Homewood Pauses Hiring to Rebuild Budget | Birmingham News

Birmingham AL News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 5, 2026 · 1m

Homewood’s city leadership is hitting pause on all new hires and promotions—no exceptions—to tackle ballooning personnel costs that now eat up 70% of the general fund. City Manager Cale Smith says this temporary freeze lets them restructure, reassess needs, and prepare for the first budget under the new council-manager system—without sacrificing public safety. Police and fire departments remain fully staffed, with no officers or firefighters lost to neighboring towns since the freeze began. Once the review is done, each vacant role will be evaluated individually: some may stay, others could…