Homewood Mayor Highlights Community Resilience and Progress During State-of-the-City Address
Yearly Recap Underlines Triumphs and Challenges Following a Tumultuous Year
Homewood city shrouded by a sense of community resilience following a year marked by considerable challenges, according to Mayor Patrick McClusky. The mayor delivered these sentiments during his 2024 state-of-the-city address held at the Valley Hotel on February 20, 2024.
The Strength Within Disaster
Mayor McClusky highlighted the community’s response to an EF-1 tornado that caused widespread damage on December 10, 2023. He noted the strength and unity demonstrated by community members in the face of significant adversity.
“We’ve been through a lot in Homewood over the last couple of months, and certainly with the recent storms that hit our great city, [which] are something I haven’t experienced in my 46 years here,” McClusky said. “Homewood has always answered the call and rallies around each other in time of need.”
Changes in Garbage Service
The mayor also touched upon the controversial matter of outsourcing city’s garbage services to a contractor in August 2023. He acknowledged the teething troubles but remained steadfast that the decision was right in the long run. “There are still challenges that we’re facing, but we’ll continue to press for that level of service we expect,” he emphasized.
Decrease In Crime Rates
The City of Homewood experienced a notable decline in overall crime rates, with a substantial decrease of 18 percent on a 10-year average and a 12 percent reduction from the previous year. The mayor was particularly pleased with a 30 percent drop in burglaries compared to the prior year. However, an increase was noted in vehicle thefts by 22 percent compared to the previous year.
Homewood Library and City School Achievements
Mayor McClusky also shared the impressive achievements at the Homewood Library, which hosted 1,300 events with over 74,000 attendees, setting new record highs in event attendance and number of borrowed items. Meanwhile, Homewood City Schools were recognized as the Number 1 district in the Birmingham area and Best Teachers in Alabama for 2023 by niche.com.
City Employees Recognition
The mayor further acknowledged and gave awards to the city’s top-performing employees. Homewood Police Officer of the Year was awarded to Cpl. Jonathan Whisenhunt, with the Firefighter of the Year going to Capt. Keith Headrick. Chris Thacker, Homewood City’s permit coordinator, was recognized as the Employee of the Year for his diligent work and commitment.
Conclusion
In his conclusion, Mayor McClusky expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve Homewood and encouraged residents to continue using the ‘Speak to Us Homewood’ function on the city’s website to report concerns or issues. “Thank you so much for allowing me to serve Homewood,” the mayor said. “I really do care about the city so much.”
