Tag Archive for: #cityofhenderson

The Local Skinny! City to Provide Cooling Stations to Beat the Heat

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The Henderson City Council voted Monday to provide emergency cooling stations that will allow vulnerable residents to seek refuge – at least during the daytime hours – from the extreme heat.

When temperatures top 94 degrees, the mayor and city manager have the authority to choose to activate and operate cooling stations.

Council Member Michael Venable made the motion to approve adoption of the emergency facility policy, which was seconded by Council Member Tami Walker. The motion passed unanimously; Council Member Garry Daeke was not present at the meeting.

Interim City Manager Kendrick Vann explained that the cooling station would operate at the municipal building site at 110 Young St., in much the same way that “white flag” nights in winter provide shelter in extremely cold conditions.

The cooling station hours will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Vann said, and would not include any overnight stays.

In addition, he said the Henderson Fire Department is going to have bottles of water on hand for anyone who may need something to drink during periods of extreme heat like the recent stretch when temperatures were in the upper 90’s.

In a written explanation in the agenda packet, Vann stated that adoption of the policy “strengthens the City’s emergency preparedness and ensures staff and volunteers have clear guidance during hazardous heat conditions.”

 

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Special Called City Council Meeting June 17; Budget and Closed Session Personnel Matter

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Public Notice — from the City of Henderson

The Henderson City Council will hold a Special Called Meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. The purpose of this meeting is to consider and discuss the adoption of the FY 27 budget and to enter into closed session pursuant to NCGS § 143-318.11(a)(6) a Personnel Matter.

The meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall in Council Chambers, 134 Rose Avenue. This meeting is open to the public.

(The text of this public notice was originally published on WIZS.com and broadcast on WIZS Radio on June 12, 2026.)

(If you would like to learn more click play for the 6-15-26 “The Local Skinny!” broadcast and continue reading below.)

A big question heading into Wednesday afternoon’s meeting is what has shifted since last week? Since Interim City Manager Kendrick Vann was the assistant to now terminated City Manager Paylor Spruill, what have Vann and Henderson Finance Director Joey Fuqua talked about since last week?  At the June 8 regular meeting, it was left that the city manager and the finance director would come back with recommendations of things to cut and would be prepared to have a discussion with the council.  Will there be cuts and/or additions or adjustments?  As previously reported, the main cuts so far had been giving the departments fewer of the items on their budget wish lists.  Will more now be taken including salaried or part-time worker positions?  Could training and travel lines be added back?  The assistant to the mayor position, which was previously cut, could it be added back?  After the meeting, WIZS will report details and let you know if a City budget is passed?

City Manager: Regional Water System Committed To Customers, Finding Solution For Franklin County Supply

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Henderson City Clerk Tracey Kimbrell sent the following press release to WIZS News Wednesday afternoon from the office of City Manager Paylor Spruill. The information appears below in its entirety:

KERR LAKE REGIONAL WATER PARTNERSHP / FRANKLIN COUNTY  

The formation of the Kerr Lake Regional Water Partnership can be traced back to 1972 when discussions among Floyd McKissick, Developer of Soul City; Mayor Hugh Currin and City Manager Tom Ragland of Oxford; Mayor George Boyd, City Manager Melvin Holmes and City Attorney John Zollicoffer, Jr. of Henderson took place. They traveled many times to Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA to meet with federal officials of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that was administering grant and loan guarantees approved in the New Communities Act of July 1972. Mr. McKissick envisioned a community in Warren County of 50,000 residents by the year 2000 with a health clinic, industrial park, fire station, recreational areas and water treatment facilities. At a crucial time in the discussions with HUD in Washington, D.C., Mr. McKissick asked for a telephone. (No cell phones then.) That was brought to the meeting table and plugged into the wall. He brought a piece of paper from his wallet and dialed a number. Then President Richard Nixon personally answered the call.

Warren County would eventually become successor to Floyd B. McKissick Enterprises, Inc. with a 20% partnership position. The City of Oxford also has a 20% position and the City of Henderson 60%. The original regional water supply system had an estimated cost of $9 million ($75 million today.) And the City of Henderson has successfully managed and operated the system since then for over half a century!

