The Selma City Council spent its Thursday work session looking for money to bolster two different city departments after maintenance costs of aging equipment depleted budgets faster than expected.

Selma Mayor George Evans presented two proposals in his regular report for the city’s Public Works Department and the Landfill Department.

Evans asked the council to consider transferring $60,000 in unpaid employee salaries to pay for vehicle and equipment maintenance.

Evans said the money had accumulated because of open positions within the department.

“We had some people hired at minimum wage during grass cutting season,” Evans said. “All of these people were hired to work and some of them were not replaced when they left. That money built up and we can use it for equipment.”

Public Works Director Tommy Smith said the reason for the line-item transfer is due to aging equipment — the newest of which is 4 years old.

“Our equipment is running eight hours per day, five days per week,” Smith said. “It’s a lot. When you have equipment being used that often, you’re going to have maintenance.”

The council also considered transferring $40,000 from it’s half-cent sales tax to help pay for the city’s landfill.

The landfill’s expenses are approximately $13,000 per month, with $3,000 in revenues, according to Evans. The transfer would help fund the landfill until the end of the fiscal year — September.

Landfill manager Larry Friday said the landfill’s revenues have decreased sharply recently because of Alabama Department of Environmental Management regulations. Friday said ADEM decreased the types of garbage that can be accepted, which, in turn, reduced revenue.

Council members questioned whether the landfill could cut costs by reducing staff, but Friday responded saying the landfill is already at the minimum, required number — two people.

Evans said reducing the staff any further would cause ADEM violations.

“If you don’t have the required number of people, they can just come in and shut it down,” he said.

Council members also questioned if the shuttering the landfill and using a waste facility near Craig Field on Alabama 41 would be a less expensive option than the city using its own landfill.

Friday said he calculated the cost of using the Alabama 41 facility three years ago and it would be significantly more expensive than the landfill’s total budget.

The landfill proposal, if approved, would further reduce the amount of money left in the half-cent sales tax fund below $450,000. The city council previously approved a measure to prevent expenditures below $450,000 in order to give city employees raises in December.

After hearing the landfill proposal, Ward 2 Councilwoman Susan Keith proposed that the city expand its recycling program as a way to generate additional revenue.

Ward 1 Councilman Cecil Williamson referenced declining sales tax revenue and said the city may be forced to make personnel cuts if the trend continues.

“Salaries are a big expense,” Williamson said. “It’s nothing set in stone, but just my thoughts.”

The council is scheduled to vote on the proposal during its meeting Tuesday.

After presenting both proposals, Evans clarified that the need to transfer money isn’t indicative of the city’s current financial situation.

“I don’t want the message to be that the city doesn’t have any money,” he said. “We are just transferring money from one line item to another. If push comes to shove, we still have $400,000 in the half-cent sales tax fund.”