Budget hearings are rarely as entertaining as comic books, but Chris Payton invoked the Marvel universe on Tuesday night to express his organization’s gratitude for funding from Fredericksburg’s City Council.
“I’ll leave you with a quote from Black Panther,” said Payton, who serves as resource development director for the Thurman Brisben Center homeless shelter. “In times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers.”
Two-thirds of Thurman Brisben’s residents are in families with children, he said, and half are children. He cited statistics from Schoolhouse Connection that show that those populations are significantly more prone to suicide attempts and more vulnerable to sexual assault.
Payton specifically thanked City Council for restoring the organization’s full funding — $40,000 — after a portion of it was re-allocated to other community partners in the city’s FY2026 budget.
“We are looking forward to increasingly collaborating with our partners,” Payton said.
Several speakers during Tuesday’s public hearing addressed funding for city schools, pointing to the division’s well-below-average performance in state testing across various subject areas and student groups. The transfer for schools in the FY27 budget is $38 million in operating funds, with an additional $7.6 million in debt service, mostly for the new Walker-Grant Middle School, which opened this past fall.
Kimberly Bastress spoke in favor of more funding for special education staff, noting that part of the city council’s calculus in embracing data center development involved increased school funding.
“City Council acknowledged the challenges that our small district faces in justifying data centers coming to our region,” said Bastress, who serves on the Special Education Advocacy Committee but spoke as an individual, “by promising real investments, to recruit top teachers, reduce class size and fully resource our schools in this competitive region.
“I’m calling on council to deliver on these critical needs for our schools and particularly in special education.”
Sabrina Johnson, who represents the Fredericksburg NAACP, addressed the board regarding a proposed higher-volume rate tier structure for water and sewer users.
Johnson said that while the NAACP’s executive committee is generally supportive of a higher rate, “however, we are deeply concerned … that this second tier may include apartment complexes alongside institutions such as hospitals or higher education facilities.”
When costs are increased for apartment complexes, added Johnson, those costs “are passed on directly to tenants through rent increases, fees or reduced maintenance and services … Black and brown renters are disproportionately represented among low-income households and those more likely to live in low-income housing … In this context, a policy designed to ensure fairness in utility usage could unintentionally deepen existing inequities.”
On April 28, the city council will vote on first reading of the budget. The budget could be adopted in full May 12.
