During a special called meeting Monday, the Selma City Council approved an extension of Selma Police Department (SPD) Interim Chief Robert Green’s contract until the end of December, at which point a new chief should already be selected.

“I think it was pivotal that we did extend the contract because there are some things that Chief Green is working on that he needs to finish up,” said Selma City Council President Corey Bowie.

Bowie also noted that Green played an instrumental role in getting the “Weed and Seed” program off the ground – now that the funds from the “Weed and Seed” grant have been handed down, Bowie believes it’s important that Green be on hand to oversee the distribution of the grant funds and address “other needs” that the department has.

Further, Bowie noted that the process for selecting a new chief has already begun and he hopes to have an official selection by the second council meeting of November or the first meeting of December, at which point, Bowie stated, the council may consider retaining Green as a temporary consultant.

Elsewhere in the meeting, the council approved a motion brought by Selma City Councilwoman Jannie Thomas, on the recommendation of Selma City Treasurer Ronita Wade, to temporarily defund an accountant position in the city’s Finance Department.

According to Wade, an accountant in her office, Notokozo Pamacheche, was promoted to Executive Assistant in Selma Mayor Darrio Melton’s office.

“Although I was not given ample notice, I am absolutely excited for the mayor and my former staff,” Wade said, adding that she requested defunding the position temporarily because “the work flow has decreased significantly in [the finance department] since the mayor elected to lay off employees.”

“The vast majority of the laid-off workers are laborers,” Wade said. “As a result of the mayor’s decision to lay off [these workers], city-provided services have been tremendously reduced, specifically in areas of public works and city recreation. This has had an adverse effect on spending in those departments, including spending on supplies, fuel and equipment maintenance costs and payroll costs.”

Wade stated that she was informed upon her return in May that “there was a halt by the current administration in spending for all departments with a few exceptions.”

“This may have been the reason for the police department’s failure to utilize the additional $160,000 approved by the council in last year’s budget to purchase safety equipment and other capital equipment needs,” Wade said. “It also may be the reason certain necessary repairs were not done at city venues. As a direct result [of] the tremendous reduction of city services, the work flow in the finance department has decreased as well. Therefore, it was my recommendation to temporarily defund the vacant accountant position so that the budgeted amount can be best utilized in other important areas at the discretion of the council.”

Wade noted that Melton’s budget reflected the elimination of one accountant position and she estimates that “this was a direct correlation to [Melton’s] decision to suspend some city services, thereby causing a reduction in work flow.”

“Therefore, it is feasible to temporarily defund this position until some city services are restored to full capacity,” Wade said. “Operating efficiency is vital to the future of this city and its financial resources.”

The lack of city services was on full display in another decision the council made Monday.

According to Bowie, the City of Selma Public Works Department generally oversees the pickup and disposal of deceased animals at the Selma Animal Shelter – however, since the department’s month-long “sickout,” there has been a “lingering problem” regarding the lack of workers to remove dead animals.

To tackle the problem, the council agreed to enter into a contract with a private business, which will charge a “minimal fee” of $175 to pick up and dispose of the animals – Bowie said the services will be used on an “as needed basis.”

The council also approved a resolution to rescind supplementary compensation for workers at the Dallas County Sports Complex now that the county has again taken control of the facility.

According to Bowie, the supplementary compensation was paid when the city was in control of the venue – since workers were essentially working for both the city and the county, they received additional compensation – but now that the county has taken back control of the complex, those workers are only employed by one department and are therefore ineligible for the additional compensation.