Fuquay Varina adopts FY2027 budget after heated public opposition to Hilltop Needmore ballfields

The Fuquay Varina Town Board voted to adopt the fiscal year 2027 operating budget and five-year capital plan on June 1, approving a package that includes a $10 million allocation for projects at Hilltop Needmore Town Park.

Residents filled the podium during the public-comment period to urge the board to remove the Hilltop line item and to delay approval of the budget. "This park is a peaceful natural environment," said Carolyn Dren of McLaren Lane, who told the board she opposed siting ballfields in the preserve. Several speakers cited a history of community requests for passive amenities and warned of environmental, traffic and legal risks if active fields are installed.

Town Manager Adam Mitchell explained the budget and answered residents' questions about the $10 million breakdown, saying the figure includes two baseball fields (estimated at about $1.25 million each), two soccer fields (about $500,000 total), an Armed Services memorial (about $2.5 million), repairs to a structurally deficient dam (roughly $2 million) and allowances for design and contingencies. "You typically would not move forward with those types of assessments or studies at the cost that they would derive until we knew that the board was committed to the project and appropriated the funds in the budget," Mitchell said when asked whether environmental assessments would precede construction.

Opponents also cited a failed 2023 bond referendum and letters from former Wake County officials who, they said, conveyed the land for passive recreation. "When the people who give you the land tell you the town is misusing it, that should matter," said Lisa Enis, who told the board two former county commissioners had written that the property was conveyed for passive use.

Board members who supported the budget said the town's deed, master plan and prior discussions allow both passive and active public uses, and that developing fields on town-owned Hilltop would save taxpayers the higher costs of purchasing and servicing new land. Commissioners repeatedly described the need for additional youth athletic capacity, citing nearly 11,000 youth registered in town programs last year.

"Build the fields on property the taxpayers already own," Mayor Pro Tem Tim Gardner said in defending the appropriation, arguing that locating fields elsewhere could add roughly $15 million in land and infrastructure costs. Commissioner Brian Haynes said the budget balances investments in public safety, infrastructure and parks while preserving most of the park as passive space.

Several residents pressed the board to pause and release environmental, traffic and economic impact analyses; multiple speakers said those studies were either not available or not yet complete. Manager Mitchell said the design phase would include environmental assessments if the board appropriated the funds.

The board called for the question after extended discussion; the motion to adopt the budget carried by voice vote. The transcript records the motion as carrying but does not include a roll-call tally.

Looking ahead, the budget package also includes a proposed two-cent property-tax rate increase (bringing the rate to 37.8 cents per $100 of assessed value), a $1-per-month sanitation fee increase to $24, and utility-enterprise changes including a 15% increase to water and sewer base and volumetric rates and system-development fee increases ($45 for water and $218 for sewer). Finance Director Stevens presented a companion resolution authorizing Wake County to levy and collect town taxes for FY2027; the board approved it by voice vote.

The board's action concludes the formal adoption process for FY2027. Several residents signaled plans to continue advocacy and pursue procedural or legal questions; the town posted that planning and design work for the Hilltop items would proceed in the design phase if funds are appropriated.