Hoover mayoral, council candidates share views at 2025 election forum

Candidates for Hoover mayor and City Council made their pitches Thursday night to get elected in perhaps the last major forum prior to the Aug. 26 election.

An estimated 500 or so people turned out to the Hoover City Schools Performing Arts Center at Hoover High School to hear Mayor Frank Brocato and police Chief Nick Derzis explain why they should be elected mayor for the next four years and 14 council candidates share their views on city affairs.

Each candidate gave opening and closing remarks and answered questions from representatives of the Hoover Sun, Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham.

Both mayoral candidates were asked about their long-term vision for growth of the city and how they would ensure environmental balance with economic prosperity.

Brocato said he wants to continue working on initiatives his administration has started in the past nine years he has been mayor.

One of those is the new Interstate 459 exit planned near South Shades Crest Road, which Brocato said is important to the traffic patterns on the western side of town. Others are a performing arts center and the Riverwalk Village development in Riverchase, he said.

Riverwalk Village — proposed to include an outpatient surgery center, medical diagnostics center, hotel, retail space, 375 apartments for people age 55 and older and at least 200 additional homes — is expected to have a $2.5 billion economic impact, which is the biggest economic impact since the development of the Riverchase Galleria, Brocato said.

The neighborhoods will be walkable, and there will be new restaurants and health care all blended in with the Cahaba River, he said.

“It's going to be an incredible thing that will help us recruit technology companies to our city and increase that presence that we have now and put us on the map with Greenville,” Brocato said.

Derzis said the city has to have smart, sustainable growth.

“We’ve got to do a better job of long-term planning,” he said. “We can't let our growth outpace our infrastructure. I'm concerned about our roads. I'm pretty concerned about traffic, police and fire services and other services, garbage pickup. All these things — this growth — has put a strain on our services, and we’re kind of at a tipping point right now.”

There are stormwater issues throughout the city; Hoover Sports Park East is having serious electrical problems, and the City Council just voted to spend $6 million for emergency sewer system repairs in Inverness and Riverchase, Derzis said.

“We’ve got to make sure with this long-term planning that the developers pay their fair share,” he said. Let’s face the facts. We all moved to this city for the quality of life, and we want to make sure that building new home construction does not impact us negatively. We want to make sure that we have the quality of life that we moved here for.”

As mayor, he’ll do a better job of analyzing the impact of growth on schools and city services, he said.

TAX INCREASES

Brocato and Derzis also were asked why they advocated for increases in sales taxes, lodging taxes and/or residential rental taxes in 2018.

Brocato’s initial proposal then would have raised the city’s portion of sales and use taxes from 3% to 4% and lodging taxes from 3% to 6%, raising an estimated $22 million more in taxes every year.

But the council only increased the sales and use tax to 3.5% and, instead of raising lodging taxes, implemented a $2 per night bed fee for hotel guests. The council also increased real estate rental and lease taxes from 3% to 3.5%, impacting anyone paying rent on an apartment or house.

Derzis acknowledged that he urged the City Council then (seven years ago) to do what they had to do to get Hoover back to what it used to be, saying his department was understaffed and not able to get the training that officers needed due to budget cuts.

“I have a standard of excellence for what we do in the Hoover Police Department, and we did not have it that particular year,” Derzis said.

Now, in 2025, he would not favor raising taxes because the city already did that, he said.“What happened to the money from 2018?” he said. His department once again is being asked to cut operational expenses while the City Council, at the mayor’s recommendation, has spent $4 million to settle a stormwater flooding lawsuit related to Riverchase Village, $1.9 million to buy an office building on Lorna Road that is sitting empty and $6 million of $16 million in cash payments promised to help the developers of Riverwalk Village in Riverchase, he said.

Brocato, when asked why he advocated for tax increases in 2018 and what he believes about tax increases moving forward, did not address the sales and lodging tax increases he sought in 2018 or the potential for future tax increases. He only discussed the $2 nightly room fee the city put on hotel guests in 2018.

“My promise was that we were going to build an economy that would generate business for these hotels, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Brocato said. “We’ve built a $90 million tourism economy that’s filling these hotels every weekend.”

The city also initially hired a tourism director, but after her departure from the city, now has a marketing director who is promoting the city as a place for people to visit and stay in hotels, Brocato said.

Answering the full question about tax increases was difficult to do in the two minutes he was given, the mayor said.

COOPERATION WITH CHAMBER

Both mayoral candidates also were asked how they envisioned the city working with the chamber of commerce to support a vibrant business community and what initiatives they would prioritize to strengthen that collaboration.

Brocato said the city already has partnered with the chamber on its Elevate Hoover campaign and is working with the chamber to recruit and train businesses. The city’s economic development team also has brought initiatives to support small businesses, such as joining the Innovate Alabama network that promotes entrepreneurship in technology businesses or service businesses, he said.

He wants to push Hoover forward and continue to open a business in Hoover every nine days on average, he said.

Derzis said that, as mayor, he would embrace the chamber as a true partner. “I don’t think we see that right now,” he said.

He will make sure that businesses and nonprofits that join the chamber see the value of having a chamber membership, he said.

“I want to go with your members to recruit new businesses, to recruit people to come to the chamber,” Derzis said. “I also hope that you would also help us when we start talking about trying to bring business to the city, that you'll be a partner with us to do the same thing.”

Derzis said he could see the city partnering with the chamber on things like a food truck night and a “Hoover Forever” program he wants to launch to track alumni from Hoover schools and bring them back to live and work in Hoover.

