Mecklenburg County needs more money, staff to enforce Iryna’s Law, officials say
A new state law named for the Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on Charlotte’s light rail will increase staffing and funding needs for Mecklenburg County’s criminal justice system, officials say.
By exactly how much remains unclear.
County Commissioners heard an update Tuesday from Sheriff Garry McFadden, Chief District Judge Roy Wiggins and Criminal Justice Services director Sonya Harper on the local impacts of Iryna’s Law. Many provisions in the new law, named for 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, take effect Monday.
Republican state legislators introduced the bill in the weeks after Zarutska’s high-profile killing, which sparked national, politicized conversations about public safety in Charlotte. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein ultimately signed it into law despite some objections.
“We will never forget Iryna Zarutska and this is the right first step to ensure what happens to her never happens again,” GOP state House Speaker Destin Hall said of the legislation.
The law includes a variety of provisions, including stricter bail rules for many violent offenses, a new protocol for judges and magistrates ordering mental health evaluations and funding for additional prosecutors in Mecklenburg County.
Officials told commissioners Tuesday they expect the law will increase workloads throughout the local criminal justice and court systems and the number of people held in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. It will take time, they added, to know the full scope of the impact.
“It’s very difficult for us to quantify the impact … But I think by the time we get to the end of February, early March, where we are at that point is probably going to be pretty close to where we’re going to be for the long haul,” Harper said.
Multiple county commissioners described the legislation Tuesday as an “unfunded mandate” and predicted they’ll need to allocate more local money in next year’s budget without additional state financial support.
“Our priorities are going to be cut into because of this,” Commissioner Laura Meier said.
Board Vice Chair Leigh Altman called state funding for the criminal justice system “paltry” and advocated for investments in mental health care to help prevent crime before it happens.
“We want to be safe, all of us, and we need to do that by having the resources to prevent tragedy,” she said.
Commissioner Elaine Powell said state legislators had “good intentions” when writing Iryna’s Law, but the lack of funding is “maddening.” She called on legislators to listen to and collaborate with local public safety officials to take into account Mecklenburg’s needs.
“Let’s have a talk, because the impact on Mecklenburg County and quality of life could be grim, and the long-term impact will be grim,” she said. “And we are really important to North Carolina.”
Board Chair Mark Jerrell said he thinks the new law “was rooted in reaction” rather than “good intentions.”
“We’ll know if it’s rooted in good intentions if the appropriate changes are made,” he said.
Jerrell predicted the added costs to the county will create budget headaches next year.
“This is going to be extremely challenging when you couple that with everything else that we’re dealing with as a community,” he said.
