Property Tax Increase; Police Officer Raises Included in Proposed Charlotte City Budget

CHARLOTTE, NC – Your property taxes could be going up help to pay for police officer raises. Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones unveiled his $2.6 Billion budget proposal Monday night.

Jones says right now the police department is having trouble recruiting and retaining officers.

The tax increase caught some City Council members off guard.

“I was disappointed that the subject of a tax increase came up for the first time today,” said Republican Ed Driggs.

The proposed one-cent property tax increase would create nearly $10 million in new revenue.

For someone who owns a $200,000 home, their property tax bill would go up by about $20 a year.

“They try to minimize it. They say, ‘Oh it’s only $20, but it’s a tax increase,'” Driggs says.

Under the plan, police officers would get a 6.5 percent pay raise.

Starting salaries would go up by about $3,000 to more than $46,300.

Police officers who live in the City of Charlotte would get a $2,500 bonus.

Driggs and Council members like Tariq Bokhari want to see officers get a raise, but think this is the wrong way to go about it.

“This is something that weighs heavily on my mind. I was hoping we’d find a way to prioritize within existing functions to not have a tax increase,” Bokhari says.

In the proposed budget, other city employees would see a three percent raise.

Council member Larken Egleston calls the tax increase minimal.

“To me, with the impact we’ve been able to make for our employees, things we’re going to be able to do for our citizens in all parts of Charlotte, that’s a drop in the bucket,” Egleston says.