Toward the end of Monday night’s Selma City Council work session, Councilwoman Miah Jackson stated that during a “contentious” meeting with Mayor Darrio Melton she brought up the issue of people in defunded positions still receiving pay.

After asking Melton if those people were still being paid, Jackson said the mayor stated that they were being paid and they would continue to be paid because the council did not have the authority to defund the positions.

Jackson said the council’s options moving forward are to either repeal the vote to defund the three city positions or “hold his feet to the fire” and get a lawyer to ensure the will of the council is being upheld.

“My goal here is to ensure that we do the right thing in the right manner,” Jackson said. “This is about doing our job and it’s not personal. We have to act with integrity.”

Earlier in the meeting, Melton told the council that the city collected just over $4,000 in vendor fees for the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

That money represents all of the vendors set up within the event’s jurisdiction but only a portion of those that popped up throughout downtown.

Council President Corey Bowie noted that the council may need to consider increasing those fees to as much as $125.

Melton also provided the council with financial statements which said the city’s monthly expenses were a little more than $943,000 and its revenue was just over $1.6 million.

“We’re trying to make sure we pay bills and make payroll,” Melton said.

Melton also noted that the city has collected around $2.5 million in business taxes, but not all businesses are up to date on their fees – insurance companies in the city generally pay their fees a week or two after other businesses and could generate an additional $200,000.

Jackson raised questions over unprocessed purchase orders in the amount of $137,000 and noted that she would like to see the council have the ability to approve purchase orders before checks are drafted.

Selma Police Chief Spencer Collier came before the council to request a budget line item for maintaining the department’s fleet.

Collier is requesting that the council allot a portion of the money currently being used on maintenance to be used for leasing six new police cruisers.

“I think this is something that needs to be developed through the budget,” Jackson said. “It’s just a little premature.”

For his part, Collier wants for the fleet to be added to the budget so that regular upgrades and repairs can be made.

Collier said the condition of the vehicles is a “officer safety issue.”

“These vehicles are not safe for my officers to be driving,” Collier said. “That’s why I’m so passionate about it.”

The council also heard from Mozell Williams, who overseed the city’s landfill, about the need for a new trash compactor.

Currently, the city is using an excavator after the compactor broke down a few months ago – repairs to the old one would cost at least $119,000 and a new one would cost more than $750,000.

If plans are not made for the aging machines, the city could face a fine from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

A seven-year lease would cost the city roughly $125,000 annually and include a warranty and oil changes.

Jackson reported that city trash pick-up is down by 301 customers, largely because people are not facing any consequences for throwing their trash out on the street.