Top Stories for May 29, 2024

Bearden Music Series at Romare Bearden Park. These were taken during a concert by Davy Knowles (Chicago Blues).

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m. The agenda will be available online and the meeting can be viewed on MeckTV.  

1. Building a Budget: The Board of County Commissioners will conduct a straw vote session on Mecklenburg County’s FY2025 budget in a meeting on Thursday, May 30. The straw vote session begins at 9 a.m. at the Valerie C. Woodard Center, Suite 4000, 3205 Freedom Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208. The Board is scheduled to adopt a budget on June 4 with the FY2025 budget taking effect July 1, 2024. All meetings will be streamed live and recorded at Watch.MeckNC.gov. View the recommended budget and learn more at Budget.MeckNC.gov. 

2. Walk for Our Elders: Mecklenburg County residents are invited to wear purple and walk to support our elders and those who care for them on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The walk will be held on Tuesday, June 4 beginning at 9 a.m. in Freedom Park. Co-hosted by Age-Friendly Mecklenburg, AARP Charlotte, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of N.C., it will feature remarks by U.S. Attorney Dena J. King and Mecklenburg County Commission Chair George Dunlap. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) serves as a call to action for our community to raise awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders, and reaffirm our country’s commitment to the principle of justice for all. 

3. Everybody Counts: Data from the 2024 Point in Time Count is now available. The annual Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Point in Time Count was conducted on Jan. 25 to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness, to understand their demographic characteristics and living situations, and connect them to resources. The survey revealed 1,711 people were experiencing sheltered homelessness, and 384 were experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The sheltered count increased by 5% over 2023. The unsheltered count saw a 79% increase since the 2020 pre-pandemic count, with 50% identifying as chronically homeless. 

4. Sundown Sounds: Park and Recreation’s free summer concert series, Sundown Sounds, will return to stages this summer. With a range of genres, from R&B to classic rock, beach music, funk and more, the concert series offers sounds everyone can enjoy.  The 2024 series runs from June to August at Ramsey Creek Beach, Eastway Regional Recreation Center, and Pearl Street Park. Vendors will be available on site, and the concerts are free and open to the public.  

5. Mecklenburg Shapes Leaders: Mecklenburg County congratulates Stacy Lowry, director of the Department of Community Support Services, on her graduation from Leadership North Carolina. Lowry is one of 56 civic and community leaders from around the state to complete the highly selective program this year. The class comprised leaders from across sectors—government, business, nonprofit, education, etc. Lowry leads a department that provides benefit claim filing for military veterans; domestic violence therapy and counseling; substance use counseling; and services for residents experiencing homelessness and housing instability.