Cabarrus Today

City Manager Lloyd Payne presented the recommended Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget to the Mayor and City Council on Thursday. The budget aims to deliver essential services and invest in critical infrastructure to support Concord's growing community while maintaining its high quality of life. It also prioritizes enhancing city parks, improving traffic flow, and expanding affordable housing options.

The proposed city-wide budget is $353,849,526 for all funds, including utilities and special revenue bonds. A notable feature is a 6-cent cut to the property tax rate, reducing it from 48 cents to 42 cents per $100 of valuation. For a home valued at $356,350 (the median single-family assessed home value for Cabarrus County), annual City property taxes would be $1,496.67 if approved.

In line with City Council’s strategic priorities, the budget allocates $4.4 million for transportation projects such as roadway improvements, street resurfacing, and sidewalk expansions. Affordable housing and parks and recreation each receive $1.8 million. The parks funding supports greenway expansion with a goal of achieving 30 miles of greenways by 2030. The affordable housing funds aim to expand options for low and middle-income residents through partnerships with community organizations.

To ensure excellent service delivery and remain an employer of choice, the budget invests in employee retention and recruitment following a comprehensive market pricing study completed in 2023. This study led to adjustments in employee pay to maintain competitiveness.

Additional highlights from the recommended budget include:

- Prioritizing public safety with funds allocated for designing a new Fire Station 13 on Flowes Store Road.

- Optimizing solid waste services by proposing new processes for limb and yard waste collection efficiency; this includes a small fee increase to $4.00 per month.

- Maintaining water infrastructure with investments in automated metering technology without increasing fees for water, sewer, or stormwater services.

- Investing in electric system infrastructure based on a recent rates analysis; most customers will see reduced monthly power bills due to changes in rates offset by reductions in purchase power adjustments (PPA).

The complete recommended budget is available online at concordnc.gov/budget or can be reviewed in person at the City Clerk’s office.

City Council received an overview of the budget recommendation from City Manager Payne during a workshop on April 9. Further discussions will take place during a public hearing at the City Council meeting on June 13 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.