Charlotte City Council opened its public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2027 operating budget Monday night — a $4.5 billion spending plan that includes a 10 percent raise for police, 7 percent for fire, 4 percent for city workers, a 1.89-cent property tax increase, and a $125 million housing bond for the November ballot. More than 30 residents, city employees, and nonprofit leaders signed up to speak. Nearly all of them told the council the proposal does not go far enough.

The hearing was Item 11 on the business meeting agenda. Mayor Vi Lyles opened it by noting that feedback would be considered when the council convenes for budget adjustment discussions on May 18 at 2 p.m. Straw votes follow June 1. Budget adoption is scheduled for June 8.

What the council heard, in three hours of testimony, was a coordinated set of asks that exceed the city manager's proposal on every major line: $200 million for the housing trust fund instead of $125 million, 10 percent raises for firefighters and city workers instead of 7 and 4, restored funding for Safe Alliance's domestic violence programs, and a People's Budget backed by nearly 1,500 signatures.

The Firefighters' Math

The proposed budget gives Charlotte firefighters a 7 percent raise. Mark Wilson, secretary of the Charlotte Firefighters Association Local 660, told the council the true raise for more than 80 percent of the fire department is 2 percent. The other 5 percent, Wilson said, was already set for a November step increase firefighters would have received regardless.

The gap between police and fire compensation was a recurring theme. Brantley Stallings, a 16-year veteran and pay plan committee chair, told the council the proposed budget creates an 8 percent separation between police and fire pay — not including the 2.5 percent shift differential CMPD receives on top. New firefighter hires take four years to reach the council's own $25-per-hour minimum wage floor. CMPD starts at $31.

Adam Ullman, a firefighter, told the council that even with the proposed 7 percent raise, firefighters will still make under $25 an hour. They work roughly 900 more hours per year than a standard 40-hour employee. More than 90 percent work a second job. Ullman said he personally worked an additional 1,500 hours last year, putting him over 80 hours a week.

The unpaid training pipeline drew specific testimony. To reach the rank of engineer, firefighters complete 23 days of unpaid training. Captain requires another 28. That is more than 50 days of unpaid work in the span of a few years.

Ullman also raised equipment: frontline trucks sometimes do not respond to emergencies because they are waiting on repairs that are not funded. Units are replaced with what Ullman called "reserve units that are less broken."

Stallings said the cost to fund fire at 10 percent instead of 7 would be $4 million — out of a $4 billion budget.

Meredith Barbie, a firefighter's wife and prosecutor, put numbers on the workload disparity: firefighters work roughly 2,700 hours per year compared with about 2,184 for police. She connected the 2023 council vote on pay parity to the current proposal. "If parity was the right decision in 2023, it's still the right decision now," Barbie told the council. She noted that CMPD officers also have access to off-duty employment through the department starting at $46 per hour — opportunities that are limited for firefighters.

Safe Alliance

Six speakers addressed the proposed cut to Safe Alliance funding — the domestic violence services organization with a 100-year history in Charlotte and a 20-year city partnership.

Suzanne Canale, Safe Alliance's chief legal officer, asked the council to restore the funding. The organization runs the Victim Assistance Court Program and a 24/7 Hope Line. Laura Lawrence, Safe Alliance's CEO, told the council that CMPD has already reported an increase in domestic violence-related homicides this year. One in three women and one in four men experience intimate partner violence, Lawrence said.

"Cutting funding will not reduce costs. It will increase them," Lawrence told the council — citing repeat police calls, ER visits, homelessness, and court strain as downstream consequences.

Audra Toussaint, a domestic violence survivor, told the council she is alive because of Safe Alliance. She has been represented by a Safe Alliance lawyer at five renewal hearings for a protective order.

Craig Varnum, a retired CMPD domestic violence unit supervisor and current Safe Alliance board member, cited a specific statistic: a man who strangles a woman is 80 percent more likely to kill her. Up to 90 percent of convicted cop killers have a history of strangling women.

Jamila Espinosa called Safe Alliance "core public safety infrastructure" and told the council that cutting the organization "does not reduce the cost of violence, it just transfers it."

