SELMA - Town leaders on Monday kicked off a series of neighborhood meetings, hoping to hear residents' thoughts on issues from street lighting to trash pickup.

But most of the 30 or so people who came to the library had just one thing on their mind - high electricity rates. Many were upset about their bills, and some even took to shouting angrily at the assembled group of Selma department heads and elected officials.

"Why is my bill so astronomical?" asked one woman, who didn't give her name. "It's less than $100 difference from my mortgage. Every month, it's a toss-up whether I'm going to pay my mortgage or my light bill. ... I'm scared to turn the heat on."

Electricity rates made up the bulk of the two-hour discussion at the Selma Public Library. The response from Town Manager Richard Douglas was what residents of public power towns have been hearing for years - the towns are largely powerless to set rates, thanks to a debt-laden contract. Residents instead should look at ways to save energy, Douglas said.

"We do offer, at no charge, energy audits," he said. "Sometimes there are some fairly simple solutions."

Selma residents can also get a credit on their bill if they let the town install a load-management switch, which briefly shuts off heating and cooling units during peak hours of demand.

But new Mayor Cheryl Oliver said she's not sure conservation is the only way to help struggling Selma power users. She said she's been studying the options since taking office last month.

"It was not in my mind, 'Can we lower the cost of living in Selma?' but, 'How much can we lower it?' " Oliver said. "We looked at everything from the age of the lines to certain kinds of policies. We're looking at this from every which way."

The mayor said she's looking at how much the town spends on street lighting. And town leaders are mulling changes to the security-deposit policy, possibly requiring landlords to co-sign with their tenants so the town won't get stuck with an unpaid bill. "Are they fair? Are they the right ones?" Oliver asked of the policy proposals.

Oliver said Selma has some of the area's highest power rates. "It is Selma's No. 1 black eye," she said. "What we can do, we should do."

Though it took up the bulk of the discussion, electricity wasn't the only concern raised at the neighborhood meeting. One woman said she'd seen a street sweeper pass her house four times in a day - a cleaning she finds excessive.

Margaret Street of South Green Street said she's worried about crime. Her shed was recently broken into, and she said someone's been knocking on her bedroom window at night and shouting profanities. "I'm tired of calling (police)," she said.

Douglas, the town manager, said he's asked Street's neighbor to remove a tall fence that makes it easier for criminals to hide. "We will look at that street and see if we can put another streetlight in there," Douglas said. "Let's do some targeted enforcement, and maybe we can catch the guy in the act."

Douglas hopes the neighborhood meetings will lead to simple solutions to problems. After each meeting, town employees will put an extra focus on that neighborhood. They will repair sidewalks, install free smoke detectors and do more code enforcement. "It's really interesting to see the sort of issues that are identified," he said.

Residents who live between Brevard Street and U.S. 301, and between Elizabeth Street and Noble Street were invited to Monday's meeting. Other neighborhoods will get the town's attention starting in March.