Charlotte City Council adopts the FY 2018 Budget and FY2018 – FY2022 Community Investment Plan

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The FY 2018 budget is structurally balanced and positions Charlotte as the winning city of tomorrow through investing in neighborhoods, public safety and city employees. It also supports City Council priorities outlined in the Community Letter, Focus Area Plans and the 10 Traits of Winning Cities.

Enterprise Fund (Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), Charlotte Water and Storm Water) operating and capital budgets were also approved with minimal increases.  There is a $1.73 monthly increase to Charlotte Water customers. From the General Fund, there will also be a 50¢ per month increase to the residential Solid Waste fee ($6 annual increase) due to increased tipping fees and contractual costs. The total monthly fee impact to Charlotte residents in FY 2018 will be $2.23 per month.

The FY 2018-2022 Community Investment Plan (CIP) was also adopted. This five year capital plan matches the city’s highest priority infrastructure needs with a financing schedule. The CIP totals $4.1 billion and includes investments in neighborhoods, housing, storm water projects, road, transit, sidewalks, bikeways, water and sewer projects, the airport, public safety and maintenance facilities. The General Fund Community Investment Plan is $751.8 million.

To become an employer of choice, the FY 2018 budget includes competitive pay to attract and retain qualified and skilled employees. The city is accelerating its plan to increase minimum pay to $15 per hour in FY 2018. Additionally, merit increases are adopted for all pay plans. The budget also adds six weeks of paid parental leave for city employees starting in January 2018.

This budget represents the first of many steps toward creating the winning city of tomorrow. Together, the city and community can create a city where we all can live, work and play.

To learn more about the approved budget, visit http://charlottenc.gov/budget or review the FY 2018 Adopted Budget Highlights.

Other Council Actions

Juvenile Offender Diversion Program Grant

City Council also approved a $95,389 grant from the Mecklenburg County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPV) to go towards the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Juvenile Offender Diversion Program. The program provides education and workshops for up to 140 first-time juvenile offenders and also teaches parental skill training for the parents or guardians of the participants. To date the program has served 1,919 youth. Of those served, 89.4 percent of participants did not commit a crime 12 months after completing the program. This effort aligns with the City Council’s Community Letter.

Dinner Briefing

Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) explained a new car sharing pilot program during dinner briefing. Through the program, customers can rent vehicles by the hour using an online platform, providing a new transportation option in Charlotte. After finalizing the agreement with Zipcar, the program is scheduled to launch mid to late summer.

Also, CDOT provided council with updates to the Parkwood and The Plaza Corridor Study and the Uptown Connects Study.