Selma mayor warns state bills could limit local zoning as town readies new public-safety hires

The mayor of Selma, North Carolina, told the town planning board on Aug. 25 that recent state legislation proposals could change municipalities' zoning authority and described town decisions on taxes and public-safety staffing.

The mayor said Selma did not change its tax rate after the recent property revaluation, so rising property values increased town tax revenue; he contrasted that with Johnston County, which lowered its own rate to offset revaluation. "The town of Selma did not change its tax rate with the reevaluation," the mayor said. "The town of Selma left its tax rate the same, so that was an increase in the tax revenue from the increased values of the property."

The mayor told the board that he has been watching several bills in the state legislature that could affect local planning and zoning, and specifically referenced a bill he identified as "Bill 765" when describing prior proposals that would have limited municipalities' ability to downzone property. He said the legislature has recently restricted downzoning — taking land from greater density to lesser density — and that the trend appears to favor statewide rules that make local downzoning harder.

Why it matters: changes at the state level could alter Selma's authority to regulate land use, while local tax and budget decisions determine whether the town can expand police, fire and other services as the town grows.

The mayor described recent increases in personnel costs and the town's budget response. He said the town has raised starting police pay from about $40,000 roughly three to four years ago to about $55,000 now. "We now have from where we were starting off our police officers at $40,000 a year just 3 years ago, 4 years ago, we are now starting off our police officers around $55,000 a year," he said. He told the board that the police budget increased by roughly $800,000 to $900,000 to fund another officer on each shift and a detective, and that the town is also adding a firefighter on each shift.

The mayor said the town is planning a second fire station on the "other side of the tracks" on Noble Street to improve response across the railroad line and has already ordered a second fire engine; he noted long manufacturer turnaround times for apparatus. "We're working on a second fire station. Currently, we've been working on that for a couple of years... We've already ordered a second fire engine because turnaround for fire engines is now approaching 4 years," he said.

Board members asked about call volumes and capacity. The mayor said 911 calls and other responses have risen year-over-year for three years and described growth in traffic and pass-through population from surrounding areas as another driver of increased service demand. He estimated Selma's current population at a little over 7,000 and said the town is likely to be "floating around 10,000 in the next 5 years," noting grant eligibility considerations for population thresholds.

No formal council action was taken on the mayor's update; the remarks were presented as information to the planning board. Council member Amy West Whitley, who spoke during the meeting, thanked board volunteers for service and did not advance separate action items.

Looking ahead: the mayor urged the board to monitor state legislative activity that could affect local zoning and to factor rising personnel and infrastructure costs into planning discussions.