Tempers flare as Valdese leaders clash over taxes and spending

“Yes, daddy” are not words commonly spoken by elected officials at public meetings.

Neither is it common for a mayor to pass the gavel to the mayor pro tem so he can step out of his neutral role and address a council member directly.

Both happened during Valdese’s called meeting Monday, where a tense budget discussion also led to the near-removal of a former councilman from the audience.

Valdese town leaders discussed the 2026-27 budget proposal that would raise the property tax rate from 41.5 cents to 54.5 cents per $100 valuation through a new fire district tax, while also increasing water and sewer fees.

The added revenue is tied largely to the town’s plan to finance a public safety building now estimated to cost between $10.8 million and $11.2 million.

Councilwomen Heather Ward and Shannon Radabaugh questioned whether the town had fully explored alternatives before asking residents to absorb higher taxes and fees.

Their concerns included the fire district tax, the lack of a final guaranteed price for the public safety building, the handling of a town employee pay study, and the fact that last month’s budget retreat was not livestreamed.

Town Manager Todd Herms said the tax increase is needed to show the Local Government Commission (LGC) that Valdese has a long-term plan to repay a loan for the public safety project.

No changes were made to the budget proposal.

There will be a public hearing for the budget at the May 28 regular meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. in Town Hall’s council chambers, at 102 Massel Ave. SW.

AFTER THE MEETING

Ward and Mayor Keith Huffman each gave a statement after the contentious meeting, where Huffman directed his comments to Ward.

“I will never apologize for doing the job the people elected me to do,” Ward said. “I did not appreciate being spoken down to publicly in front of fellow council members and constituents. Respectful disagreement is part of public service, but being dismissed or chastised for asking questions is neither productive nor appropriate. Every council member has both the right and the responsibility to ask questions at any time in the decision-making process.”

Ward said she does not regret her statements or voicing her concerns.

“I was raised to be a strong woman who stands up for others, especially those who feel unheard, and I intend to continue doing exactly that,” Ward said.

Ward said Valdese needs a public safety building, but that it is fair and responsible to ask how the goal can be accomplished without placing an overwhelming burden on taxpayers.

“Those are conversations this council should be willing to have openly and respectfully,” Ward said. “My focus remains the same: transparency, fiscal responsibility, and making decisions that protect both the future of our town and the people who call Valdese home.”

Huffman said: “We are all deeply committed and working through this to do what’s best for citizens of Valdese.”

COUNCIL CONCERNS ADDRESSED

Herms said that, in order to fund the public safety building, the town would need the extra property tax revenue.

Adding the fire district tax would also alleviate pressure on the general fund by partially funding the fire department, Herms said.

Herms and Chief Financial Officer Bo Weichel are pursuing a loan from the LGC to fund the public safety building. Valdese must be able to outline a long-term plan to repay the loan for a chance at approval.

Herms said the town must also have a realistic price range for the project to approach the LGC.

General contractor D. R. Reynolds is expected to provide a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) in early to mid-June, Herms said.

Weichel said the full pay study was not presented at previous meetings because, normally, details are not released until the raises are approved since the suggested pay increases could get employees’ hopes up for a higher raise than they may actually get.

Weichel said a summary was presented to show council how the pay study impacts the budget. He said he is happy to sit down with council members to discuss the details.

The budget retreat was on a Tuesday at 9 a.m. It was held in Town Hall’s community room instead of the council chambers. There is not a camera and audio set up for livestreaming in the community room, unlike the council chambers.

“The reason the retreat was held there is because it creates a more informal workshop-style environment that encourages open conversation and engagement about the budget. It is not intended to function as a formal council meeting,” Herms said. “The council chambers simply do not provide that same type of workspace areas for everyone, such as space just for staff to lay out budget reading materials.”

An audio recording of the budget retreat was posted to the town’s YouTube channel after Monday’s meeting.

“As for why the audio recording was only just posted, I honestly did not think about it until after Monday’s meeting, when the mayor asked whether we had any recordings that could be shared. Since the town clerk had recorded the audio for meeting minutes purposes, we posted it immediately.”

HOW IT DERAILED

Weichel recapped the budget retreat early on, reminding council that the tactic to afford the public safety facility was raising the tax rate to 54.5 cents this year, going rate neutral next year — which is a revaluation year — and, if needed, reallocating the town’s $375,000 street-paving budget and relying on $125,000 from the Powell bill to repair roads.

