Update: Selma officials dicuss how to balance its budget with a $700K shortfall

The city of Selma is $700,000 short of a balanced budget.

The Selma City Council’s Budget Committee went over a draft of the 2027 budget on Sept. 14 and Sept. 16. The city must approve a balanced budget before the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.

Selma Mayor Johnny Moss III told the finance committee, which includes the entire council, that expenses exceed revenue by about $700,000 for 2027. The city’s insurance premium shot up from $675,000 to $1.1 million for the 2027 budget year, and the city has had to pay out several court judgements, according to Moss.

The council discussed balancing the budget by not including unfilled positions in the police and fire departments. Moss said he included the salaries for every open position in the budget, but Councilman Clay Carmichael suggested funding only as many positions as the city could reasonably fill in the next year.

The Selma Police Department budget includes funding for 16 vacant positions. Although the mayor and council agreed that the city needs all 16 officers, Carmichael said the city has never hired more than four or five new officers a year.

Funding eight open positions for police officers would cut about $350,000 from the budget, Carmichael said. Eliminating some unfunded positions in the fire department would save a similar amount.

Fire Chief Walter Dailey told the council that he has held down overtime costs by not staffing the Woodrow Avenue fire station. Dailey said that the city meets minimum standards for coverage without the station, and the station can only be staffed by paying firefighters overtime.

The new budget of about $20 million includes $11.8 million in salaries, Moss said.

More from this section

2 out of 5 TikTok Mounjaro videos are ‘stealthy advertising’

Did you know it’s Hispanic Heritage Month? Only 1 in 3 do

New blood test spots one of deadliest cancers at its earliest stages

Moss said he is also keen to reduce costs at the landfill. The budget draft includes leasing a grinder that would, as the name implies, grind bulky items into smaller pieces that would save space.

Space is an issue because the landfill is filling up, due in part the volume of material generated by the 2023 tornado. Moss said the city will have to look at expanding the existing landfill or purchasing land for a new landfill, both of which are expensive.

Moss told the council he wants the landfill to support itself with dumping fees.

On the revenue side, the budget includes an increase in city fees, which Moss said have not been updated in years.

Moss said that the city will also get more aggressive on collecting $500,000 in unpaid fees.

The budget will be reviewed at the Sept. 22 work session and meeting of the Selma City Council.

This story was updated to include information from the Sept. 16 Finance Committee meeting.