City Manager Lloyd Payne provided the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 23) budget recommendation to the Mayor and City Council today. As the tenth largest city in the state and one of the fastest growing in the region, the budget focuses on maintaining essential services while creating new opportunities to experience Concord’s high performance living.
“Concord continues to be a preferred place to live, work, and play,” said City Manager Payne. “As our community grows, so too must the services we provide. The proposed budget not only maintains the excellent service from Team Concord that sets our city apart, but it also builds upon our strengths, tackles existing challenges, and in doing so seeks to enhance the quality of our daily lives.”
The city-wide budget totals $302,825,728 for all funds, including utilities and special revenue funds. The total represents a 10.1% increase over the previous year’s adopted budget.
The recommended budget maintains the city’s low tax rate of 48 cents per $100 of valuation – the same rate since 2013. With this tax rate, the Concord property tax is $1041.60 for a home valued at $217,000, which is the median single-family assessed home value in Cabarrus County.
In addition to the low tax rate, the proposed budget continues to dedicate the equivalent of 4.5 cents of the property tax rate for City Council’s top priorities – one cent for parks and recreation, 2.5 cents for transportation, and one cent for affordable housing. The value of one cent of the property tax rate is approximately $1.44 million.
Enhancing and expanding outdoor recreation opportunities is a key focus of the proposed budget. Projects include design for several parks in anticipation of the General Obligation (GO) Bond referendum this fall, the addition of pickleball courts at Les Myers Park, and greenway design for segments of Clarke Creek greenway.
As Concord grows, the budget also continues to provide for improved pedestrian safety and transportation projects. It includes design funding for improvements to the intersection of Poplar Tent and Harris roads and construction of the Lincoln Street bridge replacement. The budget also includes funds for making major improvements to our water infrastructure through water treatment plant upgrades and water line extensions. Protecting the city’s infrastructure both now and into the future ensures the community is well positioned to meet future demands.
Affordable housing is a challenge for many in our community. The budget recommendation continues to allocate funds to increase affordable housing options for residents. The city will also continue to partner with WeBuild Concord to create affordable, workforce housing across the city.
Finally, the proposed budget includes a small increase to the solid waste fee to cover higher costs associated with recycling processing and the current contract for collection. The city is beginning to transition services in-house, starting with bulky waste collection in July 2022. By providing all aspects of solid waste collection, the city will not only reduce costs and customer complaints, but offer a higher level of customer service through prompt and reliable service and faster response should issues arise.
A budget workshop was held following the April 12, 2022 City Council Work Session, where Payne presented an overview of his recommendation and solicited feedback from the Mayor and Council. Council members will further discuss the budget and hold a public hearing at the City Council meeting on June 9.
Interested individuals can review the City Manager’s FY 23 Recommended Budget and Proposed Fees & Charges Schedule online at concordnc.gov/budget and in print at the City Clerk’s office, located in City Hall at 35 Cabarrus Avenue West in Concord.