Mecklenburg shrinks next year’s property tax increase over county manager’s objections
Mecklenburg County wants to dip into its rainy day fund to shrink a proposed property tax increase, county commissioners decided Thursday despite concerns from the county manager.
The commission voted 7-2 to spend an additional $14.7 million from its fund balance, which is partially a savings account, to cut the tax increase from 1.5 cent to 1 cent in the budget that starts July 1. Commissioners Leigh Altman and Vilma Leake voted against the idea.
The first cent of the proposed tax increase in County Manager Dena Diorio’s recommended budget will pay for debt associated with the $2.5 billion school bond measure voters approved last year. The other half-cent would’ve help made up a revenue shortfall of $20.3 million, she said previously.
The county estimated the median homeowner would have paid an additional $4.79 per month with a 1.5-cent increase.
At Thursday’s meeting, Diorio recommended against tapping into the fund balance to decrease the tax increase, saying it would only create the need for another property tax increase in the future.
“It’s not a responsible way to budget,” she said.
But Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, who proposed the idea, said delaying the half-cent increase to 2026, when there isn’t already a scheduled increase, would help homeowners manage the cost.
The county has made similar moves before, Diorio said, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The commission is set to officially approve the fiscal year 2025 budget at its June 4 meeting.
The city of Charlotte’s also made a cut to it’s own proposed 1.5-cent property tax increase Thursday, with another reduction still on the table..
How much is left in Mecklenburg County’s ‘rainy day fund’?
The $14.7 million is a relatively small portion of the $601.4 million in the county’s fund balance headed into this budget cycle, the county said previously. Diorio estimated in her budget presentation there was $149.5 million more than the minimum required by law.
Her budget already called for $105 million in spending from the fund, which can cover one-time expenses. And county commissioners already added more than $10 million in spending at their budget meeting Thursday, bringing the total to more than $129.7 million.
The additional spending included:
$3.6 million for land acquisition as part of the county’s environmental stewardship plan
$3 million for Park and Recreation department deferred maintenance
$2 million for the Katie Blessing Center, a planned mental health care facility for kids and teens. The commission added a contingency that Mecklenburg County youth be guaranteed beds and that the nonprofit running the project get additional money together before getting county dollars.
$1.5 million to bring a grocery store to a food desert on Statesville Avenue
$25,000 for Foster Village Charlotte to provide welcome kits to 50 kids entering foster care
$33,000 to help restore two cemeteries for enslaved people in SouthPark and Grier Heights
$10,000 to help fund a summit for at-risk youth, specifically young Black men
$10,000 to sponsor the HBCU Battle of the Bands at Memorial Stadium
Commissioner Elaine Powell also floated putting another $300,000 into therapeutic recreation programming for youth and seniors. But that measure was voted down.
What about Charlotte’s proposed property tax increase?
Charlotte City Council members also approved a cut to the city’s proposed 1.5-cent property tax increase Thursday, bringing the increase down to 1.372 cents.
The council approved by a 10-1 vote cutting $1.13 million in new non-public safety positions that were included in City Manager Marcus Jones’ proposed budget, reducing the tax increase by 0.05 cent. Council members also voted 6-5 to approve $65 million in reductions in the city’s capital improvement plan, a 0.078 cent reduction in the tax increase. Those cuts were:
- Reducing funding for Strategic Investment Areas from $55 million to $30 million
- Reducing funding for the Corridors of Opportunity from $25 million to $20 million
- Reducing funding for sidewalks from $50 million to $20 million
- Eliminating $5 million in funding for Center City transportation improvements
They also asked city staff to look into alternative funding sources, including hospitality tax revenue, for a $7 million increase in arts funding to further reduce the property tax increase. That could further lower the increase by 0.313 cent.
Council members voted down multiple other suggested budget cuts to lower the tax increase. The City Council is scheduled to vote on a final budget June 10.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 2:27 PM.
CORRECTION: Commissioner Elaine Powell proposed spending $300,000 on therapeutic recreation programming for youth and seniors, and that motion failed to advance. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the intent of the $300,000.
