Understanding General Obligation (GO) Bonds and How They Work

Published on September 25, 2026

You may have heard that bonds are on the ballot this November and wondered: What does that mean? General obligation bonds, often called GO bonds, are one of the ways the City of Charlotte pays for major projects.

This November, voters will see GO bonds on the ballot for mobility and housing projects. This page explains what GO bonds are, how they work, what they can pay for and how they fit into the city’s future for housing and transportation.

Timeline | How Did We Get Here?

Voters Approve Transit Funding

November 2025

In November 2025, Mecklenburg County residents approved a one cent, county-wide sales tax to fund investment and improvements in transit and transportation. This sales tax is estimated to generate more than $100 million for the City of Charlotte in fiscal year 2027.

City Plans $425M in Investments

June 2026

Through its budget process, the City of Charlotte identified $125 million in housing and $300 million in mobility investment to be supported by General Obligation (GO) Bonds. GO Bonds are a financing tool the city uses to pay for large capital projects, such as new roadways and affordable housing developments, over a 20-year period rather than as a large upfront payment. The $300 million in GO Bonds for mobility investment will be largely repaid by the new one-cent sales tax. Using the sales tax to support GO Bonds allow the money to go further and projects to move faster.

Voters Decide on GO Bonds

November 2026

State law requires all North Carolina municipalities to get voters’ approval before issuing these bonds. On this November’s ballot, voters will see three questions tied to the three types of GO bonds the city plans to issue:

$125 million for affordable housing
$280 million for transportation
$20 million for neighborhoods

City Invests and Repays Bonds

2027 and Beyond

If approved, the city will repay the bonds using a mix of property tax, sales tax, and other local revenues.  The city has budgeted to make these payments with no proposed or planned tax increase, as these bonds have already been factored into the city’s current budget and property tax rate. Using the sales tax to support GO Bonds allow the money to go further and projects to move faster. Said another way, the city can afford these bonds using the revenue it already receives. 