Council may vote on new city clerk
Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 11, 2003
It’s possible Selma could have a city clerk after Monday’s City Council meeting. That would suit Mayor James Perkins Jr. just fine.
Selma currently has vacancies in both the city clerk and city treasurer positions.
At the council’s Thursday work session, Councilwoman Nancy Sewell said Interim City Clerk/Treasurer Sequita Oliver recently tendered her resignation concerning her city clerk duties.
Councilman James Durry said Oliver never was the city clerk; those duties had been performed by Secretary Lois Williams since former City Clerk Jackie Smith left office.
Durry added that he would vote for Williams as city clerk at Monday’s meeting. He didn’t know if she had enough votes to gain the position, but he was planning on making his voice heard because the council was being complacent.
Councilwoman Rita Sims Franklin, though, said there were other candidates. She’s been looking at candidates with both experience and time of service, but would also like a city clerk with accounting knowledge under his or her belt as well.
Concerning the amount of time Selma has been without a city clerk, Franklin said it’s been less than four months. The council didn’t need to extend that time by much longer, but just completing the search process can take two to three months.
Perkins, in his letter to the council, stated that former City Clerk Jackie Smith initially announced her retirement close to six months ago.
Smith’s last official day as city clerk was Jan. 31, 2003.
Councilwoman Jean Martin expressed hope the issue Selma’s city clerk would be resolved quickly.
Settling the city clerk issue could help to clear up some confusion about job titles that appears to exist at City Hall.
The position of city clerk/treasurer was separated by council vote earlier this year. However, according to the City Council’s agenda, Sequita Oliver still holds the position of interim city clerk/treasurer.
When asked what Oliver’s official job title was, Selma’s Personnel Director Valeria Jones declined to comment. Likewise, Oliver declined to comment on her job title when asked.