Before the start of the Selma City Council’s work session Monday, copies of a press release from Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips’ office circulated announcing a press conference Tuesday at 4 p.m. on the steps of city hall.

“Skullduggery at its worst” read the subject line of the release, underlining McPhillips’ assertion that the reindictment of the three Selma Police Department (SPD) officers cleared last month is “wreaking of bad faith,” the very topic he aims to tackle Tuesday afternoon.

As the meeting began, Judge Maggie Drake-Peterson, Executive Director of the newly-established “Weed and Seed” program, called on council members to involve the community in ongoing efforts.

“We’re trying to get the community as a whole together,” Peterson said. “I think we can make it work.”

While the “weed” portion of the program focuses on unifying law enforcement efforts in the area, Peterson said the “seed” portion of the initiative requires collaboration from the community.

“No matter what you do…if you don’t have people interested in making it work, it’s not going to work,” Peterson said. “[The community] can be the eyes and ears of the city.”

During a discussion between the council and city attorney Woodruff Jones, council members mulled over a list of businesses not up to date on their fees and taxes and stated that action is imminent to resolve the issue.

Later, council members took exception with a proposal from Selma City Councilman John Leashore that would bring at least 13 laid-off employees back to work on a part-time basis to cut grass and do other specific jobs.

The rub came in part from some members’ concerns that these employees would be unfairly chosen while others – former full-time employees with departmental seniority – would be overlooked.

Selma City Councilwoman Miah Jackson supported the plan in theory, but wanted to speak with Jones to ensure that the city would not incur any legal issues in pursuing it.

A brief argument ensued between Leashore and Selma City Treasurer Ronita Wade when Wade referenced an earlier conversation in which she advocated that the employees be brought back with the funds currently being improperly used to pay for positions previously defunded by the council.

The combined money from the three positions equals roughly $180,000 annually.