The City of Henderson purchases water from the partnership and sells it directly to Franklin County. This began under a 1998 agreement which has been successfully amended many times to accommodate the relationship. The City of Henderson through the Kerr Lake Regional Water Partnership is committed to helping Franklin County solve its water supply problems. However, our first responsibility is to our residents, customers and taxpayers. We will not enter into an agreement with Franklin County, or anyone else, until we know we can satisfy our own obligations – now and in the future.

The Partnership has identified several ways in which we might be able to help Franklin County. We are completing our analysis of those options and expect to propose a solution before the end of this month.

The Kerr Lake Regional Water Partnership encourages Franklin County to direct future communications solely to us. Negotiating in public does not build trust and is rarely successful.

CITY OF HENDERSON

Office of the City Manager

Paylor Spruill, City Manager

 

TownTalk: City Council FY 2027 Budget Work Session Creates As Many Questions As Answers

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City of Henderson Finance Director Joey Fuqua stood and answered questions from City Council for the better part of 90 minutes during the City Council’s budget work session on Thursday.

Council members reviewed the $51.7 budget department by department, with questioning led mainly by Mayor Pro Tem Tami Walker, Catherine “Kitty” Gill and Geraldine Champion.

When he presented the proposed budget in May, Fuqua told Council members that this budget – as several previous budgets – required an infusion from fund balance. The FY 2027 budget must be passed by June 30.

Fuqua said, in closing remarks just before the work session ended, that FY 2027 is going to be a “savings effort on steroids.” He further stated to Council that city staff had already been told that the month of June would see a total shutdown on expenses as one last measure to get every last penny out of the expense category to preserve a dwindling fund balance.

The FY 2027 budget is using $5 million to bridge the gap between revenues and expenses.

The work session was, at times, contentious, as Council members and the mayor interacted with city staff, asking questions that ranged from how many cell phones the recreation and parks staff needs to whether funding the Henderson-Oxford Airport is necessary.

At one point, Mayor Melissa Elliott admonished City Manager Paylor Spruill for not letting her know ahead of time that the budget didn’t include funding her assistant’s position. “I’m not a department head – I’m just the mayor of the city,” Elliott said somewhat sarcastically.

“Don’t you think it would have been a great conversation to have with me that ‘hey, we’re not going to fund him this year.’ “I’m just wondering…,” Elliott said.

Recalling the pay raises the city used COVID-era federal ARPA funds to provide employees, Council Member Gill said the city is going to have to look at other places to cut.

“We’re going to have to cut the fat somewhere,” she said, adding that she would like to review salaries across the different city departments to look for ways to cross-train staff to possibly cover additional duties.

Council Member Garry Daeke offered several suggestions to get a jump start on next year’s budget, including calling city staff together on July 1 to get them thinking about where to make savings over the course of the fiscal year – one way to hopefully preserve services and positions.

Finding ways to tweak efficiency, he said, could be one way to do that.

“I don’t think we’re going to do a whole of changing with this budget – it’s tight as it can be.” He wants to begin FY 2028  budget discussions earlier in the year to try to get a handle on what is shaping up to be another stressful budget process.

Daeke said he doesn’t want to cut services to residents or cut positions, but he does want to investigate ways to give citizens the services they expect. “We’ve got to find a way to do it a little better,” he said.

“We can’t wait three months before the budget and say we need $4 million out of fund balance or we’re going to cut staff or we’re going to raise taxes,” Daeke said. “Let’s start now prepared not to do that and then see where we get. But we have to start early.”

Review of City of Henderson Public Hearing on Budget

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Three individuals signed up to speak at the Henderson City Council’s public hearing on the FY 26-27 budget that was held on Thursday, May 21 but it took more than 40 minutes for those speakers to address the Council members.

For the first half hour or more, several Council members had questions for City Manager Paylor Spruill and Finance Director Joey Fuqua that centered around how the city got itself into the undesirable situation of having to dip into fund balance in order to balance the budget.

In his response to Mayor Pro Tem Tami Walker’s question about the pay study implementation, Fuqua reminded Council members about how more than $4 million in federal ARPA funds had been used to help address employee turnover and retention rates.

