Homewood council leans toward switch to Vestavia Hills city manager model

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Homewood council members looking into a potential change in the city’s form of government this week suggested the best move would be to call for a referendum for residents to consider switching to a city manager model similar to that used by Vestavia Hills.

But no decision was made during council committee meetings Monday night.

Council subcommittees have assessed the government models used in Mountain Brook, Hoover and Vestavia Hills to determine what is best for Homewood, which currently has a mayor-council form of government, with the mayor separate from the 11-member City Council.

Council President Alex Wyatt and Councilman Carlos Aleman both said they lean toward the Vestavia Hills model, which includes a mayor who serves as president of the City Council and a full-time city manager who reports to the full council and not just the mayor.

Wyatt said a city manager would assure the city will operate seamlessly as there are changes in elected council members.

A change to a city manager government would require some kind of redistricting in Homewood, which currently has 11 council members, two in each of five wards and a council president elected at-large.

Wyatt suggested that the council informally decide in the next two to four weeks which model it wants to promote. A referendum could be held in the first quarter of 2024; if it passes, a search for a city manager would ensue.

The idea is that city manager could be in place before the next council election in November 2025.

Council committees on Monday night considered numerous other actions:

  • The Finance Committee moved a change order for the 18th Street revitalization project to the agenda of the July 31 council meeting. That project costs $254,429, with the Alabama Department of Transportation covering 80% of that amount. The city of Birmingham is participating in this project, with Homewood buying traffic light poles and Birmingham reimbursing Homewood for that.
  • The Public Safety Committee sent a pair of items involving 55 and 65 Bagby Drive to the full council for a public hearing at 6 p.m. on July 31. The council is set to decide whether each property should be considered a public nuisance.
  • The Public Safety Committee also delayed recommendations on a request to to adjust criteria for approval of events that impact street flow and access and a request to reduce the speed limit on Seminole Drive next to Trinity United Methodist Church.
  • The Public Works Committee sent a request for permission to work in the right of way at 306 Kenilworth Drive to the full council without a recommendation. The work is to mitigate water runoff from private property to the city right of way, which is an alley that the resident uses as her driveway.
  • The Special Issues Committee sent a request to vacate a portion of right of way at 25th Court South to the full council without a recommendation. The Birmingham Islamic School made the request to allow for construction of a new building. A public hearing date has yet to be determined.
  • The Planning and Development Committee set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Aug. 14 on a final development plan for 815 Green Springs Highway. Brian Hatcher of Greensprings Development is looking to develop a 4-acre site for a mixed-use development called The Edge. “This is exactly the reason we invested in Green Springs,” Councilman Walter Jones said.
  • The Finance Committee heard a positive report about the audit of the city’s finances for fiscal 2022 from the BMSS accounting firm. “It’s the highest level of assurance we can give as a CPA firm,” BMSS’s Stephen Von Hagel said. The audit confirmed that Homewood ended fiscal 2022 with an unrestricted/unassigned general fund balance of $15.1 million, which was an increase of $290,194 from the end of fiscal 2021. Total government funds stood at $67.9 million at the end of the fiscal year. The city of Homewood transferred $20.8 million to the Homewood Board of Education in fiscal 2022, including $10. 5 million from sales tax revenues and $10.3 million from property tax revenues. The city spent almost $2.9 million in federal money in fiscal 2022, including $1.8 million in COVID recovery funds.