Homewood:
Mayor to Unveil Budget
By William C. Singleton III
Journal contributor
Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer is scheduled to unveil his proposed 2013-14 budget to the City Council at its Aug. 26 meeting.
Homewood’s regular council meetings start at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
McBrayer wouldn’t reveal much about his anticipated budget but said he hopes to give the 11-member council a budget they can understand. McBrayer is expected to give a summary of his budget in a PowerPoint presentation.
“It’s important no matter how young or how experienced the council is that we give them numbers that they can believe in,” the mayor said. “We’re going through the same question as every other city. Is there going to be a COLA (cost of living) increase? What do you do with increased cost of insurance and pension? Those are some huge numbers that greatly affect our city. So we’re going to have some tough decisions in the next couple of weeks, but we’ll make them, and we’ll be comfortable with it and move forward.”
The mayor proposes his budget and then the council reviews it during finance committee meetings and work sessions.
Council President Bruce Limbaugh told McBrayer at a recent council meeting he should expect council members to ask questions, particularly since many council members are new to the budgetary process.
Five of the 11 council members are serving for the first time, having won election in August 2012. The current council took office in November, a month after the 2012-13 budget was passed by the previous council. The city’s budget runs from Oct. 1 to Sept 30.
“We might ask ‘Why, mayor?’ more than you’re accustomed to,” Limbaugh said. “We’re not questioning your integrity. We’re green folks asking you for guidance and answers. You had some more experienced people in some of those positions in the past. But it’s not all bad to have new folks with fresh eyes to ask lots of whys.”
