The Selma City Council received familiar news April 27: there are not enough employees, not enough money and not enough oversight of the budget to get all the work done.
The city of Selma is working from last year’s budget as Mayor Johnny Moss III and his team work on a new budget to present to the city council. Meanwhile, city department heads have come before the council for additional funding because there is not enough money in their department’s budget.
At the April 27 work session, Public Works Director Henry Hicks Sr. told the city council that his department only had eight men available to cut the grass on city property. He said it would take about 20 workers to do the job properly.
Moss said that he is meeting with department heads to build a budget he can present to the council. He said the team has found that a number line items in the city budget are underfunded or unfunded.
City Council President Kennard Randolph said it was the city council’s job “to help department heads do the work we’re asking them to do,” and he called out the previous city council.
“I think the (previous) council did a horrible job managing (the budget),” Randolph said. “We need to take ownership that we (the council) were not looking at how departments were spending money.”
Randolph said the council contributed to the budget problems by spending money on outsourcing and contracts.
“We’re not going to sit up here and act like the council was innocent,” he said.
Councilman Clay Carmichael, who served on the previous council, said that the council found after the fact that the city had spent more money that was budgeted in some areas.
“It’s important to stay in budget,” Carmichael said.
“It’s important to budget,” Randolph replied.
Councilperson Christie Young, who also served on the previous council, said that the council paid for some projects from the city’s bond fund because they knew the city was tight on funds generated from taxes and licenses.
“I hear you,” Randolph said. "But we’re in no better position (now). I don’t think a good job was done making sure department heads had what they needed. I think we make sure we work with the mayor to make sure the money is there.”
The city’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
In other business, the city council approved a resolution dividing the city’s oil lease funds equally among the eight council members, the president of the council and the mayor. Each will receive $16,550 to be spent on capital improvement projects.
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