Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I'd like to welcome everyone to the Board of Commissioners regular meeting for May the 18th. I'd like to call this meeting to order. If you all will please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance and then remain standing for invocation. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I'd like to welcome up Dan Marshall to give the invocation this evening.

Would you bow with me in prayer? Our gracious Heavenly Father, we come before you in the name of your Son and through his finished work on our behalf. We lift up these, your servants, by requesting your grace and power to rest upon them. You have called them to this role of public service, and they bear great responsibility before you and the citizens of this county. We thank you that whatever you call us to do, you also provide the resources to accomplish the task. These commissioners and their staff have the awesome responsibility to create a budget that both meets the needs of this community and also remains fiscally sound. They need your wisdom and faithfulness. Therefore, we come before you to ask that you work into their lives the truth of Lamentations 3, verses 22 and 23. The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning. May your loyal love envelop them. May your merciful spirit surround them. May they know personally and intimately your faithfulness. May they look to you each morning for the strength and ability to guide them through the demands of the day. Lord we also ask that you enable them to experience the power of the prayer of Isaiah as recorded in Isaiah chapter 33 verse 2. But Lord be merciful to us for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble. May they patiently wait for you each day knowing that you are able and willing to direct their steps. May they understand that you always stand ready to be their strength each day and their refuge in times of trouble. and challenges. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

Thank you, Dan. I'd also like to introduce our youth commissioner, Rainy Mangan from Central Cabarrus. Rainy, if you'd like to introduce yourself, just press the green button on the microphone.

Hi, my name is Rainy Mangan, and I'm from Central Cabarrus High School, and I'll be representing the youth commission for tonight.

We're happy to have you.

Thank you.

So before we get started, I also want to give a special thank you to my board and especially to my vice chair, Ian Patrick. for running the work session. I thankfully was able to have a little vacation with my family that week, and so I appreciate all of you taking care of all of this while we were gone. So we will move on to, oh, I need a motion to approve the changes to the agenda on page four.

So moved. Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right, that carries five to zero. And then we will move on to recognitions and presentations. First up is the Active Living and Parks AARP Tax Volunteers Recognition by Byron Hagler. Good evening.

Good evening.

I would like to introduce the Active Living Center program manager, Theresa Kaiser. She is going to introduce Bob Gutry and the AARP volunteer program.

Hello. Thank you all for letting us take this time to recognize our dedicated AARP tax aid volunteers. They work tirelessly from December through April and even now with some changes to some tax

taxes so Bob come on up here tell us all about your great volunteers and the good things that you're doing it'll be an evening of good news good evening I'm Bob Garrity I'm the local coordinator for AARP tax aid here in Concord with me is Brian Coley put your hand up he's our head instructor Jerry Locke he's our ERO he's the one who makes sure that when the return is sent to the IRS they receive it and they what's the next word that they've got it. And Gloria Archer, she's head of our research department. Okay, first, we've got to thank Byron Hegler and Theresa Kaiser for providing us with the facilities that we share and the assistance scheduling our clients. We could not do this without your help. Thank you. We're supported by the AARP Foundation, which is the charitable and benevolent arm of AARP. They provide us with the computers, the hardware, and the software we need to do what we do. We're made up of 23 volunteers, all but one are retired, and we logged this year almost 2,450 volunteer hours. 2,450 volunteer hours. We start on the first Monday in February. We finish on April 15, tax day. We schedule clients every Monday and Wednesday, two days a week. This year, there were 11 weeks in that time period, but we lost one day because of snow. Hard to imagine on a day like this. Total 21 days we were in the Active Living Center Concord. On those 21 days, we had a total of 862 client interactions, averaging 41 per day. It made for a busy day. A year ago, 2025, I told you that we helped our clients bring $514,000, half a million dollars, back into the community. This year, with the help of the big beautiful bill, bear with me, passed in Washington last summer, in the $6,000 enhanced deduction for seniors, we helped our neighbors bring $777,000 back into the community. Three quarters of a million dollars. Any questions?

Amazing.

If anybody is interested in volunteering, if you maybe have done your own taxes, we can get you involved. Let us know.