Throughout the discussion, Councilwoman Ward asserted that Valdese may need to cut some of its offerings to avoid tax rate increases that could make the town unaffordable to live in.

At the budget retreat, Vice President of First Tryon Advisors Chazzo Habliston said based on his observations and experience, if Valdese goes rate neutral after the revaluation, the town could get up to 25% more property tax value.

That is not set in stone. The reliance on a projection that may not come to pass concerned both Ward and Radabaugh.

Ward noted that remaining rate neutral after property values potentially go up still represents a higher tax bill for many Valdese residents.

“The fact that the first thing that comes up for us to cut is our street paving shows that our priorities are off in this town,” Ward said. “I’m talking about (cutting) things that have been wants for our town.”

Ward said she loves everything Valdese has to offer and parks and recreation is a big part of hers and her family’s lives, but there may be things that have to be cut.

Mayor Huffman asked what changes Ward was proposing. He and Mayor Pro Tem Lowman asked Ward and Radabaugh this question several times throughout the meeting.

Huffman said the purpose of the meeting was to consider revisions.

“We are considering them. We are talking about them to see what we need to consider. We’re asking questions to see what we need to consider. We didn’t say we were making revisions, we said we were considering revisions, so that is what I’m doing,” Ward said.

About an hour into the meeting, Huffman transferred his responsibilities as Mayor to Mayor Pro Tem Lowman.

The mayor is not a voting member on the Valdese council, nor do they engage in debate. The mayor facilitates council meetings in a neutral manner. In order to speak, Huffman had to pass his mayoral responsibilities to Lowman.

“Councilwoman Ward, I’m going to address something,” Huffman said. “You did not show up at the mini budget meeting. You asked very (few) questions during the public forum.”

When asked about the mini budget meeting, Huffman said there were several and that a quorum was never present. Herms said the meetings were informal discussions between himself, Weichel, First Tryon Advisors, and only a couple council members at a time leading up to the budget retreat.

Ward attempted to respond but was cut off by Huffman. He continued, saying Ward barely spoke at the budget retreat.

Ward tried to speak and was cut off again. This time, she slammed her hand on the table and rolled back in her office chair, saying, “Yes, daddy.”

Former councilman Harvey then shouted from the audience that Huffman should confer with the attorney about calling out a council member.

The audience is not allowed to speak in a public meeting except during a public hearing or public comments section, according to protocol.

Harvey did not stop speaking when Huffman asked. Police Chief Marc Sharpe then approached Harvey, who shouted that Huffman could not abuse a council member at a public meeting.

Sharpe said Harvey would be removed if he did not stop speaking. Harvey stopped and left the meeting of his own accord.

Huffman continued, saying it was “the 11th hour,” and that if program cuts were made, council needed to consider not just the immediate impact, but the impact years down the road.

“These are serious times,” Huffman said. “I’ve been on the spear both in my military career and also my public career, and I know what it means to cut. … You don’t get (what you cut) back.”

When Huffman was done, Ward responded.

“First of all, the budget meeting I missed was due to my child having a medical emergency that I had to take care of, so I chose to be a mother, and I let everyone know that I would not be there,” Ward said. “Secondly, I did not ask questions in the budget retreat because we had literally seven hours to go through everything.”

Ward reiterated that residents have contacted her to say they were frustrated the budget retreat was not livestreamed, and that they would not be able to afford living in Valdese if taxes and fees went up.

REVISIONS POSSIBLE, BUT DIFFICULT

Herms said that, ultimately, the budget is in council members’ hands. He said he would revise based on the council’s direction.

“I don’t think the LGC approves our loan without a long-term plan,” Herms said. “We have been operating under the assumption of the tax increase, not program cuts. I don’t think we can come up with a list of cuts long enough and big enough to satisfy the LGC at this time.”

Herms said it is difficult to get on the LGC’s agenda, and doing so takes planning months in advance. If council chooses to revise the budget, meeting with the LGC could be significantly delayed. If the meeting is delayed, D. R. Reynold’s GMP will expire after 60 days, and another — likely higher — GMP will have to be calculated later.

One cent in the property tax rate equals $61,506, according to Weichel. It would take a large number of program cuts to close the $742,338 gap from removing the 13 cents fire district tax.