About 80 percent of municipalities across the state offer a cost of living adjustment each year, he added, but Henderson has been able to offer a COLA only four out of the last 10 years.

It was FY 2025 that the salary increases started, and Fuqua said the city spent “an enormous amount of fund balance” to balance that budget.

“When those salaries hit the bottom line,” he said, “we’re on the hook for that every year.”

This year’s $51.7 million budget also earmarks $5 million from the fund balance to balance the budget. As Fuqua explained, that doesn’t mean that is the final number that will be needed, but represents a maximum amount from the unassigned fund balance that could be used.

The FY 26 budget audit has not been finalized yet, but Fuqua said if the city uses another $1.2 million or so as it needed for FY 25, then his prediction becomes clearer: the fund balance is set “to take another record-breaking hit. Without new revenue streams, next year at this time we’ll be in an even more challenging situation” because there won’t be enough money in fund balance to offset the shortfall.

The City Council will have another budget session on Thursday, May 28 at 5 p.m. in Council chambers.

The 2026-27 budget must be approved before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

 

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TownTalk: Henderson City Budget Public Hearing Set For 6 P.M. Thursday, May 21

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Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott has scheduled a special called meeting of the City Council for Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. in order to hold a public hearing on the proposed FY 2027 budget.

The meeting will be held in City Council Chambers at 134 Rose Ave.

This is the time for the public to ask questions about the proposed budget, and there is no need to sign up ahead of time.

The meeting also will be livestreamed live on the city’s YouTube channel for viewing only. If you want to speak during the hearing, you’ll have to attend in person.

City Finance Director Joey Fuqua presented the proposed $51.7 million budget to Council at its May meeting; since then, the City Council has had a couple of budget workshops as it works through the approval process. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.

Find the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/@CityofHenderson-NC.

 

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TownTalk: Fund Balance Props Up “Flat” Proposed $51.7M City Budget

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Just one day after presenting the recommended $51.7 FY 2027 budget, the Henderson City Council scheduled a work session Tuesday at 5 p.m. to begin the process of adopting a final version by the end of June.

Finance Director Joey Fuqua told Council members Monday that this was a “very difficult budget, very sobering.”

The budget represents a 1.6 percent increase over last year’s budget, but Fuqua said he had to go fund balance again this year to create a balanced budget – not for the first time, but for the past several years in a row. The city’s fund balance is its “savings account,” and it is on a downward trend.

“It is imperative that the city secure revenue to offset expenditure and revenue. We cannot continue down this path – there’s got to be a lifesaver,” he said.

The city needs an infusion of cash – and Fuqua looked to promises of development – housing developments like Dabney Village, the prospect of a data center and even sale of three communication towers as ways to help.

Fuqua said although the public opinion varies around the issue of a data center, the potential revenue could be a game-changer.

“From a numbers standpoint, the data center couldn’t get here quicker,” he said, adding that it would create a “revenue stream that is greatly needed by the city.”

In the proposed budget, expenditures exceed revenues by close to $3 million.

Revenues – primarily from property and sales taxes – are estimated at $18,606,400.

Total expenditures are $21,020,728 and close to two-thirds of that amount – $14,649,310 – are for public safety. An additional $6,371,418 are for cultural and public services that include sanitation, streets and recreation programs.

The budget is getting propped up by a $5.5 million earmark from the fund balance – as Fuqua explained it to Council members on Monday, the final amount needed to balance the current budget won’t be known until the final FY 26 audit is released. Fuqua said.

He doesn’t expect all the FY 26 earmarked funds will be used, but until he sees the numbers, he can’t speculate.

The city will be in save mode for the rest of this year and all through FY 27, he said, as one cost-saving measure that will go along with what he called a “flat” budget.

As far as city projects go, Fuqua said “We don’t have the funding available…it’s just too tight right now for FY 27. There’s just not enough funding to do anything major at this point.”

Until the area can attract additional development that will add to the revenue side of things, the city’s financial future appears shaky.

After several years of increasing salaries to attract and retain workers, the city continues to lag behind neighboring communities who can afford to keep raising the salary bar.

