On Tuesday, the Selma City Council voted to allow Montgomery attorney Bobby Segall to answer on behalf of Mayor Darrio Melton’s lawsuit against the council.

The motion, brought forth by Councilwoman Susan Youngblood, was approved by six council members, with Councilman John Leashore voting against the measure and Councilmen Carl Bowline and Michael Johnson passing and abstaining, respectively.

Council members also voted to overturn an earlier vote to take tax revenue reserved for Selma City Schools in 1982.

“It has never been my posture to take money from the school system,” Melton said, urging the council to back pedal on its earlier decision. “As mayor, it’s never my position that we should take money from children.”

The motion to undo the earlier vote was brought forth by Leashore and approved by the council, 6-3.

The three council members who voted against the measure were Councilman Sam Randolph, who later asked to change his vote, Youngblood and Councilwoman Miah Jackson.

The council also voted to approve seven recommendations brought forth by the Bridge Crossing Jubilee committee, which will now take place on the east side of Broad Street and allow for free access to the Evans Building and the amphitheater.

The recommendations also stated that no food trucks will be allowed in the park or surrounding sidewalks and a gate would be established at Washington Street, Franklin Street, Green Street and Lawrence Street.

Leonard Speed, CEO of the Grist-Brown Memorial YMCA, addressed the council to ask that the facility continue to receive lodging tax revenue, which he said is a vital source of funding for the facility.

“We’ve met with a few challenges, but nothing we can’t overcome,” Speed said. “We believe the best is yet to come.”

The council, however, seemed hesitate to shore up the continued funding for the facility, noting that it was extended to years ago in the hope that the YMCA could find its own sources of revenue.

“I don’t think this council is going to vote to renew this contract,” Leashore said.

Melton also addressed the council and brought forth 17 items to be assigned to various committees.

One item brought before the council was Melton’s proposal to increase Selma gas taxes by 5-cents, with the revenue being earmarked for infrastructure.

The mayor recommended that the Public Works Committee discuss and vet the proposal and have the council vote on it before the state legislature convenes in March.

“We have been having this conversation of over a year on our infrastructure,” Melton said. “I think it is very critical that we consider raising our gasoline tax.”

Melton said the gas tax would generate $1.5 million annually for the city.

Melton also addressed the employees laid off in November, stating that the city is on track to save $1.9 million as a result of the move after knocking monthly payroll expenses down from roughly $800,000 a month to $580,000 a month.

Those savings, Melton said, have been used to pay off outstanding debt from 2018.

The mayor also reported that the city generated roughly $76,000 in revenue during last year’s baseball season with the only expense to the city being the cost of turning on the lights.

Contention arose between the mayor and council members on a number of issues, specifically when Jackson brought forth a motion for the mayor to submit a document detailing the names, titles and salaries of all current city employees.

Earlier in the meeting, council members had clashed with the mayor regarding defunded positions, which he claimed to have not been notified about – when Jackson asked for the employees’ information, Melton claimed that he could not submit it because payroll is handled by the Human Resources Department and he no longer has a Human Resources Director.