City council, county policy, and civic accountability
Superintendent Crystal Hill's final Program Choice plan, presented to the CMS Board of Education April 28, would consolidate the district's choice programs into six themes, cut programs at 11 schools,
Jack Beckett·Apr 29, 2026
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education voted 8-1 Tuesday night to deny Superintendent Crystal Hill's $2.1 billion budget and gave her two weeks to come back with a revised version — with
Jack Beckett·Apr 29, 2026
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. Me
Jack Beckett·Apr 28, 2026
Charlotte Water shifted to voluntary water restrictions on Monday, April 20 — the first time since 2023 — after the Catawba-Wateree River Basin moved to Stage 1 of its regional Low Inflow Protocol. A
Jack Beckett·Apr 26, 2026
After losing her March primary to Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler by nearly 48 points, the seven-term Charlotte representative re-registered Unaffiliated on Friday. She has not said whether she will caucus wit
Jack Beckett·Apr 25, 2026
Council Member LaWana Mayfield built Charlotte's Faith in Housing initiative. Monday night she voted against one of its petitions — and told the chamber from the dais why the label alone doesn't get a
Jack Beckett·Apr 23, 2026
Council Member LaWana Mayfield, the architect of Charlotte's Faith in Housing initiative, voted against a Faith in Housing petition Monday night. Both rezonings passed. The second carried on the bare
Jack Beckett·Apr 22, 2026
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 man
Jack Beckett·Apr 19, 2026
The state funds 78 percent of CMS positions. The county funds 2,707 more. Superintendent Crystal Hill showed the board what happens if either side flinches.
Jack Beckett·Apr 18, 2026
International migration to Mecklenburg County dropped 41 percent in a single year — from 22,545 new residents to approximately 13,000. The decline, presented to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Comm
Jack Beckett·Apr 15, 2026
CMS Board Chair Stephanie Sneed convened the BOCC, City Council, and CMS Board with the General Assembly delegation for the first joint legislative breakfast in at least 20 years.
Jack Beckett·Apr 14, 2026
The House Property Tax Study Commission meets April 15 with four draft bills, including a levy limit that would cap Mecklenburg County tax increases at roughly 1.5 cents. At a Joint Legislative Breakf
Jack Beckett·Apr 14, 2026
Charlotte City Council reviews $20.85 million in Housing Trust Fund staff recommendations — four rental projects, nine homeownership proposals — as council members push back on rezoning timing, geogra
Jack Beckett·Apr 14, 2026
The first CATS budget built on the new 1% sales tax totals $571.7 million. Council rejected criminalizing street vendors. Staff recommended thirteen of eighteen housing trust fund proposals. The Stell
Jack Beckett·Apr 14, 2026
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.
Jack Beckett·Apr 8, 2026
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 Gene
Jack Beckett·Apr 8, 2026
A Mecklenburg County employee told the board that more than 45 people a day are still coming to the closed Catherine M. Wilson Center on Billingsley Road. He asked why the county cannot spend $40,000
Jack Beckett·Apr 8, 2026
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 l
Jack Beckett·Apr 8, 2026
Lance Sotelo was 25 years old when a driver ran a red light on The Plaza in January and hit him. Charlotte's Public Safety Committee has revisited the city's red light camera program — off the street
Jack Beckett·Apr 8, 2026
Charlotte received 18 proposals requesting more than $45 million for its Housing Trust Fund — but only has $28.7 million to give out. The council votes April 27.
