Homewood council accepts city manager's budget brief outlining $128.5 million plan, sets schedule for hearings

Homewood City Council on Aug. 25 accepted a budget briefing from City Manager Glenn Adams that outlined a preliminary all-funds total of $128,511,652 and an operational budget of $75,593,637. The council voted 9-0 to accept the report and move into the public budget hearing process.

Adams told the council the budget as presented is preliminary and will be refined in the weeks ahead as staff receive updated revenue and expenditure information. The proposed budget assumes a 2% revenue increase, a 3.5% Consumer Price Index baseline used for planning, and includes a 5% merit pay pool plus a tiered bonus that would be paid from surplus funds if available.

Why this matters: the briefing sets the framework for the council's September budget hearings and signals city priorities including school support, stormwater projects and infrastructure work such as the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) on Lakeshore/I-65.

Key details from Adams' presentation include: - Total all-funds budget: $128,511,652; operational budget: $75,593,637. Adams emphasized these numbers are subject to weekly refinement through the budget process. - Carryover: $3,320,000 projected carryover from the general fund is included in planning. - Capital program: nearly $21 million in capital expenditures is budgeted and a five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) is included. - Schools: approximately $27,256,003 is budgeted for the Board of Education. Adams described the split as roughly $3.2 million tied to the city's 2016 bond payments, about $11.6 million as a passthrough of sales-tax revenues, and roughly $12.4 million from a Board of Education trust fund, all based on current revenue estimates. - Fire station: the CIP includes $600,000 for design of a new fire station; Adams said construction funding will be scheduled in subsequent years but a specific multi-year construction total cited in the meeting transcript appeared to be garbled and was not confirmed in committee materials. - Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI): Adams described the DDI on Lakeshore/I-65 as a critical infrastructure project for West Homewood and said the city will provide funding alongside partners including ALDOT, the MPO and Jefferson County; Adams reported an immediate city share of $5,850,000 within the proposed plan. - Stormwater and flood prevention: the CIP lists 13 stormwater and creek-wall projects totaling approximately $2,180,000. - Debt management: staff are examining refinancing roughly $24,000,000 in bonds with potential savings of up to $725,000.

Committee and council process: the finance committee had reviewed the proposal in advance and reported a favorable recommendation to accept the briefing. Councilor Smith (finance committee) and the mayor each spoke in support of the planning approach and the broader priorities reflected in the draft.

Next steps and schedule: Councilor Smith outlined department-level hearings and timeline for final action. The council set a series of budget hearings in September by department: Sept. 3 (police, fire), Sept. 9 (engineering, inspections), Sept. 11 (public works, parks, courts, traffic), Sept. 18 (IT, fleet), Sept. 24 (administration, finance, city manager), Sept. 25 (revenues and any remaining items), with Sept. 29 reserved for final action if needed.

Council members emphasized the preliminary nature of the numbers and invited further refinements as the hearings proceed. Mayor Wyatt and other council members thanked staff and department heads for the level of director participation and review during this budget cycle.

Adams and the mayor said they expect additional small adjustments as new information arrives but described the document as a balanced starting plan that reflects council priorities: schools, public safety, paving and walkability, stormwater projects and targeted capital investments.

The council vote to accept the budget report was recorded as 9-0.