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Where Should the Money Go?
Mecklenburg County Commissioners and the County Manager are close to deciding how to spend more than a billion dollars of your tax money, and they want to hear your thoughts.
This year’s budget, adopted last spring, is $2.2 billion. Of that amount, $1.56 billion comes from county revenue dollars, including property and sales taxes. These are the dollars that the Board of County Commissioners has control over and allocates to the 27 county service categories. These services include courts, education (including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools), economic development, environmental protection, and workforce development and training.
The county does not fund law enforcement, fire, traffic or street services. These services are paid for by the state or individual cities and towns.
So, as Commissioners and county staff work to build next year’s budget, which of the county services deserve more or less money?
Here’s where you come in.
The county has created an online survey asking for resident input.
It’s fast and easy to complete.
There are three questions, plus a chance to write and share your comments.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll see:
In Question No. 1, you are asked to prioritize and rank seven categories for funding. For example, which should get more funding consideration, education or criminal justice?
Where does environmental stewardship fit in, or how about economic development?
Question 2 offers respondents a chance to weigh in on a deeper level and share their opinion on current spending levels for 15 specific services. Is CMS overfunded or underfunded? How about child welfare and foster care services?
Question 3 outlines seven priorities the board has chosen to assist with budget decisions. Do you agree with the commissioners’ thinking? You can let them know yes or no.
The survey can be found here.
But hurry, it’s only available until March 13th.
What’s next? County Manager Dena R. Diorio is scheduled to present her budget recommendation on May 18. A public hearing is scheduled for May 24 with the Board adopting the budget on June 6. The 2024 fiscal year starts July 1.