Sewage is backing up into some homes, and the Selma City Council plans to consider a resolution Tuesday that would allow the city to hire private contractors to address the problem.
City councilman Troy Harvill said Oct. 6 that private contractors are needed because the city’s public works department won’t address the problems with city-owned sewer lines as they protest the current draft of the city’s new budget.
The resolution would declare the issues at several homes an emergency, which would allow the city to hire private contractors. Council members were asked to get the addresses of homes that need help with backed up sewers to City Attorney Major Madison Jr. so he could present the resolution to the council on Tuesday.
Harvill told the council a constituent told him he called the city’s public works department to fix a problem on city sewer lines that was causing sewage to come into his home. Harvill said the homeowner told him the employee said that they would not come out because, “you can expect minimum work from them being paid minimum wages.” This phrase has become something of a battle cry among some city employees upset with the wages proposed in a draft of the 2022-2023 city budget.
Mayor James Perkins Jr. proposed a budget that included 5% raises for all city employees, a minimum wage of $12 an hour for city employees and raises for some department heads. The council’s budget removed the raises and set the minimum hourly wage at $11.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Harvill said of the department’s alleged refusal to fix the problem. “They’re (city employees) are holding the citizens of Selma hostage. It’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Harvill said the city could be “setting ourselves up for lawsuits” by disgruntled citizens. “This will not end well for the city of Selma,” Harvill said.
Meanwhile, consulting engineer Meredith Stone told the council at their Oct. 6 work session that the Alabama Department of Transportation has given the city permission to address a sewer line problem on Highland Avenue. Sewage has been coming up from a manhole in front of the McDonald’s restaurant at 600 Highland Ave. Councilwoman Christie Thomas said she also noticed some sewer issues at the nearby CVS Pharmacy.
Stone said ALDOT had to approve the city digging into a state highway. The repairs will be handled by Tri County Plumbing, according to Stone.
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