Mecklenburg County
People
- Mike Bryant, County Manager
Coverage (20 articles)
Reopened Mecklenburg Jail Begins Holding Federal Detainees
The budget to reopen Jail North counted on $1.9 million from housing federal inmates. The first U.S. Marshals Service detainees arrived Nov. 2.
Mecklenburg Election Results 2026: Every Race
Every race on Mecklenburg County's Nov. 3 ballot, from Congress to soil and water, with the state's unofficial count. Democrats won every race decided by Mecklenburg voters alone.
Mecklenburg Rejected Photo ID Amendment That NC Passed
All three constitutional amendments passed statewide on Nov. 3, but Mecklenburg County voted against the photo ID amendment, one of six counties that did, in the state's unofficial count.
Mecklenburg Votes to Buy Old Collinswood Campus From CMS
Mecklenburg commissioners voted to buy the empty 15-acre Collinswood school campus from CMS for $15 million for parks and housing. A second vote covers an office building CMS says would let Waddell reopen as a full high school.
Phillips Place Cinemas Site Could Hold 275 Apartments
The vacant Phillips Place Cinemas site in SouthPark would become up to 275 apartments in a building as tall as 120 feet, none set aside as affordable. A Planning Commission committee is scheduled to review the rezoning Nov. 4. Council has not set a decision date.
Mecklenburg Names Illinois Official to Lead Child Services
Dr. Aram Perry Jr., who leads child protection for Illinois, is scheduled to take over Mecklenburg County's Department of Child, Family, and Adult Services on Nov. 30.
Mecklenburg Mail Ballots Must Arrive by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3
12,940 Mecklenburg mail ballots were still outstanding as of Monday. Ballots not yet returned must reach the county by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3; a postmark no longer counts.
Bradley, McGinn Rematch for NC Senate After a 209-Vote Race
Two years after 209 votes separated them, Democratic Sen. Woodson Bradley and Republican Stacie McGinn meet again for the state Senate seat in southeast Mecklenburg.
Data Center Pause Extended; Two Exempt Sites Still Build
Council has extended its pause to Oct. 18, 2027, but the two biggest data center projects in the city's pipeline are under construction. Only one must use closed-loop cooling.
Mecklenburg Early Voting Opens Thursday at 25 Sites
Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election runs Oct. 15 through Oct. 31 at 25 sites across Mecklenburg County. Any site works, and eligible residents can register on the spot.
What Charlotte Got in Writing on I-77
Eight days before the agreement was signed, the city's lawyer told council no agreement existed yet.
First Union Tower Wins Landmark Status and a Tax Break, 10-1
Charlotte made the vacant office tower at 301 S. Tryon a historic landmark, which lets its owners defer half the property tax on the designated portion while they convert it to homes and a hotel. The plan includes no affordable units.
CRTPO Revives I-77 South Toll Lanes; Two Mayors Resign
The regional transportation board reinstated the $4.3 billion I-77 South toll lane project Wednesday, with a $69.5 million state bill hanging over any town that kept voting no. Matthews and Mecklenburg County voted no anyway, and the mayors of Matthews and Davidson resigned from the board afterward.
Charlotte's I-77 Bill Is $69,577,547.67
The state's claim against Charlotte for walking away from the I-77 South toll lanes is $69,577,547.67, and the money would come out of the fund the city has already programmed for its next affordable housing and public facilities bonds. Council votes Monday on whether to reinstate support, which would erase the bill. The city's own two figures for Charlotte's share have not been reconciled on the record.
Charlotte Eyes DOJ Model Cities Deal; Some Terms Come Later
Charlotte has until September 1 to seek a share of nearly $300 million through DOJ’s Model Cities Initiative. Applying requires local signatures, federal collaboration and an immigration certification before certain award terms are available.
SNAP Penalty Could Cost Mecklenburg Up to $42 Million a Year
A federal penalty tied to North Carolina's food-assistance error rate could take $30 million to $42 million a year out of Mecklenburg County's budget, and the county will owe a share of it even if its own error rate stays under the federal limit. The county's budget director called it a shift of federal costs onto local residents, from a program funded by income tax onto a county whose revenue levers are "really limited to property tax." Whether the General Assembly must cap property tax is the question on the November 3 ballot.
Mecklenburg's George Dunlap Sworn In as NACo President
George Dunlap, the District 3 member of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, was sworn in Monday as president of the National Association of Counties. The county says he is its first commissioner to hold the office. Dunlap arrives after 18 years on the county board, six as chair, and will lead an organization representing more than 3,000 U.S. counties.
Mecklenburg Plans West Side Workforce Hub on LaSalle Street
Mecklenburg County will turn a long-vacant building on LaSalle Street, the former home of Project Lift, into a west side workforce hub run by the Urban League of Central Carolinas and four partner organizations. Commissioners heard the fourth and most concrete presentation on the plan, called Urban Spark, on July 7. The pitch: move residents of the 28216 ZIP code from starting wages the partners put near $42,000 into jobs paying $67,000 or more.
Mecklenburg Drafts Plan to Round Cash Up to Nearest Nickel
With the U.S. Mint's last penny struck in November, Mecklenburg County is drafting a policy for cash payments made without exact change: round the total up to the nearest nickel, by no more than four cents. The rounding would be a last resort, and most county cash runs through Parks and Recreation and the libraries. But property tax law is why it only ever goes up, and why the county keeps the difference.
Raleigh Wants $60 Million Back for Killing I-77 Toll Lanes
A bill in Raleigh, written by Sen. Vickie Sawyer, would require the Charlotte-area governments that voted to kill the I-77 South toll lanes in May to repay the state an estimated $60 million, freeze the decision until 2027, and withhold state highway money until it is paid. Mecklenburg commissioners, briefed June 16, called it a retaliatory power grab.
Other coverage in the Mercury Local network
McNinch House Landmark Status Now Covers the Whole Property
The Liddell-McNinch House has been a Charlotte landmark since 1976. On Sept. 28, City Council voted to extend the designation to the whole property, opening a property tax deferral the owners told council will go back into the house.