New Selma internet provider looks at becoming a franchise

The Selma City Council will soon take up a resolution to grant a new internet service provider a franchise to operate in Selma.   

George Henry of Yellowhammer Broadband told the city council that his company has made fiberoptic internet available to 1,500 homes in Selma, and the service will be available to twice that many families by the end of the year. Henry asked the council to approve a franchise for OmniPoint, who is partnering with Yellowhammer on the project, so Selma residents can consider using them to connect to the internet.   

Yellowhammer is laying fiberoptic cable in an area west of Broad Street, north of the river and south of Highway 80, Henry said. They will also lay cable south and north to Valley Grande.   

The council said they would put the franchise to a vote at a future meeting.   

In other business, the council is also working with the city treasurer to bring the city into compliance with a federal law regarding overtime. A new U.S. Department of Labor ruling states that employees must be paid overtime for working more than 40 hours a week if they earn less than $43,888 a year. The salary must be $58,656 by Jan. 1.   

According to the DOL website, the rules are designed to prevent employers from paying employees a salary and then forcing them to work overtime without compensation.   

Salaries will have to be adjusted, or some salaried employees who work more than 40 hours without compensation will have to be paid time and a half, which will impact the city’s budget. The council said they would consider how to address the issue as they work on the fiscal year 2025 budget.