Charlotte gets $8 million to combat the opioid crisis. How will it use it?
Charlotte City Council members Monday night heard an update about North Carolina’s role in a national opioid settlement and what role the city will play.
In response to the effects of the opioid epidemic, thousands of local governments teamed up, including 76 counties and eight municipalities in North Carolina, to file lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.
Four pharmaceutical companies agreed to a $26 billion settlement last year, including $8 million for the city of Charlotte and $32.5 million for Mecklenburg County to be front loaded and distributed over 18 years, County Manager Dena Diorio said. The four companies paying out are Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
Strategy and Budget Director Ryan Bergman presented many options for the council to consider for the almost $1 million in funds the city received in 2022 and asked for feedback. Those options include:
▪ Collaborative strategic planning
▪ Evidence-based addiction treatment
▪ Recovery support services
▪ Recovery housing support
▪ Employment-related services
▪ Early intervention
▪ Naloxone distribution
▪ Post-overdose response team
▪ Syringe service program
▪ Criminal justice diversion programs
▪ Addiction treatments for incarcerated persons
▪ Reentry programs
The city will receive an average payment of $472,588 each year through 2038 as part of the settlement.
Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston suggested the city work with Center for Protective Services and Queen City Harm Reduction who are highlighting a housing-first model to help victims of the opioid crisis.
“I think our city should seek creative and helpful ways to support people in active use that offers them care that meets their most physiological needs such as housing, food and shelter,” Winston said.
Several council members showed support for working with Mecklenburg County, which already has social service programs in place to address the major issues — meaning the city would not have to hire additional staff.
District 6 Councilman Tariq Bokhari said working with the county could lead toward future collaboration and better relations with Mecklenburg County. Mayor Vi Lyles and Councilwoman Marjorie Molina agreed and expressed the importance of collaboration.
“I’m absolutely on board with allowing (the county) to do what they do best and set up some deliverables that can help our constituents and show that we’re a united front,” Molina said.
The city council is expected to vote on the fund allocations in the new year.
The city also voted to certify results from the November bond referendum, make improvements to a road within city limits and more.
Revaluation update
The Mecklenburg tax assessor provided an update for the 2023 revaluation, showing how real estate values increased in city limits.
The latest study of market transactions show city real estate values increased 51% from the last revaluation in 2019. That includes residential property values rising 59% and commercial property values rising 39% within the same time frame.
“These values are subject to change,” tax assessor Ken Joyner told council members Monday. “We will look at all market transactions through the end of the calendar year because our requirement is to hit the market at Jan. 1.”
Mecklenburg County taxpayers will receive notices detailing their new real estate assessed value in early- to mid-March, Joyner said.
This is later than expected. The original timeline put notices in mailboxes in late January. Joyner cited the changing real estate market and the need to give his staff enough time to review all sales through the end of the year as reasons for the delay.
At-large Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield asked Joyner if his office considered the impact of corporate-owned rentals during the process.
“Based on the statutes, we have to consider all the transactions, even the ones from the corporations,” Joyner said. “We’re trying to get to that fair and equitable and consistent value.”
In the spring, Mecklenburg County commissioners, Charlotte City Council and surrounding towns will use the new appraisal information to help set tax rates that go into determining property tax bills.
Ground lease extended on affordable housing project
The council extended the ground lease on an affordable housing project to build dozens of affordable units in south Charlotte.
The South Village Apartments project is expected to include 82 new units on DeWitt Lane and South Boulevard.
The development proposes a long-term ground lease of city-owned land located in Council District 3 on DeWitt Lane and South Boulevard near the LYNX Blue Line Scaleybark station.
Council members voted Monday night to extend their ground lease with local affordable housing developer DreamKey Partners from the end of this year to March. The project is expected to break ground next year.
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Last month, the council voted to allocate $4.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act Funds to maintain 60-year affordability for the South Village Apartments. The money is “gap funding,” a term used to describe when low-income rents are too low to cover the costs of building and managing the property, according to housing policy group Local Housing Solutions.
Bond referendum results certified
The results of Charlotte’s bond referendum became official Monday after city council officially certified them.
Three city bond referendums totaling $226 million to create affordable housing and make street and neighborhood improvements passed in the Nov. 8 election with more than 73% of the vote.
District 2 Councilman Malcolm Graham thanked voters before the council unanimously approved the results.
“Certainly the dollars for transportation and neighborhoods goes to improve the infrastructure in our communities,” Graham said.
The city hasn’t finalized a line-item budget for the bonds, but $146.2 million will go toward streets improvements, $29.8 million will be for neighborhood improvements and $50 million will be for affordable housing.
Some projects for street and neighborhood improvements are already budgeted. They include:
▪ $3 million for undetermined, future road improvements, pedestrian connectivity or other infrastructure near private developments. The city has a total of $28.5 million budgeted for this purpose through the 2027 fiscal year.
▪ $8.8 million this year and $8.7 million in the 2025 fiscal year to reimburse private developers for infrastructure improvements in the Ballantyne area.
▪ $5 million to reimburse private developers for infrastructure in Charlotte’s “innovation district,” formerly known as Brooklyn. Another $10 million is budgeted for this purpose in the 2025 fiscal year.
The $50 million for housing is expected to fill the city’s recently emptied Housing Trust Fund in early 2023. The money is expected to subsidize new affordable housing units, like the South Village Apartments the city voted on earlier in the night. Since 2018, Charlotte voters have approved $150 million toward the housing fund.
A Charlotte pro-bond campaign, Vote Yes for City Bonds, raised almost $500,000 this election to encourage voters to support the referendums.
Shamrock Drive improvements
The city approved a $1.3 million contract with AECOM Technical Services of North Carolina, Inc. for design services for the Eastway Shamrock Intersection project.
The project will reconstruct the intersection of Eastway and Shamrock drives to make it safer and more efficient for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
“We’re pleased to see that it’s a project that’s going to improve safety and we’re really happy about it,” said Molina, who represents District 5.
Design and construction are expected to be funded with the 2022 and 2024 street improvement bonds.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 8:42 PM.