The 14 candidates seeking five contested seats on the City Council answered a variety of questions ranging on topics from an arts center to stormwater flooding, garbage pickup problems, transparency, workforce development, traffic, economic incentives for developers, mixed-use zoning, education funding, business recruitment, transportation innovation, tourism promotion and infrastructure improvements.

COUNCIL CANDIDATES

The 14 candidates seeking five contested seats on the City Council answered a variety of questions ranging on topics from an arts center to stormwater flooding, garbage pickup problems, transparency, workforce development, traffic, economic incentives for developers, mixed-use zoning, education funding, business recruitment, transportation innovation, tourism promotion and infrastructure improvements.

Council Place 1 candidates were asked about their ideas for involving Hoover residents in decision making and increasing transparency in government.

Tanveer Patel said she would like the city to start a transparency portal that allows Hoover residents to better interact with their city government electronically, both so residents can more easily find information about city government and communicate with city officials about their concerns and ideas.

Robin Schultz said transparency is not just about accessing information, but also about accountability. Elected officials also need to be more responsive to residents, he said. When residents come to council meetings with questions, council members should provide answers and not just stare back at residents when they talk, he said.

Council Place 2 candidates were asked what policies or programs they would support to foster the growth and resilience of small businesses.

Copeland Johnson said small businesses are the cornerstone of Hoover and that the city needs incentive packages to keep them from moving to Homewood or Birmingham.

Gene Smith said the city needs to continue its relationship with the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, which is a support for small businesses, and work to maintain a strong economy where the median incomes of residents remain as high as they are so people can support the small businesses.

Clint Bircheat said a lot of what draws businesses is not just tax break incentives but creating a community where people want to live and work in the same community and schools that well prepare people for the jobs that companies in Hoover have.

Kenneth Cox Jr. said small businesses excite him, especially people who are taking a first step as entrepreneurs. The city can cultivate an environment where people not only want to start a business, but also start a family, he said.

Council Place 3 candidates were asked what they would propose the city do to address stormwater flooding and sediment erosion that is causing damage to private lakes.

Robert Williams said the city can’t stop the rain, so city officials have to figure out a way to make water go the way they want it to go and not ruin people’s land. It will require experts to analyze the problems and make recommendations and council members who are willing to allocate money to implement those recommendations. If the city contributed to causing flooding or damage on private property, the city has an obligation to try to fix it, he said.

Liz Lane said new development will make water issues worse unless it is done very carefully. In addition to fixing problems, the city needs to improve planning for long-term sustainability to reduce runoff, prevent erosion and stop homes from flooding, she said. “We can’t just put bandages over it,” she said. “We must as a city hold developers accountable for researching water impacts and provide solutions. We need innovative research and solutions that go beyond just fixing pipes. We need green infrastructure, including native plant gardens, permeable soils and detention and retention ponds. We have to update our flood plains, and we need to monitor those very closely.”

Ashley Lovell said stormwater is a complicated situation. “Bottom line, we need money; we need resources, and most of all, we need action,” Lovell said. “This is where transparency and accountability comes into play. Residents should be kept informed as to what is going on in their neighborhood, infrastructure updates, etc.” The city should review past studies, make a plan of attack and set goals and timelines and hold developers for smart growth now and in the future, she said.

Council Place 4 candidates were asked whether the city is providing enough money to its school system.

Khristi Driver said if she were asked that question 2 ½ years ago, she would have said the schools don’t need more money, but she was wrong. “I have learned by serving as a liaison to the Board of Education that there are needs in our schools that are not being met, particularly as we plan for the future and coordinate capital investments. It’s important that we maintain our standard of excellence not just for today, but for the future. … I very much believe that we need additional funding for the schools.”

Donna Mazur said she was on the steering committee that helped start the Hoover school system, and when she served on the City Council 20 years ago, the city gave the school system $7 million a year. “The school system is the success of our community, and we as a city have to help them in any way we can. It’s important. They need it.”

Christian Coleman said he would absolutely send more money to Hoover schools and questioned why the city keeps $80 million in a reserve fund. “A city only exists to serve its citizens, and it is only as good as its school system, and when I was growing up in Vestavia, we all knew Hoover’s got the best schools, and I am committed to continuing that jealousy all over the mountain.”

Council Place 5 candidates were asked their opinions about tax increases.

Specifically, Councilman Derrick Murphy was asked why he voted in favor of increasing sales taxes by half a percentage point and creating a $2 nightly room fee for Hoover hotel guests in 2018 and what he believes about tax increases moving forward.

Murphy noted that the original proposal that came to the council was for a full percentage point increase in sales taxes and that the council voted for just half a percentage point increase.

“I’m not in favor of raising taxes. We can’t tax the devil out of our people,” he said. “But as you’ve heard up here today, we have a lot of needs, but no one is talking about money. The bottom line is we have to have economic development. We have to recruit. We can’t have empty boxes. Empty box stores do not make money.”

Hoover needs to create a downtown city center to compete with Nashville and Atlanta and attract businesses to stimulate revenue to pay for needs of the future, Murphy said.

Steve Lawrence said he would not be in favor of any tax increase.

“I think we have enough wasteful spending. We’ve had record revenues. We need to manage that money,” he said. The $2-per-night hotel fee was supposed to go toward tourism and helping fill up hotels, he said. Raising that further is not going to help hotels, he said.

“We need to improve the economic community around us and the businesses.”

To see a video of the forum, go to the Hoover Sun Facebook page.