Topic
Local government coverage from the Ballantyne perspective — Charlotte City Council votes, Mecklenburg County decisions, zoning changes, and development approvals that directly affect south Charlotte neighborhoods.
After a runoff decided by a single vote, the City Council chose Robert Harrington, a Robinson Bradshaw attorney who has never held elected office, as Charlotte's next mayor.
Jack Beckett·
The council interviewed five finalists for interim mayor on June 18 and set the appointment vote for Monday. Here is how each got on the ballot, what they told council about running meetings, the…
Jack Beckett·Jun 20, 2026
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…
Jack Beckett·Jun 17, 2026
On July 1, the Charlotte Area Transit System stops being a city department and passes to the MPTA, a 27-member appointed board, along with a new one-cent tax meant to raise $19.4 billion over thirty…
Jack Beckett·Jun 11, 2026
A Charlotte City Council committee voted 4-1 to keep exploring a criminal-penalty option for repeat street-vending offenders and unanimously advanced citywide vending regulation, sending both to the…
Jack Beckett·Jun 3, 2026
At the MTC's final meeting, members praised interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle for steadying an agency in crisis since he arrived in December 2022.
Jack Beckett·Jun 3, 2026
Charlotte City Council voted 10-1 Monday to direct the city manager to give the Charlotte Fire Department the same 10 percent raise as police, closing a pay gap that drew months of firefighter protest.
Jack Beckett·Jun 2, 2026
The Metropolitan Transit Commission's final vote adopted the CATS Fare Modernization Program — tap-and-go payments, electronic validation, a new streetcar fare, and expanded reduced fares, phased in…
Jack Beckett·Jun 2, 2026
The Metropolitan Transit Commission held its final meeting May 27 after 27 years, adopting an amended CATS fare policy and formally handing operational control to the new Metropolitan Public…
Jack Beckett·Jun 1, 2026
Charlotte went from a bus-only city to a rail-connected region to an independent transit authority in 27 years. A companion to the Mercury's coverage of the MTC's dissolution, laid out as a single…
Jack Beckett·May 30, 2026
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.
Jack Beckett·May 29, 2026
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.
Jack Beckett·May 29, 2026
Thirteen new fund-balance allocations cleared at Thursday's FY27 straw vote — eleven external community partners plus two internal Park & Rec restorations.
Jack Beckett·May 29, 2026
Charlotte's city council voted Tuesday to open applications for an interim mayor, 19 days after Mayor Vi Lyles announced her resignation — and the 2027 race question is already on the form.
May 27, 2026
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,"…
Jack Beckett·May 24, 2026
One regional board ended a multibillion-dollar state project. Here is what CRTPO is, how its weighted vote works, and why Charlotte's bloc is large enough to decide the outcome.
Jack Beckett·May 23, 2026
CRTPO voted May 20 to withdraw support for the I-77 South toll lanes, all but ending a $3.2 billion expansion, removing it from the state's ten-year construction plan, and putting an estimated $700…
Jack Beckett·May 23, 2026
County Manager Michael Bryant's recommended FY2027 budget holds Mecklenburg's property tax rate flat and fully funds Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Jack Beckett·May 23, 2026
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.
Jack Beckett·May 20, 2026
Brendan K. Maginnis, the runner-up in Charlotte's September 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, has volunteered for the interim mayor appointment — from Copenhagen, where his family moved in January…
Jack Beckett·May 16, 2026
Two weeks after rejecting Superintendent Crystal Hill's $2.1 billion budget 8-1, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education unanimously approved her amended version on Tuesday.
Jack Beckett·May 13, 2026
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…
Jack Beckett·May 11, 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.
Jack Beckett·Apr 28, 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.
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…
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…
Jack Beckett·Apr 19, 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.
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…
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.
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…
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 7, 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 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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Jack Beckett·Mar 25, 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.
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…
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…
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…
Jack Beckett·Mar 23, 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…
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.
Jack Beckett·Mar 23, 2026
Charlotte should slow down. We can condemn alleged crimes without destroying innocent people or local businesses. Due process, context, and fairness still matter.
Jack Beckett·Dec 12, 2025