Thank you so much.

Again, thank you to Active Living and Parks Concord. We appreciate it. Glad to help out.

Thank you. We appreciate you. OK, and we will move on to the active living in parks. Older Americans Month 2026 proclamation firing. And I see Miss Myra behind you.

I said there was a common theme in the audience tonight.

This woman needs no recognition, but it is an honor to stand beside of her, the chairperson of our Active Living Center Advisory Council, Ms. Myra Bumgardner, to talk about the Older Americans Month Proclamation.

I'm feeling exceptionally tall tonight with all these red folks behind me. It's pretty cool, isn't it? Yeah, we tried to con Commissioner Patrick into wearing his red T-shirt, but he's got it. He has become such a wonderful, engaged part of our advisory council that we say welcome. Your warmth and your engagement for volunteers make us feel very appreciated, and that's very kind. Thank you. And one quick minute, if I could, just to say thank you. Take a minute of your time to say thank you, and thank you to the Cabarrus County Commissioners. for your continued support of the active living and parks budget and your commitment to investing in the needs of older adults. We so, so appreciate our active living centers and the programs that they are able to provide, but we all know it's far more than beautiful buildings. It's about helping older adults remain active, socially connected, independent, and able to stay in their homes longer with a higher quality of life while they're there. These folks behind me are just a very, very small segment of the volunteers that make such a huge impact on all these programs. And to me, they represent everything that's good about Cabarrus County. Some of them have lived and worked here all their lives. Some of them have chosen to move here for varying reasons. But they all share their love of their life here and a commitment to making a difference in their community. Here we go with the proclamation. Older America's Month, 2026. Whereas May is Older Americans Month, a time for us to recognize and honor the countless contributions older adults in Cabarrus County make to enrich our families, neighborhoods, and community life. And whereas this year's theme, Champion Your Health, emphasizes prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as essential cornerstones of health aging. And whereas small, consistent daily actions such as engaging in physical activity, maintaining social connections, practicing self-management, and participating in evidence-based health programs can help older adults sustain both physical and mental health as they age. And whereas the 2026 theme encourages older adults and communities alike to recognize the power of prevention and to foster environments that support lifelong wellness and resilience, independence, and whereas community organizations, healthcare providers, families, and caregivers play a vital role in empowering older adults by offering support, resources, and opportunities to stay connected, healthy, and independent. Whereas evidence-based approaches, strong community partnerships, and accessible preventive services are essential in helping individuals lead their healthiest lives at every age. Now, therefore, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim May 2026 to be Older Americans Month. and encourage all residents to join us in celebrating older adults and taking meaningful steps to champion your health throughout this month and beyond. As Commissioner Patrick so thoughtfully pointed out this morning, and we are going to make that change, we should do this in April so that we give everybody more time to get ready to go, especially new folks that haven't tried programs with us. So next year, we will do that. We will be sure we get that to you, and we will give everybody folks. But you're not too late. Everybody out there in TV lane, you're not too late. There are still lots of things going on. And we encourage you to call the Senior Center, the Active Living Centers, and register. We've got karaoke tomorrow night. So after tonight, you feel like singing, come down the driving range. Golf course is ready. We're going to have a scavenger hunt at Frank List. There's all kinds of things going on. So dial the number and come join us. Thank you, guys.

Well, we thank you. You're beautiful. Patrick is full of good ideas so I agree that is much better suited for April all right so I do commissioners I do need a motion and a second to approve this resolution as presented okay all in favor say aye any opposed all right that carries five to zero Alright, we will move on to our next presentation by the Cabarrus County Foster Care Doctor Paris Brown and Lisa DiPaolo. And then we will also have a foster parent, Jessica Hartford, that will be joining us to speak afterwards.

