Homewood city officials have reached a pivotal moment in the choice of whether they will establish a new form of government, with the potential hire of a new city manager, or if the municipal leadership structure will remain the same.
“We are really desperately in need of professional city management,” Ward 5 Councilwoman Jennifer Andress said. “We are a growing city; we have so many exciting and wonderful things going on, but we are being managed by a part-time council and a part-time mayor. We are all doing the work that we love, but we have just reached the point where we need someone full-time to come in and help provide the leadership we need.”
Currently, the Homewood City Council operates under a mayor-council form of government consisting of an 11-member council, with the city divided into five wards.
Each ward has two representatives to the council, plus a council president elected at large. The city of roughly 26,000 people has one of the largest councils in Alabama.
Proposed changes to the current form of government involve the hiring of a full-time city manager and a citywide redistricting from five wards to four. This would decrease the number of council members to four members, elected from single-member districts, in addition to the mayor, who would continue to be elected at large.
The city manager would not be an elected official, but rather someone appointed by the City Council.
City Council President Alex Wyatt said the model of government would be similar to other cities that operate under a smaller council, such as Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Hoover, all of which have a city manager or administrator.
“Most cities usually have about five on the council,” Wyatt said. “We are an exceptionally large council. If we had a city manager, that person would become the primary point of contact for most residents. This creates an efficiency for what currently doesn’t exist, and it should provide better communication for residents.”
City officials began circulating a petition to have a referendum on a council-city manager form of government in mid-March.
In order to hold the referendum, the petition requires signatures from 10% of voters from the last municipal election who still reside in the city.
City officials said there is no formal deadline to stop collecting signatures on the petition. However, they hope to have the referendum no later than August.
Once signatures are collected, the state requires that a referendum be held between 40 and 90 days from the time signatures are collected. Otherwise the signatures are no longer valid.
“We want as many people to be able to vote in the referendum as possible,” Wyatt said. “This is a generational, transformational moment for the city.”
If 10% of voters agree to hold a referendum, the petition would be submitted to the probate court, and an official date would be scheduled for a special election.
If the vote to change the form of government is approved, it would be enacted in November 2025, when the new council is seated.
Vestavia Hills began its manager-council form of government during the second term of Mayor Butch Zaragoza in 2012.
“Mayor Zaragoza saw the benefit of a professional city manager and was willing to give up his full-time mayoral duties to go to our present municipal structure,” current Mayor Ashley Curry said.
Vestavia’s four council members run at large and represent all of the city’s citizens, not just certain districts. The mayor also serves as president of the City Council.
“Our city manager is a full-time, nonpartisan, nonpolitical employee of the city of Vestavia Hills and is responsible for the oversight of all city operations,” Curry said. “He is responsible for carrying out the policies and vision established by the elected officials and, as such, the elected officials have time to concentrate on setting policies that create a path for our community’s future.”
Curry said Vestavia’s city manager, Jeff Downes, is a strong collaborator who uses his strengths to lead, manage and make the vision of elected officials a reality.
“He is able to seamlessly align city staff with the policy goals defined by both the elected body and the community to provide efficient and effective services,” Curry said. “Jeff has extensive economic development experience and incorporates those strategies into the overall growth plan for the City of Vestavia Hills.”
Wyatt said hiring the right person to manage the city of Homewood is crucial. Wyatt served on an exploratory committee to research cities that have city manager positions.
“You want someone who does the job well,” Wyatt said. “What we found in our research was cities that had a city manager in place had residents who did feel they had more of a connection to the city. They always knew who to call, and someone was always there to answer when they called.”
Meredith Drennen, who was the executive director of the Homewood Chamber of Commerce until mid-March, served on the exploratory committee for the city in researching city managers. From a business recruitment and retention standpoint, she said, a city manager could serve as the main point of contact.
“From an existing business standpoint, having that one point of contact for issues that might arise for a business, whether it be a public works disruption or a business licensing issue, a city manager can help business issues be heard and addressed promptly,” Drennen said.
Staff photo.
Once the petition to have a referendum on a council-city manager form of government collects enough signatures, an official date would be scheduled for a special election to be held between 40 and 90 days from the time signatures are collected. Otherwise, the signatures are no longer valid.
Lindsey Chitwood, a Homewood resident who lives in Ward 5, said she fully supports the proposed change in government.
“We have all heavily invested into this city of about $85 million in revenue and we have no full-time leader. That sounds pretty dumb, when you think about it,” Chitwood said. “Most of our council members have full-time jobs. They do a lot. They aren’t trained to do this. They are volunteers with a small stipend, yet we are asking them to do a lot that may be out of their wheelhouse. Homewood is a great place to live. We have a lot going on for us, but we don’t have a central leader. Not everything on the ballot box is terrible. This is a positive thing for Homewood, and I hope the residents see that.”
Kent Haines, who also resides in Homewood, said having a city manager would help free up the mayor and council to set priorities for the city.
“The current city government is supportive of a new city government,” Haines said. “I think that is pretty telling. If you look at a lot of other cities, they have city managers and that system works well.”
Andress said part of the proposed changes within the city are due to growth issues, which she considers a positive thing for Homewood.
“You will either grow or you won’t,” Andress said. “We want businesses to come to Homewood. We want families to come to Homewood and raise their children here. I love our city. It is a beautiful city with amazing people and amazing infrastructure. This lends itself to the excitement that is going on, and we are ready for it.”
