FY 2026 Budget Proposes No Property Tax Increase, Invests in Youth

Published on May 05, 2025

City Manager Marcus Jones presents the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget to City Council.

CHARLOTTE, N.C (May 5, 2025) – Today, City Manager Marcus D. Jones presented his Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget to the Mayor and members of City Council.

“I am pleased to propose a balanced budget that continues to invest in meeting the needs of our community and Team Charlotte,” said City Manager Marcus Jones. “With this budget, the city is continuing to build on our strong financial foundation to meet the needs of the Charlotte community, advance Council’s priorities, and prepare for future growth and opportunities.”

Proposed FY 2026 Budget Highlights

  • A structurally balanced budget with a two-year lens that:
    • Does not increase property taxes.
    • Preserves core services.
    • Maintains reserves.
  • Continues Charlotte’s legacy of affordable cost of service, with the lowest tax rate will remain the lowest among North Carolina’s largest cities in FY 2025.
  • Establishes the Office of Youth Opportunities to promote economic opportunity and positive youth development for ages 13-24.
  • Helps to ensure fire response times are met with an additional $25.6 million to continue advancing:
    • Construction of five firehouses: three new infill and two replacements.
    • Expansion of one existing firehouse to accommodate an additional fire Company.
  • Adds a commercial burn building to the Advanced Planning and Design Program to support ongoing training for Charlotte firefighters.
  • Supports expansion of the 911 call center in police headquarters and the Police and Fire Training Academy with $2 million in funding in FY 2026 for a project total of $9 million.
  • Funds $30 million over the next four years for a satellite Animal Care and Control adoption facility that is currently in design. 
  • Begins a four-year plan to improve Solid Waste Services’ cost recovery to 50% for residential curbside collections by splitting the Solid Waste fee into two —residential curbside and residential dumpster — and increasing the curbside fee by $1.35 per month and the dumpster fee by $0.49 per month. 
  • Supports minority, women-owned and small businesses with nearly $2 million to establish the Small Business Readiness fund to build capacity in targeted industries, especially those related to mobility investments, and to continue NXT|CLT and Amp Up.
  • $3.65 billion budget net of transfers, including Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the Charlotte Area Transit System, Charlotte Water, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, and the general government funds.
  • $943.5 million, or a 5.2% increase, in the Proposed General Fund.

A Continued Focus on Retaining and Investing in Team Charlotte

  • Raises minimum pay for city employees to $24 per hour from $23 per hour.
  • Budgets a 4% pay increase for all hourly employees in two phases (1.5% increase in September and 2.5% merit pool in November).
  • Provides a 3% merit pool for salaried employees.
  • Provides pay and incentive actions in the Public Safety Pay Plan for police and fire:
    • Provides a 6.5% pay increase to most sworn (including existing pay plan steps) for eligible police and fire employees who are not at the top pay step. Police and fire employees who are at the top pay step receive a 1.5 percent increase and a 1.5 percent one-time bonus (for a total of 3%).
    • Continues funding the Charlotte Firefighters’ Retirement System with an additional 4 percentage points for firefighters, for a total employer contribution rate of 29.31%, which is more than double the employer contribution rate in FY 2020.
    • Establishes an $11 million radio replacement program to ensure critical public safety communication infrastructure is replaced regularly. 
    • Adds 15 more hybrid, take-home vehicles for police.
  • Continues the city’s Education to Employment program, giving Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools graduates opportunities for entry-level positions within the city.
  • Continues pre-paid tuition assistance and career coaching with Central Piedmont Community College. 
  • Continues reduced cost CATS All-Access Transit Pass.
  • Continues employee assistance programs such as the Emergency Loan Program for Hardships and Employee Rental Assistance Program.
  • Expands eligibility for the Health Care Premium Relief Program to employees with household incomes up to $70,500.

Investments in Fundamental Programs 

  • Leverages more than $1.8 million in funding to support urgent home repair, affordable housing placement, and high-quality naturally occurring affordable housing in addition to the $100 million voter-approved 2024 Housing Bond to increase affordable housing production.
  • Continues the city’s commitment to violence reduction through investments in the Alternatives to Violence program along Beatties Ford Road and provides funding for the expansion of Atrium Health’s hospital-based violence intervention program, Project BOOST.
  • Invests $1 million to start a community benefits fund to help advance the greatest needs identified in the 14 Community Area Plans.
  • Continues to advance Strategic Energy Action Plan goals with:
    • $2.5 million of funding to support the installation of sustainable infrastructure at city-owned facilities.
    • Funding for 45 electric vehicles to advance emissions reductions in the city’s fleet and 155 hybrid vehicles in addition to electric buses at the airport.

Continued Emphasis on Efficient City Operations

  • Establishes a new Organizational Improvement Team to identify opportunities for streamlining operations, improving service delivery and customer satisfaction beginning with the new Contracting and Procurement Department and CLT Development Center.
  • Elevates Charlotte Business INClusion and the General Services Procurement Division into the new Contracting and Procurement Department to optimize cohesion and expertise within these core services.
  • Realigns Animal Care and Control services from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to the Department of General Services to allow Animal Care and Control to more directly benefit from the general services department’s administrative strength and non-sworn perspective for non-sworn services.

To support the continued growth of the city and invest in critical infrastructure, the proposed budget includes two other service fee increases — Storm Water Services, which equates to a $0.67 monthly increase for the typical customer, and Water and Sewer, which equates to a $5.47 monthly increase for the typical customer.

The Proposed FY 2026 Budget will have a public hearing on May 12, followed by budget adjustments on May 19 and straw votes on May 29. Council will consider the budget for adoption on June 9. The 2026 fiscal year begins July 1, 2025.

Learn more about these and other important initiatives of the proposed FY 2026 budget online. 

Tagged as:
Back to top