First responders, library employee honored during State of the City address
Mayor Scott McBrayer gave his 10th State of the City address to the Homewood Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 15. He started the luncheon by recognizing the city’s Employees of the Year.
Police Sgt. Chris Morgan, who oversees Homewood Police Department’s night shift, was selected as Officer of the Year. Chief Tim Ross said Morgan, a 16-year member of the department, was promoted to sergeant in 2018 and has overseen the “most productive unit in the department.”
Night shift officers made more than 1,000 arrests, 2,000 citations and answered 14,000 service calls under Morgan’s leadership. However, his skill as a leader and decision-maker under pressure came when a vehicle theft turned into a 16-mile chase after armed suspects.
Morgan made the decisions that led to the arrest of the theft suspects without injury, Ross said, and earned the praise of his fellow officers.
Brian Jones was named the Fire Department Employee of the Year, and Chief John Bresnan said he has been an important part of the department, from maintaining supplies to serving as chaplain, for many years. Jones, who also runs his own HVAC business, started his firefighting career in 1996 and came to Homewood in 2002.
Jones told the chamber that he sees service as “what we should all do in everything and every day.”
The Homewood Public Library’s Rose Canady was chosen as the Employee of the Year from all other city departments. Canady is the library’s only full-time cleaner and has been since she started in 1997.
Canady’s hard work, character and dedication to her job are what earned her the award.
“She’s a wonderful person and is loved by the other employees,” library Executive Director Deborah Fout said in her nomination letter.
After recognizing these employees, McBrayer took time to look back at 2018 and toward the future for Homewood. He said he sees “character, honesty [and] civility” as some of the most needed traits to grow a strong city.
“It’s strong and getting stronger every day,” McBrayer said of Homewood.
He commended his city department heads and leaders for their work to continue Homewood’s growth, describing the City Council as a group of “conscientious” long-term thinkers. McBrayer said he is proud of the way council members and administrators work together to solve problems.
“The best title to get things done is ‘neighbors,’” he said.
McBrayer noted an overall reduction in crime in the city, with the police receiving nearly 73,000 calls in 2018 and making 3,276 arrests and around 12,000 citations. When he hired Ross as the chief in 2015, McBrayer said they shared a goal to have the city’s officers become more visible and make more contact with the public to discourage crime.
He also congratulated the fire department for its recent Class 1 ISO rating, making it one of only about 300 departments nationwide to receive the highest rating. The rating is based on response time, staffing, equipment and other factors.
The fire department responded to 4,511 calls, including 96 fires, in 2018, with an average response time of 6 minutes, 14 seconds.
“I can’t find my coffee cup in 6 minutes,” McBrayer joked.
Additionally, the library received 450,000 visits and hosted more than 3,000 public group meetings in 2018, McBrayer said.
Since winning the mayoral seat in 2008, McBrayer said he’s been proud that the city has run a budget surplus every year. In 2015, Homewood began giving year-end employee bonuses with a portion of that surplus.
“It hasn’t been easy, but I can guarantee you it was worth it,” he said.
The average annual surplus over the last 10 years has been about $756,000, he said. However, McBrayer also pointed out that Homewood city operations cost about $100,000 per day to run.
In 2019, McBrayer said residents can look forward to seeing the new public safety headquarters on Bagby Drive, a new hotel under construction on 18th Street South, redevelopment of the Wildwood shopping center and the completion of improvement projects at West Homewood, Spring and Patriot parks.