Homewood budget proposal would cut nearly $1M from police department, no officers taken off street
HOMEWOOD, Ala. —
Homewood city officials are considering a proposed budget that would reduce police department funding by more than $885,000, primarily by cutting six officer positions that have been vacant for at least four months.
“Regardless of what happens, we are not taking any officers off the street,” said Homewood Mayor Jennifer Andress.
The proposed budget would decrease funding for the Homewood Police Department from just over $15.2 million to $14.3 million, outlining $885,000 in cuts to personnel services. It would also allocate an additional $50,000 toward professional contracts, including services like animal control and the department’s Taser supplier.
Andress emphasized that the budget is still under review.
“Nothing has been voted on. Nothing has been decided. This is a fluid process. I just want everyone to be patient,” Andress said. “This really is very much like what we do every single year, going through working with department heads, saying things out loud, having meetings, going through line by line. What can we live with? What can we not live with? That’s really what we’re kind of settling on now.”
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The mayor added that the budget reflects the department’s current staffing situation.
“Again, I would just say we are working with Chief Ross on this really hand in hand. I just want everyone to know we are in great communication and we’re really going through this together,” Andress said.
Ward 3 Councilmember Chris Lane raised concerns during the hearing about the potential long-term impact of the cuts, particularly if additional officers leave the department.
“You’re more than welcome to disagree, but the point I’m saying is if you’re short six, if we lose three more, we’re short nine. How long would it take you to hire nine police officers or just four police officers? How long would it take our city to get four right now?” Lane asked Homewood Police Chief Tim Ross.
Chief Ross acknowledged the challenges of the hiring process.
“It’s hard to say. The hiring process usually takes several months for us to hire somebody, to put them through all the testing, the battery of tests that we put them through before they’re hired,” Ross said.
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During the hearing, Ross noted that while the proposal might present some difficulties, he believes it will not prevent the department from maintaining safety in Homewood.
City leaders will hold another public budget hearing Monday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m.