Mecklenburg County is expected to adopt the budget with its tax hike, full school funding, and deep nonprofit cuts amid slowing revenue and economic uncertainty.
MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Commissioners are set to take a final vote during the regular board meeting on Tuesday, June 3 on the county’s $2.5 billion budget.
The proposed budget, which passed in a unanimous straw vote last week, includes a 0.96 cent property tax increase.
RELATED: Mecklenburg commissioners pass straw vote on proposed budget, but concerns remain about property tax hikes
That translates to about $36 more per year for the average homeowner.
One of the few areas seeing increased funding is education. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will receive the full amount it requested, including a $28 million boost to support teacher salaries.
But outside of CMS, nearly every county department is facing reductions — and nonprofits are among the hardest hit.
The proposed budget includes over $6 million in cuts to nonprofit funding, including a near-total elimination of community service grants. Those grants support a range of services — from housing support to health care and food access.
Organizations like Crisis Assistance Ministry, which helps residents avoid eviction and find affordable housing, say the loss of funding would be devastating.
“Evictions are rising in Mecklenburg County,” Tovi Martin, communications director for Crisis Assistance Ministry, said. “They’re up 37% just in the past year, and we know they were also on the rise ever since the pandemic. And people are really struggling.”
Martin said the need for services is increasing at the same time that funding from all sources is becoming more unpredictable.
“We do get funds from various levels of government including the county and the city and then we also get private sources,” she said. “Across the board, giving has become really uncertain from all of those sources because the economics are uncertain right now, so people are trying to make careful choices. But the other side of that means that there are a lot more people who also have needs that need to be met in order for them to maintain basics — like a place to live.”
During last week’s straw vote, commissioners approved partial funding for some programs, including Crisis Assistance Ministry’s financial empowerment initiative. But many nonprofit leaders say the money won’t go far enough to meet community needs.
County leaders point to a $29 million budget shortfall, driven by slowing sales tax growth, as the reason for the widespread cuts.
The budget adoption is expected to take place during the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 at 6 p.m. Any final amendments to the budget would need a majority of the board to pass before going into effect on July 1.
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