Homewood council to consider employment agreement for Sam Gaston, capped by pension limits

The Homewood City pre-council on Dec. 8 added an employment agreement that would authorize the city manager to sign a part‑time employee agreement with Sam Gaston, and council members signaled they will vote on the item in the evening session.

Council member Speaker 8, who moved the item for introduction, recommended Gaston as a candidate to help with the city’s leadership transition, saying, "I can't imagine anybody more qualified to help with our leadership team, to bring that together and and set the guardrails for what we're trying to do from a from a personal perspective." Speaker 8 said department heads are supportive.

City staff and council discussed the proposed terms. According to remarks on the record, Gaston "will work, no probably no more than 20 hours a week," and because of his pension and retirement he is "not able to make more than $38,000." Council members described the arrangement as an employee agreement rather than a full contract and said the position is intended to provide part‑time leadership support during the government transition.

The pre-council discussion added the item to the formal council agenda so members could vote that evening. No formal motion text or vote tally appears in the pre‑council transcript; the item was described as "06:12:25" (agenda code O6) and scheduled for action in the chamber.

If approved by the council, staff said the city manager would sign the employment agreement and Gaston would begin work under the stated hours and compensation constraints.

The council did not record a final vote during pre‑council; the next procedural step is the Dec. 8 council meeting in the chambers where members said they will vote on the authorization.