Jack Beckett·Apr 7, 2026
The Family and Community Engagement Ad Hoc Committee is drafting the district's first standalone family engagement policy — and discovered there are no written rules for how board members use district
Jack Beckett·Mar 31, 2026
The original plan was 29 miles of light rail from Belmont to Indian Trail — through the airport, through Uptown, and into Union County. Charlotte got federal money. What followed was a lesson in what
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
Charlotte owns the railroad tracks, has a design contract, and a state law mandating the Red Line gets built before anything else. What it doesn't have yet is a train — and this commuter corridor has
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
By July 1, 2026, CATS as a City of Charlotte department will cease to exist, absorbed into the new Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority. Here's how Charlotte's transit system went from city de
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
Mecklenburg County voters approved a one-cent sales tax increase in November 2025. The PAVE Act splits the revenue 40/40/20 between roads, rail, and bus service — generating roughly $490 million annua
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
Charlotte Gateway Station has $80 million in completed rail infrastructure and no station building. Phase 1 is done. Phase 2 has no start date. Here is why the project stalled — and how the MPTA may f
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
The Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority (MPTA) is Charlotte's new regional transit authority, created after voters approved a half-cent sales tax in November 2025. It assumes control of CATS
Jack Beckett·Mar 28, 2026
Ricky Robbins, the CMPD sergeant who came within 2,717 votes of unseating Garry McFadden in the March primary, starts as Mecklenburg County's chief deputy on April 1. The last two people who held the
Jack Beckett·Mar 27, 2026
Elaine Powell, District 1 commissioner on the Mecklenburg BOCC, will not seek a fifth term after more than 30 years of public service. She chairs the Environmental Stewardship Committee. Her seat open
Jack Beckett·Mar 27, 2026
George Dunlap, who has represented District 3 on the Mecklenburg BOCC for 17 consecutive years, was elected NACo First Vice President in July 2025 and is ascending to the presidency. The large urban c
Jack Beckett·Mar 27, 2026
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 MEC
Jack Beckett·Mar 26, 2026
Mecklenburg County's $64.5 million Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center drew fewer than 150 visitors per day in its first eight months. Three commissioners now want to rethink the half-billio
Jack Beckett·Mar 25, 2026
Mecklenburg County's CFO recommended shifting one cent of the property tax rate — roughly $30 million per year — from the capital improvement plan to operating, triggering a full pause on the five-yea
Jack Beckett·Mar 25, 2026
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is asking Mecklenburg County for $698.6 million to fund a $1.97 billion operating budget — including a fourth consecutive 5% teacher supplement increase — while North Car
Jack Beckett·Mar 25, 2026
Charlotte City Council approved the Crosland Southeast affordable housing project 6-4 at the March 23 zoning meeting. The four no votes came from council members who champion equity — arguing East Cha
Jack Beckett·Mar 24, 2026
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 requestin
Jack Beckett·Mar 23, 2026
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 PA
Jack Beckett·Mar 23, 2026
The state is ranked first for business. Four commissioners spent the end of a long meeting sitting with what that means for public schools.
Jack Beckett·Mar 19, 2026
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.
Jack Beckett·Mar 15, 2026
A quiet UDO change lets farmers markets operate by right in Charlotte's industrial zones — and at least one council member says that's the whole point.
Jack Beckett·Feb 18, 2026
New CMPD Chief Stella Patterson told state legislators violent crime is down 29% in Charlotte, but residents still feel unsafe. Bridging that gap defines her first 90 days on the job.
Jack Beckett·Feb 10, 2026
Council approved $4.3M for a new transit authority start-up and major infrastructure contracts, while deferring a Gateway Station parking lease and a Norland Road path item.
Jack Beckett·Jan 17, 2026
Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have crossed a governance threshold that will shape transportation, land use, and public spending for a generation. On December 18, the Metropolitan Public Transportat
Jack Beckett·Dec 20, 2025
A holiday meeting turns serious fast: homelessness strategy shifts, Atrium's housing claims, board appointments, and a divided vote on a SoFi incentive package.
Jack Beckett·Dec 17, 2025
Charlotte's last zoning meeting mixed holiday cheer with hard votes on displacement, traffic, TOD, and school crowding. Here is what passed, what failed, and why it matters.
Jack Beckett·Dec 16, 2025
When the city is facing a real crisis of confidence in its transit system, a $3.4 million marketing contract for an out-of-state agency isn't just tone-deaf. It's the civic equivalent of leaving your
Jack Beckett·Dec 9, 2025
On swearing-in night, a failed motion for one Mayor Pro Tem and a 9–3 vote for another gave Charlotte its first look at how this new City Council may sort itself into factions.
Jack Beckett·Dec 9, 2025
Charlotte's new Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority will control nearly twenty billion dollars in transit and road spending. Here is who appoints its 27 members, who is already in the seats,
Jack Beckett·Nov 20, 2025
Charlotte City Council confirmed four new members to the long-anticipated Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority board after a multi-day interview marathon.
Jack Beckett·Nov 18, 2025
NC lawmakers end session with no budget deal — leaving Medicaid cuts, teacher raises, and tax plans in limbo as House and Senate trade blame and head home.
Jack Beckett·Oct 22, 2025
