Budget Committee
Coverage (6 articles)
Charlotte's $50 Million Housing Bond Is a Non-Starter. Council Said So Monday.
City staff proposed cutting Charlotte's affordable housing bond from $100 million to $50 million in the FY2027 budget. Council members from across the dais rejected the number, with Mayfield requesting modeling at $200M–$300M and Graham calling $50M a non-starter. The November 2026 bond referendum is the deadline.
Charlotte's 2024 Housing Bond Is $5.6 Million Over. Staff Wants to Cover It From Supportive Housing, Shelter, and Innovation.
The rental housing production category of Charlotte's 2024 affordable housing bond is now $5.6 million over its allocation goal. To cover the gap, city housing staff are recommending council pull $1 million each from supportive housing and shelter capacity, and $3.6 million from the Innovation Pilot Fund. LaWana Mayfield warned this would happen on April 27.
Gateway Station: Two Council Members Say Charlotte Has Waited Long Enough
At Monday's FY2027 budget workshop, Council Members Anderson and Graham pushed for a Gateway Station progress update and connected it to the stalled CTC redevelopment and the former EpiCentre. With PAVE Act revenue arriving July 1, the 25-year-old transit project has new funding — and new political pressure.
Charlotte City Council 2026: Budget Pressures, Toll Lane Fights, and the Topics That Actually Matter
Charlotte City Council spent Q1 2026 juggling a razor-thin budget, a toll lane revolt, affordable housing policy, and a transit authority handoff with a July deadline.
A Budget Hearing, an I-77 Reset, Data Centers — and the Question Malcolm Graham Wouldn't Answer
Council convened in special session at 4 p.m. Monday to take up three of Charlotte's biggest active fights — a $4.5 billion budget hearing, a resolution on the I-77 South toll lanes, and the council's first formal floor discussion of data centers. Council Member Malcolm Graham, who chairs the budget committee, was asked twice on television Sunday whether he is a candidate to fill Mayor Vi Lyles's seat after she steps down June 30. Both times he answered with the public hearing.
A 2.5-Million-Square-Foot Data Center Is Going Up off University City Boulevard.
The Charlotte City Council deadlocked 5-5 Monday night on whether to even schedule a public hearing on a temporary moratorium for new data center approvals. Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie, voting no. Meanwhile a 2.5-million-square-foot, 300-megawatt data center campus is going up at 10800 University City Boulevard — and under Charlotte's current zoning, the council had no role in approving it.