Fayetteville holds required public hearing on budget; pastor presents petitions seeking splash pad for North Street park

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — City staff delivered the required public hearing presentation Tuesday on the recommended fiscal year operating budget and capital/technology improvement plan, and the City Council heard one public speaker who asked the council to add a splash pad to the North Street (Blueberry Place) park budget.

Finance staffer Jeff Yates summarized key elements of the manager’s recommended budget: a proposed 13‑cent tax rate reduction from the prior year (the lowest in 30 years), continued investments in public and community safety (staff cited roughly $114 million), a 4% merit increase for employees with an additional 1% 401(k) contribution for specified employees, and a total recommended budget that staff said was about $8.5 million less than the revised 2025 budget. The recommended rate was presented as a breakdown of operating, GO bond, public safety GO bond and dedicated capital components.

Public comment

Pastor Rita McMillan, who identified herself as a resident of District 2 and pastor of New Life Covenant Fellowship Church, presented a four‑page petition and asked the council to include funding for a splash pad at North Street Park (also referred to in the meeting as Blueberry Place). “I am here as one of the concerned citizens of North Street and the surrounding community,” McMillan said, and asked the council to “greatly consider” adding the splash pad for children in that neighborhood. The clerk accepted the petition into the record.

Council follow-up and next steps

City staff reminded the council that the budget materials were posted online in mid‑May and that the public hearing was the legally required step before adoption. Yates and other staff told council members they would distribute follow‑up answers to outstanding questions and data the next day where possible; staff noted that one question — detailed census‑tract data — would take more time to assemble.

Councilmembers pressed staff for additional information about “parking-lot” items — additions council members had asked to be priced and considered — and staff said they would provide estimated costs and balancing options at a June 5 budget work session and at the June 9 adoption meeting if necessary. Councilmember requests to schedule an additional dedicated public hearing on the budget failed for lack of a second.

Why it matters: The public hearing clears a procedural hurdle for adoption; council members and residents asked for clearer cost estimates on items the council is considering adding to the manager’s recommended budget. A resident petition highlighted a neighborhood parks request the council may consider during the final budget deliberations.

Select direct quotes

"The recommended tax rate is a 13¢ tax reduction over prior year's rate. It's the lowest rate in 30 years," Jeff Yates, budget staff, told the council in his presentation.

"I am here as one of the concerned citizens of North Street and the surrounding community...I am advocating for the splash pad to be added into the budget for that particular community," Pastor Rita McMillan said as she handed petitions to the clerk.

Votes and formal actions

There was no budget adoption vote at Tuesday’s meeting; the council scheduled further work sessions and pointed to the June 9 adoption date. A motion to direct staff to select an additional public hearing date on the budget was made and failed for lack of a second.

Provenance: Staff presentation and public-comment transcript segments during the May 27 council meeting show the budget briefing, Pastor McMillan’s petition and the subsequent council questions about follow‑up work sessions and parking‑lot items.

Ending: Staff said they will provide requested clarifications and cost estimates during the budget work session Thursday and at a June 9 adoption meeting if needed; councilmembers urged residents to review the posted recommended budget and contact councilmembers with questions.