Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The following is a statement released by Selma Council President Billy Young regarding the recent court ruling on a lawsuit filed by Neely Preservation Group, LLC of Selma:

Read Mayor James Perkins Jr.’s Statement

“Following a recent ruling from the Circuit Court of Dallas County, Mayor Perkins has said that he will not pay a local business for valuable services provided to the City of Selma, even though the work was performed under a duly authorized contract. The City of Selma will pay the price for not honoring its contracts with its vendors and for failing to meet the critical needs that were being provided by NPG, LLC. Ironically, Mayor Perkins is now asking the City of Selma to use the public’s money to pay for lawyers who Mayor Perkins personally retained at more than $400 per hour and who have run up tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees that were not authorized by a contract approved by the City Council, which is the only entity that can authorize such contracts and control the City’s finances, as confirmed by the judgment recently entered by the Court.

On November 21, 2022, NPG, LLC, filed suit against Mayor James Perkins and Treasurer Terri Barnes Smith in NPG, LLC v. James Perkins, et al., 27-CV-2022-900216.00 (Cir. Ct. Dallas Co., Ala.). Then, on January 3, 2024, the Mayor and the Treasurer added a claim to sue their own city, the City of Selma, Alabama, and add it as a party to the litigation. The Mayor even had the audacity to ask the City to authorize and pay the legal fees for his own personal lawyers to sue the City, which the City Council understandably rejected.

The NPG case was resolved in two parts. First, on March 3, 2025, the Circuit Court of Dallas County entered an order dismissing all claims against the City, ruling “it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that all claims, allegations, and causes of action between Mayor Perkins, Treasurer Smith, and Selma are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE ….” In other words, the Mayor and the Treasurer did not receive the relief that they had requested from the Court when they sued the City. In no way was that a win for the Mayor. It was not a win for the Mayor when he wasted City resources by causing the City to defend frivolous litigation that he brought. It was not a win for the Mayor when he wasted valuable time that the Mayor could have spent serving the men, women, and children who live and work in Selma and who care far more about their safety, their streets, and their essential services than about the Mayor’s personal quarrels.

The second part of the case was resolved on March 24, 2025, and while the Circuit Court ruled in favor of the Mayor and the Treasurer on the claims brought by NPG, LLC, it did so because “Plaintiff [NPG, LLC] has not presented any substantial evidence of a genuine issue of material fact.” However, the ruling in the NPG case did not resolve the important public safety and policing concerns that the City’s contract with NPG, LLC was addressing until the Mayor unilaterally terminated the contract. Pursuant to the contract, Marqueis Neely, the founder of NPG, LLC, had held meetings in each of the eight wards throughout the City of Selma where citizens discussed matters concerning public safety, crime prevention, neighborhood watches, conflict resolution, health, environmental concerns, and ways to improve the community. The meetings organized by NPG provided direct access for residents to engage with representatives from the City of Selma police department and elected officials. Selma City Council Members and representatives of the Dallas County Commission could often be found meeting with citizens at these sessions. Though invited, the Mayor was notably absent from any of the meetings with citizens. NPG, LLC also successfully provided information on the Crime Stoppers program to local schools, and NPG, LLC was a driver, supporter, and organizer of the Police Athletic League, which was created to fill a recreational void left by the current administration and to reach out to youth at risk of becoming involved in gangs through their involvement with police hosted athletics. A group of senior citizen women also benefitted from a lesson in firearm safety provided by NPG, LLC. These items are not exhaustive of the investment that Mr. Neely and NPG, LLC made in their community, but they show that there is no reason to celebrate leaving a small business holding the bill for services that were actually provided to Selma’s citizens.

As noted in the Order entered by the Circuit Court, Mayor Perkins is now asking that the City of Selma pay his legal bills in a case in which he sued the City and in which those claims were dismissed. With “the authority to manage and control the finances of the City of Selma,” the Selma City Council has twice declined to hire the law firm personally retained by Mayor Perkins to bring a direct attack upon the City or to authorize the lawyers’ above-market rates for this case. If turnabout is fair play, then the City will not have to pay those charges either, and NPG, LLC will not be the only party stuck with the check.

Warren “Billy” Young, City Council President
City of Selma, Alabama