Welcome ladies, welcome. Thank you for having us. Thank you. We'll see how much I can multitask. Well, good evening. Good evening, Madam Chair Lindsey and the Board of County Commissioners. My name is Dr. Paris Brown. I'm the Program Administrator over the Permanency Planning area in DSS. With me, I have Permanency Planning Supervisor Lisa DiPaolo. Along we have with us tonight, we have our Director of DSS, Holly McHale. the assistant county manager, Dr. Elise Pugh. Thank you, I was trying to find her. And along with our supervisor for adoption and licensing and placement, we have Candace Davis, our program manager, Teontae Daniel, and other child welfare staff with us. So thank you for having us. All right, so our mission is to partner with families and the community to ensure child safety, promote well-being, and build stronger, more resilient families through effective and accountable practice. Understanding our mission is essential, but equally important is our philosophy of care, the principles that direct our service delivery. Partnering with families is essential to delivering compassionate, effective, and person-centered care while making sure they are involved in every step of the process. Safety and due diligence are fundamental to ensuring responsible care, protecting those we serve. This approach ensures every individual receives safe, thoughtful, and culturally responsive care that recognizes trauma and supports long-term well-being. Professional excellence means delivering high quality, ethical, and accountable services through integrity and continuous improvement. Outcomes that matter focus on the data to prioritize safety, stability, strong connections, and permanency is both valuable and essential to the work that we do. What is foster care? Foster care is a temporary placement guided by the court process while families work toward reunification and safety. The main goal is reunification, helping children return safely to their birth families whenever possible. If reunification is impossible, the system works towards permanency such as adoption or guardianship. Foster care also relies on partnership between foster families, birth families, and social workers to support the child's well-being and stability throughout the process. A core principle of permanency planning is foster care is that reunification with birth family is the first and primary goal for all youth who enter care, as long as it is safe and in the child's best interest. When reunification can't happen, we explore other paths such as adoption, guardianship, custody, and APLA, which stands for another planned permanent living arrangement for our older youth that are in care. This snapshot here we have highlights the ongoing need for licensed homes and community support in Cabarrus County. With an average of 184 youth in care in this fiscal year, which is from July 2025 to the present, and only having 43 licensed homes, there simply aren't enough placements to meet the need. More foster homes are needed for several key reasons. placement shortage shortages excuse me not every home can take every child based off of age gender medical or behavioral needs not we need more stability for youth more homes mean fewer emergency placements and fewer moves between homes which helps children's feel safer and more stable children do better when placed in homes that match their specific needs one of our main needs is making sure that we keep siblings together along with making sure we have teams that need mentoring. So reducing the overuse of congregate care. Without enough foster homes, youth may end up in group homes or institutionalized when family-based care would be better. So being able to also prevent burnout with our current foster families. More licensed foster homes reduces pressure on the existing foster parents who may already be caring for multiple or high-need children. And lastly, better permanency outcomes. Having more available homes increases the chances of reunification, chemship placement, or adoption when appropriate. This slide right here just shows the age demographics we have currently in Comparis County. 30% of the children in care are from an infant to five years old. 34% of the youth in care are between the ages of six and 12. The ages of 13 to 17 years represent 32%. And 18 to 21 years old, which is our extended youth in care, we represent about 4% of them. Why foster care matters? Foster care matters because it provides safety, stability, and support for children who cannot safely remain with their families. It ensures that vulnerable youth are protected from harmful situations while maintaining access to essential care and resources. A critical part of that stability is educational continuity, which plays a key role in a child's long-term well-being and success. Educational stability in foster care means making sure children stay on track in school and experience as little disruption to their education as possible when they move in between placements. Community ties in foster care refers to the connection a child has to their neighborhood, their school, their family, their friends, and support systems. The effort to maintain those connections while the child is still in care. Holistic healing in foster care means supporting a child's whole well-being, not just addressing one issue, like behavioral or placement, but caring for all areas of their life. Community health is when children experience stability and support, they are more likely to grow into productive, engaged citizens, helping break cycles of adversity for future generations. The impact of care. Immediate protection in foster care means taking quick action to ensure a child's safety right away when they are at risk of harm. The impact of care on long-term outcomes is that when children and foster placements are stabilized, they are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and pursue employment. Family intervention refers to services and supports provided to families to help them address problems, improve safety, and work toward reunification. Together, voice and support ensure that young people in foster care are active participants in decisions about their future, while also having the help that they need to stay safe and stable. Behind every placement is a child seeking safety, stability, and connection. The true impact of foster care is best understood through the lives of children and families who experience it daily, a foster family who steps forward to provide hope during difficult moments in a child's life. At this time, I'd like to invite Lisa DiPablo, a supervisor over Permanency Planning, to share a story that reflects the real lasting impact foster families can have on the lives of children in our community.

