the Register stories with Phil Hamby’s example, inspired this new monthly feature.

PREVIOUS TRANSPARENCY SERIES REPORTS

July 2026, Knox County Mayor’s Office

June 22, 2026 Knox County Trustee Office

May 21, 2026 Knox County Register Office