Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Council President Alex Wyatt speaks at the Finance Committee meeting on Sept. 9, 2024.
City Council president Alex Wyatt mentioned in Monday's Finance Committee meeting that the city would consider hiring an interim city manager if citizens vote to change the city government in the Sept. 24 referendum.
Wyatt said discussions regarding the city manager vote have included the idea of Homewood possibly hiring an interim city manager before a permanent one comes on board.
Wyatt said he, Mayor Patrick McClusky and Councilman Nick Sims have spoken with city managers in the area and discussed the possibility of hiring someone with previous experience in city management for the interim role.
“Probably a retired city manager, county manager,” Wyatt said. “We have some of those around. If we could do that, that would bridge the gap. That person could help get everything set up and could help the new council with the hiring process and could be someone who could be there on day 1 of the new term and serve in that executive role.”
The council president said an interim city manager would keep the city from having a months-long void in the position as the next council and mayor, to be elected in 2025, work to hire the long-term city manager.
“That could provide the city with a better pool of candidates because they know they’re coming on at the beginning of a term rather than at the end of a term,” Wyatt said, acknowledging that his comments were simply to inform his fellow council members. “Obviously, we don’t need to do anything necessarily before the referendum because there’s nothing to do before the referendum."
"But I did want to put that out there since it’s part of some discussions that I’ve had with community in the past few weeks and some of our discussions with existing city managers," he said. “That’s something that might be beneficial in our situation. I wanted to put that out there just to give everyone something to think about. We’ll see what happens with the referendum and then decide.”
Wyatt mentioned the possibility of an interim city manager again at a public forum for the upcoming referendum on Wednesday night, stating that, if the referendum passes, the person selected for the role would only serve for a limited time and would not later pursue the full-time city manager position.
The forum saw several Homewood residents come out to ask questions and voice concerns over the upcoming vote, beginning with a brief presentation from Wyatt followed by time for attendees to speak individually or in small groups with council members. Some were upset that the forum differed from previous events that allowed people to speak publicly to the entire room.
Wyatt said Wednesday's forum was intentionally formatted differently to offer those who may be less comfortable speaking in front of crowds an opportunity to ask questions.
Those opposing the proposed change to a council/manager form of government mainly voiced that they are not against a city manager or some kind of full-time role, but their concern is that the shift from Homewood's current five wards and 11 member council to four wards and a five member council will decrease representation.
Others are unhappy that the city is proposing a four ward, five member council instead of a six ward, seven member council that was also an option under the same statute.
For more information on the upcoming city manager vote, visit https://www.cityofhomewood.com/city-manager-info and keep an eye out for future coverage, including a side-by-side breakdown of what it means to vote "yes" or "no" on Sept. 24.
