Top Stories for July 26

Trees and grass with a walking path and lake in the background on a sunny spring day.

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and from the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. The agenda will be available here or view the meeting at Watch.MeckNC.gov.

 

  1. The Bill Is in the Mail: Mecklenburg County will mail 2023 bills for real property, individual personal property, and business personal property taxes by July 31. Bills are due Sept. 1 and payable through Jan. 5, 2024, without interest. This year, approximately 435,000 tax bills will be mailed to taxpayers throughout the County. For properties whose tax records or values are under appeal, the tax bills will be subsequently mailed. Taxpayers seeking financial assistance are encouraged to apply for an economic assistance grant through the HOMES Program.
  2. School Bond Public Hearing: At its regular meeting on August 2, the Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on a proposed school bond referendum this fall. In June, the Board adopted a five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which includes $2.5 billion in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools capital projects. Those would be funded through general obligation school bonds which must be approved by the voters in a Nov. 7 referendum. The public hearing is one of several steps the Board must take to place the referendum on the ballot.
  3.  Priorities and Projects: At its July regular meeting, the Board received an update on investments made for its Fiscal Year 2023 budget priorities. Those priorities were affordable housing; educational attainment; environmental leadership; Meck Pre-K; workforce development; and racial disparities. The FY2023 budget included $81.8 million in investments to address these priorities, of which 99% of the funding has been committed. The presentation provided an overview of projects that were completed and initiatives that began in FY2023.
  4. Fun on Two Wheels: Public Health’s Safe Routes to School program is encouraging fun, safe, and healthy biking with its Traffic Gardens initiative. The Traffic Gardens, installed at three CMS elementary schools, are small-scale streetscapes designed for educational programming and to provide bicycle skill-building and active fun. The public is invited to a neighborhood event to spotlight the Traffic Gardens on August 2 at Winterfield Elementary School.