May 18, 2026
Transylvania NAACP member Hannah Bowers addresses Brevard City Council during a public hearing on the proposed 2026-27 budget Monday night.
Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
A week after Brevard City Manager Wilson Hooper presented a $27.6 million proposed budget for the next fiscal year and a 2.5-cent increase in property tax rates to pay for it, several groups of Brevard residents voiced their concerns Monday night during a public hearing on the budget and focused on what they thought was missing in it.
Rosenwald residents react
The loudest opposition to the proposed budget Monday night came from those living in the historic Rosenwald community. Residents from that neighborhood near Silversteen Park and a representative from the Transylvania County N-A-A-C-P questioned why $98,000 previously dedicated to improvements in Rosenwald has not moved from last year’s budget when the public park does not have permanent restroom facilities, several properties have recurring stormwater drainage issues, and well-traveled roads are in need of repair.
“It was suggested that the $98,000 in the Rosenwald fund might be reallocated to the current budget. It is not the burden of the Rosenwald Community to alleviate strain elsewhere in the city budget,” said Hannah Bowers with the Transylvania NAACP. “While we understand the impulse to exercise every option to avoid raising taxes, we think reallocation of these funds would be inappropriate and must not be considered a viable option. Those dollars have been allocated to the Rosenwald community and should remain as such. There will be no other source of funding for critical and long-overdue projects like having real restrooms at Silversteen Park. You must look elsewhere in order to balance your budget or implement the necessary tax increase across the city instead of defunding one neighborhood to make up the deficit.”
Several Rosenwald residents repeated the need for improvements in that area to the Council, with some even making claims that street repairs were left incomplete or that they were told by the city that other improvements were not in the budget this year.
When given time to respond, City Manager Hooper explained that the Rosenwald community had been previously awarded a $100,000 grant for improvements and that work came in under budget to create a surplus of funds and had not been redirected to any other projects.
“Last year on the 16th of June, we did a series of (budget) amendments … one of those was to make a $100,000 general fund contribution to the Norton Creek stream bank restoration project in anticipation of overages in the construction contract,” Hooper said. “That money was put in fund 82, also known as the Rosenwald fund, because that is where the money to fund that project was parked. It turns out we didn’t need that $100,000 extra because for once that project came in on budget. It was never redirected; it was parked there and once we realized we didn’t need it anymore, there it sits to this day … It’s pretty clear what Council’s intention for the money was and that was for anticipated overages for construction of the Norton Creek stream bank restoration.”
Mayor Pro Tem Aaron Baker addressed the apparent confusion and suggested making good on correcting it.
“That’s a lot of jargon and bureaucratic speech that I understand because I was up here and supported this at the time,” Baker said, “but to the public, this is where the city failed: we did not communicate to the public. And what the public sees is $100,000 in the Rosenwald fund. Whether we like it or not, or staff likes it or not, that is perceived as a promise. As someone who is here every day … I can look at this paper and say it was overages from this project that got completed and this money is now not assigned to anything. But the staff put it in that fund and we didn’t communicate well enough where it was coming from. That represents a promise now that … I don’t know how we do anything with that money other than that we assign it to the Rosenwald fund.
“We have a lot of serious needs all over the city,” Baker continued. “Within the budget framework, $100,000 is a half cent on the tax rate. That is a substantial amount of money, but to me we have failed at communicating and now we have represented something to the community. We have to follow through on that. Unfortunately, now we’ve got to do the hard work of figuring out where that money goes.”
The Need for Less Speed on Carolina Avenue
Earlier in that same public hearing on the proposed budget Monday night, three families living off Carolina Avenue near Silversteen Park told the Council they were previously assured traffic-calming measures for that busy area near Cashiers Valley Road would be included, but none were in the current version.
“I am afraid to walk on the street at night because people literally floor it,” said Carolina Avenue resident Serena Sackett. “There are currently two tire marks on the road; one of which I witnessed someone speeding so fast that and was so surprised by the stop sign that they had to brake really hard to make it. I have to put on my hazards to pull out of my driveway, and really even in the daytime, I’m afraid to walk my dog or have my partner’s daughter bike around the area. I’d really appreciate it if the funds stayed for that purpose. It feels like the area is not being considered as much as other areas,” she said, possibly in reference to the series of speed bumps and other traffic calming measures implemented by the city along Probart Street in 2025.
Heart of Brevard concerned about skipped budget beats
The Heart of Brevard downtown business district also voiced its concerns that downtown-related projects such as wayfinding, signage, and the downtown planter programs which are not in the proposed budget and that an increase in the Municipal Service District tax rate for downtown property owners would happen simultaneously with a property tax increase.
“As you consider the proposed budget, I want to emphasize that Heart of Brevard is not advocating for an increase in the Municipal Service District tax at this time,” explained HoB Executive Committee President Adam Perkins. “We understand that downtown property owners and small businesses are already facing significant economic pressures, and we believe it is important to avoid placing additional strain on the very stakeholders who invest so much in the success of downtown Brevard. We believe there are creative alternatives worth exploring before considering an MSD tax increase.”
All members of Brevard City Council thanked the residents for making their voices heard and stressed that the budget is still a work in progress with a final vote not expected until June 1.
“I want to thank everyone coming here and speaking to us,” Councilman Lauren Wise said after the close of the public hearing. “I don’t know if you appreciate how valuable it is that we hear your voices. Sometimes it can seem like we are not listening, but we truly do and weigh every word that we hear very carefully. As you know, there are a lot of hard decisions being made in the next couple of weeks about the budget and this helps us weigh the priorities that we hear from the public. “
“You all have spoken loudly and clearly, I hear you,” added Councilwoman Pamela Holder. “It’s a lot, and I really appreciate your time coming here to speak.”
“I too appreciate the comments that have been made tonight and it’s given me some food for thought,” said Councilman Gary Daniel, before adding that he did not feel the Rosenwald community had not been ignored in the previous budget process. “We’ve put a lot of money into the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center. We put in the Silversteen playground. We’ve concentrated on that community over the last five years, probably more than any other area of the city.”
“One of the things that is positive is that you gave your opinion,” summarized Councilman Dean Lytle of the overall dialogue surrounding the proposed budget during the public hearing Monday night. “If you felt that your voices wouldn’t be heard at all, or that you wouldn’t be able to say your peace, I take that as a positive that you are entrusting in us to make those right decisions, and they are very, very tough.”
Click here to read BrevardBeagle.com’s coverage of the May 4 budget presentation.
Copies of the initial City of Brevard proposed budget are available online, at the Transylvania County Library, and Brevard City Hall. State statutes mandate the city budget must be adopted before July 1.