Spring in Homewood

Dear friends and neighbors,

It’s hard to believe that it is March already and spring is around the corner. I promised a while back to give you an update on the city’s recycling progress. This past January residents recycled 108 tons in Homewood. I want to thank each of you for your participation in this program and remind you to visit republicservices.com to sign up for rewards.

You are obviously committed to recycling, and it helps our city a great deal. Each piece of material we recycle means less trash going to the landfill. This in turn saves us money on fees, gasoline, wear and tear on vehicles, and time. I am pleased that we have been able to continue to provide this service at no additional charge to residents. I believe it is one of the benefits of living in Homewood.

Our third police canine, Banjo, is already making a huge contribution to our safety. He has made several “finds” of controlled substances on routine traffic stops and assisted in apprehending a suspect who was hiding in the woods around Wildwood. I greatly appreciate your support in our canine program. It was an expensive request a few years ago when I first put it in our budget, but the rewards have been tremendous. I’m so grateful we can afford to have these programs that assist the officers while they perform their very dangerous job. Please take a moment to thank our officers when you see them patrolling your neighborhood.

I also want to take a moment to bring to your attention a group of guys who do a tremendous job for our city but are rarely seen. Gordon Jaynes and the Fleet Maintenance Department work so hard each day to ensure city vehicles are running. The amount of money we save by having employees who can make repairs in-house is phenomenal, and it also keeps our vehicles out of other shops waiting to be serviced. 

It’s very important because when a police car or fire engine needs repairing, the department can take care of it immediately. The same can be said for our trash trucks and all other vehicles that provide a service to our community. I will also tell you that when we have bad weather coming, those guys are there and sleeping on cots when necessary to make sure we are never without life-saving vehicles at any time.  

I’m grateful we have those who are so willing to work behind the scene, never expecting praise or recognition. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for quietly going about their job. It makes me proud to serve beside them as mayor when I realize just how much they do each day. 

Sincerely,

Scott McBrayer

Mayor, City of Homewood