CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 31, 2022)– Charlotte City Council has adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget. FY 2023 for the city begins on July 1, 2022.

Highlights of the adopted FY 2023 budget include:

• A balanced and fiscally responsible budget that:

• Does not increase taxes.

• Does not reduce core services.

• Does not use any operating reserves.

• Does not lay off or furlough employees.

• Focuses on retaining and investing in our employees:

• Provides an 8% salary increase for all general hourly employees (4% in July and 4% in January).

• Increases the minimum wage to $20/hour for 40-hour per week employees by January 2023.

• Increases starting police officer and firefighter pay by 9% in July, and 10.5% by January 2023.

• Provides a 3% market adjustment (1.5% in July and 1.5% in January) plus a 2.5 to 5% step increase for all eligible public safety pay plan employees.

• Maintains current employee healthcare premiums.

• Provides a 4% merit pool for salaried employees.

• Provides a 2% one-time retention incentive (from American Rescue Plan Act funds) for full-time employees (senior management and executives not included).

• Creates a 2.5% salary incentive for jobs that require a commercial driver's license.

• Supports a shift differential incentive of 2.5% beginning in January 2023.

• Enhances the education incentive so there is no up-front cost for employees to receive an associate's degree from CPCC.

• Provides for homeownership assistance for city employees through the House Charlotte homeowner assistance program with $2 million in the program dedicated for city employees.

• Plans for our future through the $226 million 2022 proposed bond:
  

• Maintains $50 million investment in affordable housing.

• Doubles the 2020 bond totals for the bike program, from $4 million to $8 million.

• Provides $17.1 million of funding for the Vision Zero strategy:

• $12.6 million to enhance transportation safety, more than six times the previous bond funding of $2 million in the 2018 and 2020 bonds.

• $4.5 million for street lighting program - new program to implement new street lighting projects along high-injury network streets or to enhance existing street lighting by converting existing lights to LED.

• Invests $10 million for the Corridors of Opportunity program.

• Invests $10 million in congestion mitigation projects in South Charlotte, University City, and Steele Creek.

Additional Budget Highlights

Great Neighborhoods

• Leverages federal funds and previous council allocations to provide $55 million in additional resources to support affordable housing and staying-in-place initiatives in addition to maintaining the $50 million investment in affordable housing.

• Makes modifications to the House Charlotte Homeownership Assistance Program to meet current market standards, including:

• Increases maximum loan amount for households earning 80% AMI and below to $30,000.

• Increases the maximum purchase price to $300,000 for existing construction and $315,000 for new construction.

• Increases funding for the sidewalk program, from $15 million to $50 million.

Safe Communities

• Provides funding to ensure a safe community for all by operationalizing the SAFE Charlotte plan:

• Allocates $1 million for the SAFE Charlotte grant program supporting community organizations.

• Launches Civilian Assistance: Respond, Engage, Support (CARES) Team for mental health, substance abuse and homelessness calls for service:

• Awarded $330,000 from the state to support administration and evaluation of CARES Team (one of three North Carolina cities).

• Leverages $1 million in federal funds to expand the Alternatives to Violence program to two new sites.

• Updates internal operations at CMPD:

• Provides $118,000 for a new early intervention system.

Transportation , Planning, and Environment

• Invests $4.5 million on city building sustainability, $1.45 million for electric vehicle supply equipment locations and adds 55 fully electric vehicles to the city's fleet.

• Allocates $48.8 million within the five-year CIP to construct three fire stations, one of which will be the city's first all-electric fire station.

• Replaces the $6.8 million state funding reduction to street resurfacing and adds $3.4 million to the program.

• Dedicates $157.3 million towards capital roads and intersection infrastructure projects within the 5-year CIP. FY 2023 includes:

• $12.7 million to improve Eastway Drive/Shamrock Drive Intersection.   

• $7.3 million to improve Rea Road.

• Supports the ADA program with $209,918 for new positions along with an additional $3.25 million in program funding.

Workforce and Business Development

• Provides $1.3 million in direct MWSBE support including $800,000 for a Capital Access Program and CBI Bonding Program.

• Uses $30 million from ARPA Tranche 2 for affordable housing initiatives that support strategic partnerships, reduce displacement risk and advance staying in place.

• Uses $16 million from ARPA Tranche 2 for community investments that support job and workforce development and minority- and women-owned small businesses.

To learn more about these and other important initiatives of the adopted FY 2023 budget, please visit charlottenc.gov/budget.