Increased funding and increased unity were some of the issues addressed by local resident Gene Hisel during the Selma City Council Meeting Monday.

Hisel, representing concerned citizens and business owners of Selma, presented a resolution before the City Council asking that &uot;personal agendas be put aside&uot; and that the safety and well being of citizens be addressed.

Hisel, along with other local residents, have been meeting regularly to discuss what was termed in the resolution as &uot;the increase in burglaries, thefts, and breaking and entering incidents within the City of Selma.&uot;

The resolution asked that elected officials take &uot;immediate and definitive action to ensure timely funding for the Police Department.&uot; It also asked that &uot;steps be taken within the Police Department and City Government to increase morale among&uot; police officers and &uot;that there be open and honest communication between&uot; elected and appointed city officials.

Hisel pointed out that as a result of crime, businesses were losing money, and that with businesses losing money, costs were being passed onto the consumer.

After Hisel’s address, City Council President George Evans agreed with Hisel, saying that &uot;safety and security was the most important thing at this time&uot; for Selma’s citizens.

Mayor James Perkins Jr., who said he attended one of the concerned citizens meetings, then praised Hisel along with other concerned citizens.

Perkins added that there were additional increases in funding in his proposed 2002-2003 budget for public safety.

He also noted that Selma’s crime numbers were not as high some perceived.

Earlier, at a council work session, some council members expressed surprise that the mayor’s proposed budget for 2002-2003 includes a deficit. Although the matter is still under scrutiny, Selma City Finance Director Bob Sanders presented figures at the work session earlier showing a deficit of approximately $425,000.

During the session, council members said they were surprised by the latest figures.

Councilwoman Bennie Ruth Crenshaw echoed similar sentiments. &uot;I though we were on target,&uot; said Crenshaw. &uot;Why didn’t we see these figures before?&uot;

Sanders, attempting to answer council members questions, said that due to falling sales tax revenue, that the city could have cut back in some areas.

He pointed out that the biggest expenditures for the city were the city’s payroll, which totaled approximately $410,000, and the city’s power bills, which totaled approximately $44,000.

Said Sanders, &uot;[What this means] is that we are not out of cash, but we are living beyond our means.&uot;

Sanders further explained to council members that he was only in charge of accounts payable, while City Clerk Jackie Smith was charge of accounts receivable.

Smith, who gave a presentation before Sanders, presented figures showing a $482,000 decrease in revenue for 2002-03 due mainly to a decrease in tax revenue.

Some council members, along with Evans,

then suggested the possibility that there was a problem with

communication between the treasurer’s office, which is responsible for accounts payable, and the finance office, which is responsible for accounts receivable.

At Perkins’ request, the council then decided to go into executive session.