On Monday, Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips filed an emergency motion to order Selma Mayor Darrio Melton to appear in court and explain why he should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with a court order that required him to restore City Treasurer Ronita Wade to the “full performance of her duties.”

During a special called meeting of the Selma City Council last week, Wade stated that she had not been allowed access to the city’s payroll records and that oversight of those records had been moved to the city’s Human Resources Department.

At Monday’s work session, Wade confirmed that she still had not been granted access to payroll, despite her requests, and that she was informed by employees in the Human Resources Department that the “mayor’s secretary” had instructed them not to grant her access.

“I’m hoping this motion will suddenly make him straighten up,” McPhillips said. “If he doesn’t cooperate on this stuff, the judge could throw him in jail.”

The new motion notes that in the same preliminary ruling from Judge Don McMillan that reinstated Wade as treasurer, Melton’s request to have the case dismissed was denied and that the judge had ruled that Wade was to be fully restored to her duties.

“At this time, although [Wade] has returned to the treasurer’s office at city hall, [Melton] has prohibited [her] from performing the majority of her duties as City Treasurer,” the motion states.

The motion states that Wade has been denied access to the city’s payroll and financial software, as well as financial information and records that have been requested by either Wade or the Selma City Council.

The motion goes on to state that, as a result of this lack of access, Wade “is not able to adequately perform her many duties as City Treasurer, including the city’s necessary financial and payroll review.”

Further, the motion alleges that the mayor or his secretary have “instructed the city’s payroll accountant and others not to communicate with [Wade] nor respond to [her] email or other requests.”

While the motion is demanding that Melton appear before a judge to explain why he should not be held in contempt for seemingly ignoring a court order by refusing to fully reinstate Wade to her position, McPhillips stated that it is meant to “set a fire to [the mayor’s] tail” and let him know that there are consequences for refusing to cooperate.

Attempts to reach Melton were unsuccessful.