Illustration by Sarah Owens
The city of Homewood voted to pass the city manager referendum on Sept. 24, 2024.
Homewood's city government will change as citizens voted to pass the city manager referendum on Tuesday.
Over 3,000 residents cast their ballot in the special election to decide whether the city would change its form of government from a mayor/council format to a city manager/council structure. 1,787 citizens voted yes for the change while 1,565 voted no.
The City Council will have to certify the results on Oct. 1.
Council president Alex Wyatt said tonight wasn't about the yes or no side winning, but instead it was about creating a better Homewood.
"Who won tonight is Homewood," he said, "because this is the system that will allow Homewood to reach its full potential."
The transition to the city manager/council format will see the city's five-ward, 11-member council reduce to four wards and five members, with one member for each ward and the mayor as council president. This will take effect in Nov. 2025 with the election of the next mayor and council. The new format will also allow the city, under Alabama Code 11-43a-28, to hire a full-time city manager to take over chief executive duties.
Now that the referendum is approved, the city will likely take immediate steps to hire an interim city manager with previous experience to serve a finite term. Wyatt said this would keep the city from having a months-long void in the position as the next council and mayor work to hire the long-term city manager after they take office next year.
