Selmont to hold town hall meeting Monday night to answer questions about incorporation

The Dallas County community of Selmont is nearing a major milestone in its effort to become Alabama’s newest municipality, with organizers saying they are now only about 20 signatures away from the number needed to move incorporation forward. 

To help residents understand what incorporation would mean and to answer lingering questions, the Selmont Incorporation Committee will hold an informational town hall meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at the VFW on Kings Bend Road.

Committee member Erice Williams said the meeting is designed to reach as many residents as possible, both in person and online. 

“Monday’s meeting will be an open forum meeting, and we as the caucus will be giving out the information and answering questions. It’s a live meeting but we're doing it virtually also because we're going to have a couple podcasters out,” he said.

The committee has added a virtual option to make sure homebound residents, seniors and others who cannot attend in person can still participate. A local podcaster whose audience is largely based in Selmont will stream the meeting and help field questions from viewers. 

Williams said the goal is to energize the community as the effort reaches its final stretch. “We were hoping that we can get them to chime in and voice their opinion, ask questions and more likely get them riled up, because we're at the finish line right now.”

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Residents who cannot attend in person can request the Zoom link by emailing opselmont@gmail.com. Williams said the committee will send the link to anyone who needs it.

Much of Monday’s discussion will focus on what incorporation would mean for Selmont, including questions about revenue, services, and long-term sustainability. Williams said those details will be explained during the meeting. He noted that many residents have asked whether a newly incorporated Selmont could support itself financially. 

“A lot of people keep questioning whether we're going to have the money to sustain ourselves, and we do because it'll be such a small city being incorporated,” he said. “It only takes $1.8 million to run a city.”

The committee also plans to outline how incorporation would affect public safety, including plans to build up law enforcement capacity over the next several years.

Organizers say they may already have enough signatures to move to the next step, which is formally requesting that incorporation be placed on the ballot. Monday’s meeting will help determine when that request will be made.

Residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions and learn how incorporation could shape the future of Selmont.