Don’t expect to find a lot of frills in this budget’s general fund, either. And by frills, think travel and capital outlay. The city will have to look in other places where there may be more of a “cushion,” he said.

There is some capital outlay in some departments, he said, for purchase of “very much needed items,” like squad cars for the police department.

Fuqua did say that Dabney Village appears to be moving forward, which would bring “a tremendous influx of revenue” to the city. The first phase of construction is set to bring 350 single-family homes starting at $350,000. Developers are marketing in the North Raleigh area to attract homebuyers.

“We have a great deal to look forward to with Dabney Village,” Fuqua said.

But recent announcements that Mars and Carolina Country Snacks are both closing has driven down further the area’s average salary income.

“Closings like these don’t help – the local population depends on industry,” he said.

There’s an offer to purchase the city’s three communication towers for $1 million, which would provide a nice infusion of cash to the general fund, but it’s not an ideal situation.

The towers provide a revenue stream for the city, and normally neither Fuqua nor City Manager Paylor Spruill said they’d think selling the asset would be a good idea, when Council Member Catherine “Kitty” Gill asked for more explanation.

Fuqua said the city has an “absolute need for some liquidity,” and Spruill said he would choose to put out an RFP to see if the city could get a better price.

In a follow-up conversation Monday night with WIZS News, Fuqua said of the possible sale of city assets, “You come to that kind of decision at very distressed times, and we’re there. It’s something that is a quick fix, stop-gap effort and unfortunately, we’re at the point to where something like that is actually on the table for consideration.”

Fuqua said if the trends hold true, the current $5.5 million in fund balance will be more like $3.8 million available for the next year’s budget.

“If we’re going to need another $5 million – and it looks like we probably will, if the trend continues, then we’re not going to be able to balance the budget using fund balance,” he said.

“It’s going to have to be done through further deep cuts.”

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Mayor Pro Tem Walker Gets OK To Form Committee That Will Create Welcome Packet For Developers

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Henderson Mayor pro tem Tami Walker said she heard Finance Director Joey Fuqua “loud and clear” at Monday’s City Council meeting when he presented the FY 2027 budget: The cost of everything is going up and that means that something has to be done to bring more money in – development is a critical part of the budget equation.

“Revenue, revenue, revenue – we’re hearing you loud and clear,” Walker said. “Let’s not waste another minute.”

She got consensus from Council members – all were present except Council Member Garry Daeke – to form a committee that will create a welcome packet for prospective developers who are looking at Henderson for any variety of projects.

Council Member Michael Venable asked Fuqua about ways to get developers to move more quickly, getting them interested and locked in to projects in the area.

Fuqua said he’s been asking for a packet for the past several years to give developers an idea of what’s available in the area to encourage and entice development.

“In the last two or three budget presentations, I’ve implored Council to develop a local package” that would include all pertinent information that a prospective developer would need. “We could also infuse economic incentives to further that process in our favor,” Fuqua said. “Make it easy for them. Schmooze them. Get them in here.”

Fuqua cited growth in towns like Franklinton and Oxford and said Henderson could really benefit from similar growth.

With the recent tousle over water allocations and attempts by Franklin County to get the General Assembly to grant it unilateral authority to take control of property in several counties that stand between it and the water supplies of Kerr Lake and Lake Gaston, Fuqua said it wouldn’t take much for legislative lobbyists to say “Hey, look what we’re doing. They’re (Henderson’s) not doing anything. We want that water.”

With expenditures outstripping revenues in the proposed budget by close to $3 million, Fuqua and staff had to rely on about $5.5 million from fund balance – again – to create a balanced budget.

As Fuqua explained it, until the FY 26 audit is complete, he won’t know exactly how much fund balance was actually needed to prop up the present budget. But the trend for the past several years has been to draw fund balance from the city’s undesignated general fund – its savings account, if you will – so it stands to reason that there will be even less money available when it comes to balancing the FY 28 budget.

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City of Henderson Proposed Budget FY 26-27

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WIZS Radio local news at 8 a.m., 12 Noon and 5 p.m. as well as other posts here on WIZS.com will provide updates throughout the City’s budget process.

