Kannapolis introduced proposed budget for fiscal year

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 24, 2019

KANNAPOLIS — On Wednesday, Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg presented the 2020 fiscal year budget, which does not include a tax rate increase.

The budget has two main focuses for the upcoming year — investment in Kannapolis employees and investment in Kannapolis revitalization efforts, a news release stated.

“This budget will focus our efforts on continuing the aggressive revitalization plans for downtown, maintaining our current delivery of services to residents and investing in our employees,” Legg said in the news release. “Over the next two years, our investments in infrastructure and the first phases of the Downtown Revitalization Project will be completed and this will help drive additional private investment in our city.”

The release says that $1.9 million have been allocated for Downtown Revitalization projects.

The next projects for downtown revitalization include:

  • HVAC and restroom improvements at Gem Theater
  • Prepping Block 8, a train station area, for parking or development
  • Stabilizing Blocks 1, 2 and 6
  • Working on a public-private partnership for Block 5
  • Work on public-private partnership for Plat 4 site

The city also expects to raise public compensation for employees.

“An independent employee compensation plan found that several employees are underpaid when compared to the market and employees with more supervisory responsibilities were not compensated accordingly,” the release said.

The Kannapolis budget, the release said, is composed of two main revenue sources: property taxes and sales taxes.

Notably, there is no expected hike in the property tax rate.

“If approved, the current tax rate will remain at 63 cents per $100 valuation — a home valued at $150,000 will pay $945 annually in property taxes for all city services,” the release said.

Revenue from property taxes is still expected to increase by 5%, according to the release. This is mainly due to an approximate 15% increase in the city’s population since 2010.

Sales tax revenues are projected to increase by 9%.

On June 10, the city will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The adoption is scheduled for June 24.

Additionally, the budget does not call for an increase in environmental or stormwater fees, the release said. But, “The budget does call for an increase of $1.30 a month (per 1,000 gallons of usage in the water/sewer fees) to recoup the cost of investing in water and sewer infrastructure projects throughout the city,” it says.