Housing: $125 Million or $200 Million

Laura Belcher, CEO of Habitat Charlotte Region, supported the city manager's proposed $125 million housing bond for the November ballot and encouraged a long-term strategic approach. But nearly every other housing speaker asked for $200 million.

O'Shauna Hunter, representing OneMec, laid out the scale: Charlotte currently has nearly 2,500 residents experiencing homelessness, more than 110,000 cost-burdened renters, and a shortage of nearly 40,000 affordable homes. Hunter said an additional $100 million for the housing trust fund would increase Charlotte's overall debt by only 1.5 percent.

Carol Hardison, CEO of Crisis Assistance Ministry, cited a record-breaking 52,625 eviction filings last fiscal year. Jessica Moreno, with Action NC, noted that 80 percent of landlords have lawyers in eviction proceedings while only 4 percent of tenants do. The city has committed $200,000 for legal eviction assistance — compared to the county's $1.2 million.

Ted Follett pushed for the $200 million figure with a competitive argument: in the 2025 spring cycle, Wake and Durham counties together received about four times as many tax credit awards as Mecklenburg. Charlotte had one.

Greg Jarrell of the Redress Movement presented cards from nearly 1,500 Charlotte residents who signed on in support of the People's Budget — a coalition platform asking for a $200 million housing trust fund bond, a $25 minimum wage for city workers, $200,000 in eviction prevention funding, and better transit equity for disabled riders.

Kenny Robinson, a small developer, told the council that organizations like his are being left out of the housing trust fund process — forced to compete with major established developers for the same pool. He has been trying to raise $2 million for three years.

City Workers

The budget's 4 percent raise for city workers — compared with 10 percent for police and 7 percent for fire — drew pointed testimony.

Cass Otley, noting that 157 people move to Charlotte-Mecklenburg every day, told the council that police automatically get a 10 percent raise each year, with fire close behind. City workers, Otley said, are "dead last every year." And the 4 percent is not guaranteed: most city workers receive only about 2 percent of it due to performance reviews.

Dominique Harris, a city worker, described the moment the numbers were released. The 10 percent for police came first. Then 7 percent for fire. Then 4 percent. "Heads was down," Harris told the council. The raise is not automatic, Harris said — "It's maybe 4%" — and depends on a manager "who might not like us."

Derek Davis, a city worker, challenged the framing that police are the only employees who face danger on the job. Robert Taylor was killed on duty while working for Solid Waste. Ethan Rivera was murdered on duty as a CATS bus driver.

Calissimo Ortiz, a Charlotte Water employee, told the council that Charlotte Water is one of only three true 24-hour operational departments in the city — and that Charlotte Fire's ISO certification depends heavily on the reliability of the water infrastructure his colleagues maintain.

What Else the Council Heard

Connie Proctor, chair of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, asked for $20 million per bond cycle for bicycle facilities and told the council that the share of bicycle funding drops from 6 percent to 3 percent of CDOT spending under the proposed budget. Evan Salatis named five cyclists killed on Charlotte streets — Bill Yoder, Alecki Langley, Paul Rucker, Officer Gabriel Steinback, and Naomi Summers, who was eight years old.

Kaniah Dawn Bay, representing NC Against Gun Violence, cited the city's $1.2 million annual investment in Alternatives to Violence. The SW Charlotte ATV program helped reduce violent crime by 25 to 28 percent since 2023. Violence disruptors on the Beatties Ford Road corridor prevented at least six potentially deadly conflicts. Bay put a cost on inaction: one homicide costs approximately $625,000. One gunshot wound costs $330,000.

Shamika Robinson, vice president of the National Federation of the Blind's Charlotte-Mecklenburg chapter, told the council that paratransit riders pay the highest fares and are treated as "second-class citizens." Robinson described being stuck on a bus for four hours — on I-85, returning from dialysis, in 90-degree weather, with a broken-down vehicle.

Braxton Winston, a former council member, urged the current body to use the FY27 budget to "set the agenda for the next mayor of Charlotte."

The hearing closed unanimously.

Budget adjustment discussions begin May 18 at 2 p.m. Straw votes follow June 1. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget June 8.