Mike Bryant
Coverage (14 articles)
On Data Centers, Mecklenburg County Wants a Voice It Mostly Doesn't Have
Mecklenburg commissioners got a deliberately neutral briefing on data centers at their May 19 meeting and signaled they want a position on the fast-growing industry. The catch: under North Carolina law, nearly all the zoning power belongs to the cities, not the county.
CMPD Reports 21 Percent Drop in Violent Crime, Warns 270 Vacancies Threaten to Undo It
Chief Estella Patterson reported violent crime down 21 percent and overall crime down 9 percent across Charlotte-Mecklenburg in 2025, but warned that roughly 270 CMPD vacancies and an unfunded ETJ mandate covering 86 square miles threaten to undo the gains. The BOCC also heard its third update on converting the former Bates 4th Row Library at 2324 LaSalle Street into a community center.
Mecklenburg County Chair Tells Staff to Explore Litigation Against State Over Property Tax Legislation
Mecklenburg County Commission Chair Mark Jerrell directed staff to explore litigation options against the state of North Carolina after a briefing on four property tax bills advancing through the General Assembly. The board's sharpest target: a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap annual property tax increases, threatening the county's ability to fund $484 million in state-mandated costs.
Mecklenburg County Spent $12 Million on Real Estate Monday Night. The Biggest Purchase Is for Housing.
Mecklenburg County voted unanimously to spend $4.5 million on the former Smith School at 1600 Tyvola Road — a site CMS vacated five years ago over a cancer cluster investigation — for future housing. A second vote authorized $7.5 million for 39 acres to replace Berryhill K-8. The biggest debate of the night was over parking.
Mecklenburg County Invested $390 Million in New Jobs, $334.6 Million in Housing, and Still Had to Feed 140,000 Residents When the Federal Government Shut Down
Commission Chair Mark Jerrell delivered his 2026 State of the County address, covering $390 million in new economic development projects, $334.6 million in housing investments since 2018, a record MECK Pre-K enrollment year, and a pointed message to the General Assembly about unfunded mandates — all while recounting how the county fed 140,000 residents during the federal government shutdown.
Affordable Housing Tops Mecklenburg's Budget Survey for the Second Year. Willingness to Pay for It Is Dropping.
Mecklenburg County residents ranked affordable housing as their top budget priority for the second consecutive year. But willingness to accept a tax increase to fund it dropped to 48.8 percent — and lower-income residents were the least likely to say yes.
The $400 Million Mecklenburg Covers for the State Is Sixteen Cents of Its Tax Rate
At Mecklenburg County's May 20 budget overview, Budget Director Adrian Cox put a number on what the county spends covering the state's share of CMS: more than $400 million — about sixteen cents of the property-tax rate. The recommended FY27 budget holds the rate flat by shifting a penny between funds, but the structural gap remains.
At Mecklenburg's Budget Hearing, a Flat Tax Rate Met a Long Line of Funding Requests
County Manager Michael Bryant's recommended FY2027 budget holds Mecklenburg's property tax rate flat and fully funds Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. At a three-and-a-half-hour public hearing, about sixty residents and nonprofit leaders told the Board of County Commissioners what that budget still leaves out — while a few urged them to pass it as written. No vote was taken; the board is set to adopt the budget June 2.
The County Is Funding a $118 Million Training Center in Matthews. Its Opponents Came to the Budget Hearing.
Inside the $2.6 billion budget Mecklenburg commissioners adopt June 2 is the county's share of a $118 million public-safety training complex in Matthews — Central Piedmont's "Community Lifeline," which opponents call "Cop City." At the May 21 budget hearing, a transparency lawsuit and a cluster of opponents collided with a board that, by its own rule, would not respond.
Mecklenburg board parks MEDIC wage-floor move
A late substitute motion placed $2,293,759 in restricted contingency rather than fund a same-day move of MEDIC's EMT minimum wage to the new $25.53 county floor. Three commissioners stayed certain and lost. Two outside studies — by July and November — will inform the next decision.
Mecklenburg board adds $1.6 million for 13 community programs, one over the manager's objection
Thirteen new fund-balance allocations cleared at Thursday's FY27 straw vote — eleven external community partners plus two internal Park & Rec restorations. The $10,000 Carolina Raptor Center maintenance award passed over Manager Bryant's stated opposition.
Mecklenburg commissioners advance FY27 budget to June 2 adoption
A 7-1 vote sends the FY2027 operating budget to ordinance-drafting for June 2 adoption. Roughly $1.6 million in additional fund-balance allocations cleared. MEDIC's proposed $25.53/hr wage-floor move was deferred 5-3 to restricted contingency pending two outside studies.
MEDIC's Raise Is in the County Budget. It Just Isn't Funded Yet.
Mecklenburg County's new budget raised 721 county workers to a living wage but left MEDIC's paramedics and EMTs out — their raise sits in restricted contingency, pending two studies and a second vote. Three commissioners who lost the fight to fund it now used the adoption to signal they aren't done.
The Budget Was Never in Doubt. Getting to the Vote Took Most of an Hour.
Mecklenburg County's 2026-27 budget was a foregone conclusion — but adopting it still took the board most of an hour, through nine contract recusals, a failed park-appointment slate, three motions to reconsider, and a candidate name nobody could keep straight. Chair Mark Jerrell narrated the mess himself: "It was clunky."