Residents of Homewood will have the opportunity to vote on a new form of government in a special election on September 24.
The referendum would mean one of the biggest changes in the history of Homewood. It would add a full-time city manager position and change the number of council seats from 11 to four, plus a voting mayoral seat.
Council president Alex Wyatt, who will become mayor following the resignation of current mayor Patrick McClusky, said it only makes sense to have a full-time person to manage a city the size of Homewood.
“It’s insane to have this complex of a city, with this much money, without a full-time person in this job,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt added that communication with the public, departmental communications and financial efficiency would improve. The plan was put into motion last summer following Homewood City Council discussions. Wyatt told 1819 News the council considered introducing an ordinance to add the position, but due to transparency, it chose to create the position through the state statute, which requires a vote.
"The reasons for that were a couple of things," Wyatt explained. "One was that it was the most transparent way to do this. In other words, the residents got a voice in what happens, as opposed to the city council just doing it itself through an ordinance."
"This allows the residents to have a voice in it as opposed to if the city council had just said, 'Hey, we're just going to pass an ordinance and y'all deal with it."
Wyatt said another reason the statutory route seemed better to council members was a series of discussions with city managers in other areas who recommended a vote rather than an ordinance model.
"They all told us the exact same thing and that was that the statutory model is better because it clearly defines the roles and who's in charge," he said.
While Wyatt said the change would allow for better oversight, some residents disagree.
The Better Homewood PAC, a grassroots group of citizens, says a “yes” vote would reduce the representation of the people and would decrease representation across all government boards, including the school board and planning commission.
A website was created urging residents to vote “NO” on the change of government.
“State law allows our current structure to hire a professional city manager with all of the operational authority that the citizens are asking for without radically changing our government,” the website states.
Opponents of the referendum say a city manager could be given operational authority without having executive authority. They believe the mayor, who is voted into office by citizens, should maintain executive authority.
“We believe that professional management for our city shouldn't come at the expense of limiting the voice of the people of Homewood,” the website states. “Reducing the number of councilors reduces the opportunity for diversity of opinions and representation on the Council.”
The mayor currently has veto power, which a two-thirds vote of the 11-person council can override.
Opponents also say that now is not the time to change the government structure, given the recent federal case against the former finance director. Robert Burgett pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $950,000 from the city between May 2023 and March 2024.
“Are you tired of the scandals, the bad headlines, the lack of vision, and the shortage of transparency?” the Better Homewood PAC website asks. “Are you tired of seeing our taxes go up while our city services get cut? Are you tired of the absence of strong leadership from our city officials? Are you tired of the lack of accountability?”
“Yeah, So Are We....along with everyone else,” the statement continues.
A petition for the change got enough signatures (10% of residents who voted in the 2020 municipal election) to bring the issue up for a vote. The Homewood Chamber of Commerce shared the petition.
If the referendum passes, a new council will be elected in August 2025 to begin their terms in November. The city manager could be hired ahead of the municipal election. Wyatt said the city will be looking for a candidate with city manager experience.
"We want someone that has the training and experience to do this job," Wyatt said. "We think that we can find someone, just like other cities have found, that has the experience and the training to do that."
"That's the only people that, in my mind, that should be considered for this position," he said.
The pay scale for the city manager position has not been decided, but Wyatt said it will likely be one of the highest-paid positions in the city, if not the highest.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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