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Update 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Click Play for TownTalk audio from after the May 11, 2026 regular monthly meeting.

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Update 11 a.m. Monday, May 11

Click Play for TownTalk audio from before the May 11, 2026 regular monthly meeting.

Lawsuit Against Mayor Dismissed; Melissa Elliott Will Not Seek Second Term

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Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott said Tuesday she will not seek a second term in office.

Elliott sat down Tuesday afternoon with WIZS News and The Dispatch to provide an update on a lawsuit filed in fall of 2025 that claimed she wrongly received money for sale of a property on Charles Street.

That lawsuit has been dismissed, Elliott said.

She said the allegations brought in the lawsuit have had a negative effect on her nonprofit Gang Free, Inc., her personal life and her recent bid for the N.C. House District 32 seat. She lost in the March 2026 Democratic primary to Curtis McRae.

The lawsuit “ripped my nonprofit up,” she said, and she described the media over the past 2 or 2 ½ years as “egregious.”

One purpose of the meeting was to share a written statement she prepared concerning the disposition of the lawsuit, but Elliott took the opportunity to announce her decision not to seek re-election.

Following is an excerpt from Elliott’s prepared statement regarding the lawsuit:

From the very beginning, I maintained that the allegations were without merit, and this outcome affirms that truth.

However, while the case may be dismissed, the impact of false and public allegations does not simply disappear. These claims cause real harm – to my reputation, to the mission of Gang Free Inc., and to the trust that we have worked so hard to build in this community. For those who serve, especially through nonprofit work, credibility is everything- and when that is attacked without cause, the damage can be significant.

I also want to be honest about the personal toll. This has been an emotionally draining experience – marked by stress, sleepless nights, and moments that no public servant should have to endure while simply trying to do the work of serving others.

That is why it is so important that the truth receives the same visibility as the accusations once did.

Despite it all, I stand firm. I remain committed to leading with integrity, serving with purpose, and continuing the work that matters most – supporting our families, uplifting our youth and strengthening our community.

Elliott said the house at 431 Charles St. was given to her personally and she later put it in the name of Gang Free, Inc. with hopes for it to become a men’s shelter. The nonprofit deeded it back to her at a later date and she then sold it.

Gang Free, Inc. subsisted on small grants for the first 10 years or so of its existence, Elliott said, $5,000 here, $3,000 there.

“The real money came during the pandemic,” she explained, when the nonprofit had 23 community workers on the ground providing services through contracts with the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services and Cure Americas.

“Prior to that, it was in-kind donations,” Elliott said.

Although she was adamant about not running for mayor again, she didn’t slam the door on a possible bid for City Council in the future.

In a follow-up question from WIZS Wednesday, Elliott, who resides in Ward 3, reiterated that she would not run against Ward 3 Council Member Michael Venable “because he is doing a fine job and I would never run against Garry (Daeke) either.” Daeke is the Ward 3 at-large Council member.

“I’m not going to run (for mayor). I think 12 years is enough to surrender your life to the public.”

She said she made her decision after much prayer and consideration; not from any outside pressures, but “because of the trauma that I’ve endured in the last 3 ½ years.” She said she needs to be “healthy mentally” to be able to care for her family, especially her mother and her young grandchild.

Elliott said the believes the current Council wants “to serve the community in our capacity, whatever that capacity is. I think the board has a great skill set. We all bring something different to the table and it mixes well for our community.”

If that were the focus instead of “personalities or personal vendettas, we could be a great, great, great board,” Elliott said.

She said politics in small towns like Henderson require an elected official to have allies and support. Elliott said she ran for mayor to be a visionary and to create initiatives.

“I’m a connector and I try to help people become self-sustainable – that’s my thing,” she said. “I don’t have to be mayor to do that.”

As the city’s first Black and first woman mayor, Elliott said she hopes her accomplishments will serve to inspire or encourage someone to run who never thought they could be mayor.

“I hope I’ve smoothed the playing field for someone else to come through the door.”

Editor’s note: This story has been edited from its original version.

(— by Laura Gabel; John C. Rose contributed to this story)

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