Many businesses and local retailers will be closing for the Christmas holiday and so will local government offices. As in years past, the city of Selma’s trash service will be on an alternate schedule and residents should be mindful of approaching application deadlines at the end of the year for property taxes and trash service fee exemptions.

The office of Dallas County Probate Court will be closed on Monday, Dec. 24 through Wednesday, Dec. 26. The office will reopen on Dec. 27, but will close again for New Year’s on Monday, Dec. 31 through Wednesday, Jan. 2. On Thursday, Dec. 3, the probate office will reopen with normal hours.

City of Selma offices will be closed Monday, Dec. 24 and 25. Offices will reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 26. The city will close again in January as well for New Year’s holidays on Jan. 1, but will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Executive assistant to the mayor, B.J. Smothers, said residents should remember the trash fee exemption deadline because not only is the deadline nearing, but also their offices will be closed during the holidays.

“We still have the Dec. 31 deadline for garbage fee exemptions. The deadline for the exemption fee has to be met and people have to reapply for the exemption every year — even if they applied last year,” Smothers said.

Officials in the both the Dallas County tax and license department, as well as the department for the city, require all property taxes to be turned in by Dec. 31. On Jan. 1 all residents who have not paid will be filed as delinquents and for Selma, that means an increased interest rate on those taxes.

“Any money we do not collect, the city cannot use,” Roosevelt Goldsby with the city said. “There is a 12 percent interest rate after taxes are not paid on Dec. 31 and it compounds daily. In May we auction off the houses that we have not collected taxes for.”

Dallas County tax assessor, Frances Hughes said there is also a Dec. 31 deadline to file an exemption for property taxes. Those who are disabled and anyone over the age of 65 can be exempt if they come in and do the paperwork.

“I’m concerned that some who have normally come in by now to reapply for their exemptions, have not come in and I don’t know why,” Hughes told the Times-Journal earlier in December.

The alternate trash schedule for the city is as follows: Monday garbage will be picked up on Wednesday, Dec. 26, Tuesday garbage will be picked up on Thursday, Dec. 27, Wednesday garbage will be picked up on Friday, Dec. 28 and Thursday garbage will be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 29. On Monday, Dec. 31 all normal trash pickup schedules will resume. There will be dumpsters at the following locations for extra garbage dumping only: the old Walmart on Highland Avenue, the Old Win Dixie on Dallas Avenue and one located at Memorial Stadium.