It is indeed a pleasure to serve as Mayor of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a city of over 24,000 individuals who enjoy not only the beauty of the city and its environs, but who also have a deep appreciation, respect and love for their families, neighbors and the community at large.

Although I have lived in Vestavia Hills for over 34 years, I never became actively involved in the day-to-day activities of our city until the year 2000. For more than 45 years I have held significant responsibilities as a health care provider, faculty member and administrator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was not until these responsibilities abated that I could find the time to devote to the affairs of this city. What free time I did have was spent with my family. This included having the opportunity to serve as coach for some of the teams that our sons played on in the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation program. Our four sons were very fortunate to have attended the Vestavia Hills city schools that afforded them an excellent education.

In 2000 I elected to become involved in the governance of Vestavia Hills and was pleased that the citizens of our city elected me mayor, a position that I assumed on October 2, 2000. It has been an exciting opportunity to serve as mayor. It has given me the chance to learn so very much about our city and to meet so many new people.What continues to impress me most about our city is the excellence of our school system. We have one of the finest school systems in the United States. Please, visit the Vestavia Hills School System page on this web site to learn of the many accomplishments of our students and faculty.

The excellence of our school system is a result of the significant contributions that the citizens of Vestavia Hills have been willing to provide our school system by voting for taxes that provide local support of over $18 million a year for the school system. This is in addition to what is received from the State of Alabama and other sources. The commitment by the citizens of this community has been the main reason our schools are excellent. Because of the quality of our schools, many people move here as they know their children will received an excellent education.

People in our community are exceptionally well educated with numerous residents having obtained their masters or doctorate degrees. A large professional and well-educated populace is important, but becomes even more valuable when they are willing to use their talents to enhance the quality of life for other citizens in our community. During this past year we have had 12 different committees that have been activated to enhance and enrich the life in this community. These committees include the Committee on Information and Communications, responsible for putting together this web site. The Long-Range Planning Committee is developing a strategic plan for our city so that we may enhance the quality of life for our citizens five, ten and fifteen years in the future. Besides these two committees, we have a Care Team Committee that has been put together to provide assistance to those citizens who need help and support from others. Other committees include a Diversity Committee, Annexation Committee, Sidewalks, Bike Paths and Neighborhood Parks Committee, Economic Development Committee, Education Committee, Financial Advisory Committee, Transportation Committee, Public Relations Committee, and Substance Abuse Committee. There are over 220 volunteers giving time to these committees who are dedicated to improving our city. Other strengths of our city include the Older Adult Transportation Program which was established to provide transportation services for those citizens who can no longer drive. These citizens are provided transportation to see their physicians, dentists or taken to vote, shop or to other places where they might not be able to go if it weren’t for the volunteers who are willing to provide this transportation in city-owned automobiles.

One of the big issues that we do face as a suburban community is developing an effective transportation system. Like other communities we are concerned with pollution, high volume of automobile traffic and we are trying to work with other communities and cities in the metropolitan area to develop a transportation system that will serve us effectively while protecting our environment and preserving our precious natural resources.

One of the things I am so very pleased about is the numerous forums we have held to permit all citizens to have an input into their city government. These forums are held so that the citizens can react to what is happening with their city government, what is being done by the various committees that have been appointed and what additional areas we should explore. We value their input, advice and counsel. Communicating with the citizens through open forums has been most enlightening and helpful to the City Council, the various departments within our city and myself. This permits us to be more responsive to meeting the needs of what the citizens want rather than what we perceive they need. Not only is it important that we get the input from the adults but also from the youth of our city. We are attempting to do this and listen to their requests. We are happy to be able to be responsive to the needs of our youth by creating additional parks and recreation areas such as a skate park which they listed as a high priority.

The Mayor’s Office has the supportive efforts of two very important people, Ms. Starr Burbic who serves as secretary in the Office of the Mayor and Ms. Kitty Robinson who is Assistant to the Mayor. These two individuals attempt to be responsive to the needs of the community and are of immense help to me as I attempt to discharge my responsibilities as Mayor. Ms. Burbic has been with the city for over 13 years and Ms. Robinson has been with the city for one year. These two people and the support that is received from the other departments within the city have been most reassuring and helpful to me. It has been a great educational experience to serve as mayor and best of all has been the opportunity to get to know so many people within our City.

Charles A. (Scotty) McCallum

Mayor of the City of Vestavia Hills