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INSIDE ▼ South Piedmont proud of Early College grads
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PAGE 2A Friday, June 19, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 24
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County maintains property tax rate MONROE – The Union County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the operating and capital budget for fiscal year 2026-27 at its regular meeting on June 16. The FY27 budget includes a bifurcated model for the county’s tax structure, with the total tax rate remaining at 43.42. The tax rates for each fund are as follows: • General fund: 11.24 • Debt fund: 1.06 • Education operating fund: 26.78 • Education debt fund: 3.89 • Economic development: 0.45 “When you look at how property tax
dollars are allocated, approximately 71% of the county’s tax rate supports our education partners,” said Chairman Brian Helms. “That means just 12.75 cents of the tax rate funds the wide range of county services our residents rely on every day, including the sheriff’s office, human services, emergency medical services, fire services, parks, libraries and many other essential functions. I think it’s important for the public to understand where their tax dollars go and how those dollars are invested. Despite the growing demand for services, we continue to operate within a very tight budget. That’s a credit to the
fiscal responsibility of our staff and this board of commissioners as we balance community needs with our commitment to taxpayers.” County Manager Brian Matthews previously presented budget recommendations maintaining core services without raising taxes for residents and businesses. “After a year of changing revenue, we have returned to a more normal and stable revenue environment,” Matthews said. “We have planned carefully and made the needed adjustments to our spending to keep the county on solid ground. This budget is built on fiscal discipline to
allow us to meet our community’s needs and support growth without a tax rate increase.” The total operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, of $664,310,307 is allocated as follows: • General Government Fund: $230,811,196 • General Government Debt Budgetary Fund: $7,515,567 • Education Budgetary Fund: $176,144,338 • Education Debt Fund: $53,278,644
Helms
Matthews
see BUDGET, Page 4A
Monroe tries to reverse I-77 vote by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
The community has helped Common Heart meet the growing demand for donations. Photo courtesy of Common Heart
Fighting summer hunger
INDIAN TRAIL – For 20 summers, Common Heart has been providing hunger relief in Union County. The nonprofit is serving more than 10,000 neighbors each month through 13 pantry locations and expects those numbers to grow. “Summer is one of the hardest times of the year for families already facing food insecurity,” said Keith Adams, executive director and co-founder. “When children lose access to school meals and household expenses continue to rise, many parents are forced to make impossible choices. Add that to our current economic conditions with inflation and high gas prices and it’s just the perfect storm.” Adams said the community has responded to help neighbors facing food insecurity. “Our community has been stepping up for two decades and I know that kindness will come through this summer,” he said. “Yes, the need is growing, but so is the opportunity for our community to come together and make a real difference.” Common Heart is calling on the community to support this year’s summer hunger relief efforts through donations, volunteer service and advocacy. “Every act of kindness matters,” Adams said. “Whether it’s a financial gift, volunteering, hosting a food drive or sharing our social media posts to spread awareness, our community has the power to ensure that families are fed this summer and hope remains
CHARLOTTE – Monroe City Council member James Kerr didn’t waste any time making his presence known June 17 during the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting. Moments after being introduced as Monroe’s alternate member, Kerr made a motion that the CRTPO add to its agenda an item to reconsider its May 20 vote that rescinded support of Kerr the I-77 South Express Lanes project. Fifteen municipalities supported the motion but it failed due to weighted votes of Charlotte as well as opposition from Davidson, Matthews and Mecklenburg County. One factor motivating communities to reconsider their vote is a draft amendment to a bill that would require local governments to reimburse the state for removing projects from regional transportation plans. Ed Driggs, of the Charlotte City Council, said he didn’t support the motion because he wasn’t sure the outcome of the vote would be different from the previous month. Driggs “I’ve been advised by a source in Raleigh that the towns that voted to change their position would not be included in the recovery process,” Driggs told CRTPO colleagues. “I think it was sufficient, based on what I’m told, that you took the action that you did without the CRTPO having to vote and you having to cast a vote different from your last one.” Kerr said he thought it would beneficial to the board to have more input on the item. Leigh Altman, of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, voted against Kerr’s motion to the agenda. Altman believed members would have ample opportunity to talk about the topic without having a vote. Tony Long, of the Mint Hill Board of Commissioners, said he supported the vote because his board would like to revisit the issue. “I have been in touch with the people in Raleigh in the last hour and I’d probably see VOTE, Page 4A
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