Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Homewood Council President Alex Wyatt discusses his preferred option for restructuring the makeup of the Homewood City Council during a council committee meeting on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Homewood Council President Alex Wyatt this week gave his fellow councilors an analysis of how the council could look with a city manager.
Of the four options, Wyatt is leaning toward a five-member council that includes four members elected by districts and a mayor.
The council president made his presentation during the council’s Finance Committee meeting. It is the latest step in the council’s effort to convert to a government with a city manager, which was an expressed desire of some residents during the most recent city election.
Currently, Homewood has two council members for each of five wards and a council president elected at large. That 11-member council is believed to be the largest in the state.
Wyatt began with what is clearly his least favored option. That one was a nine-member council, comprised of a mayor and four wards represented by two councilors apiece.
“Personally, I don't see any reason for nine people,” Wyatt said. “That's pretty much what we've got now. If you've got a city manager, you shouldn't need that many. That one, to me, doesn’t sound viable.”
A seven-member council was presented next. That one featured a mayor and six wards, each represented by one councilor.
“I don't think going from five to six makes sense,” he said. “I think that's more complicated, not less. And I think it creates issues with regard to trying to make sure representation matches up right. In my personal opinion, that is not really an option either.”
There were a pair of five-member council options. One has a mayor and four wards represented by one councilor; the other has a mayor, three wards and one councilor elected at large.
“What we're looking at is three districts or four districts,” the council president said. “My opinion is four districts makes more sense because you are changing less, which I think is a big deal.
“That's a big deal for two reasons,” Wyatt continued. “One is just people's familiarity, right? You're changing … less than you are if you do three. The other reason is because it's easier to fulfill our requirement that the districts generally have similar representation in terms of numbers. The population is sort of the same.”
The council president said the option that has four single-representative districts and a mayor is best. District lines will have to be redrawn but not as dramatically as with other options.
“There's some continuity to it,” Wyatt said. “It gets us to a number that makes sense with a city manager as opposed to [going from] nine to seven [council members].”
The council president urged the council to consider the options leading to the next committee meeting on Sept. 18. The aim remains to reach a consensus that can be presented to residents before setting a date for a referendum, he said.
The council followed three committee meetings with its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday. During that session, the panel:
- Paid outstanding holiday pay to police command staff that had accumulated leave prior to rising to command level.
- Declared surplus the right of way along Forest Brook Circle and agreed to sell it to the property owner who had asked that the city vacate that portion of right of way. The property was sold for $6,324.
- Set a public hearing for Sept. 25 to consider a sign variance at 2844 18th St. S. at the Once Upon A Time business.