Thank you, Paris. Good evening. Being a foster parent is more than simply being a caregiver. Foster parents become a safe place during some of the hardest moments in a child and their family's lives. They open their homes and hearts during times of uncertainty, fear, and loss, and provide love, consistency, patience, and stability. They help change lives and restore hope. We could not do our jobs without our incredible foster parents. I wish I had the time to recognize every single one of them today, but due to time constraints, I would like to focus on one family who truly embodies the heart of fostering. This family resides in Kannapolis and became licensed with Cabarrus County two years ago. They accepted their very first placement in February 2024 of a little girl who was nearly two years old. As first-time foster parents, they stepped into this role with incredible grace. They met not only the emotional and developmental needs of this very spirited little girl, but they also wholeheartedly embraced shared parenting with her biological parents. They opened not only their home and hearts to the child, but to her family. The reunification process came with both progress and setbacks, as many journeys do, but these foster parents never ever became discouraged. Instead, they continued to walk alongside the parents with encouragement, compassion, and support. They treated this child as one of their own, taking her to her appointments, attending all her court hearings and meetings, and blended her fully into their extended family. Because of their dedication, love, and commitment to this little girl and her parents, I can say without hesitation that their efforts helped lead to this little girl successfully reunifying with her father. But their impact doesn't stop there. Whenever there is an emergency placement or we need a middle of the night placement or a last minute need, they open their home for respite because they never want to have a child sleep in our office. In May 2024, they accepted another placement, which was an infant boy, and once again showed the same grace and compassion to both he and his family. The little boy also has two sisters who were placed together in another foster home. When their permanency goal changed to adoption, these foster parents made the selfless decision without hesitation to open their homes to his two sisters as well. So the siblings could remain together and grow up side by side. These foster parents exemplify what fostering truly means. They have supported reunification. They have preserved sibling connections. They are open to providing permanence. And most importantly, they've shown the children and their families unconditional love during incredibly difficult times. Tonight, we honor them and all our foster families for the life-changing work that they do every single day. And I would just like to end with a quote. We need to share responsibility. It's easy to say it's not my child, not my community, and not my problem. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes, and those people are our foster parents and all future foster parents. And Paris will talk about how to become a foster parent.

Thank you, Lisa. So imagine being removed from your home, your family, your community. Your family and friends, how would you feel? How would you act? What supports would you need? Be that person. Fostering is not just a service. It's a commitment to safety, stability, and hope for children who need it most. Right now, too many youth are waiting for safe, supportive homes, and not enough families are available to meet that need. A call to action is simple. Step forward and consider being a foster parent or supporting those who do. Every additional home can mean fewer placement disruptions, stronger community ties, and more opportunities for reunification and permanency. Whether it's opening your home, volunteering, mentoring, or spreading awareness, your involvement can directly impact a child's future. Children in foster care need more than systems. They need people. They need you. You've heard the presentation and impact of foster care. Open your heart. Share your home. We need your support. If you're interested, here are the requirements to become a foster parent. So you need to be at least 21 years of age with a stable home income. be able to submit to a criminal background check, maintain a drug-free, safe, nurturing, loving environment, and then complete the all-state required training that we have for North Carolina. Foster parents are required to have 30-hour training, state-required training. So this training prepares the caregivers to have trauma-informed support and helps families understand the foster care system and the child's emotional needs. If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, you can please contact our social work supervisor for adoption and placement. Licensing as well is Candice Davis, who is here. You may reach her at 704-920-1400, or please email her at cddavis, the number one, at cabarruscounty.us. and additional resources that we have for the foster families, if you're interested. One is the National Foster Care Month, which is a nationwide awareness campaign that highlights the needs of children and youth in foster care. It recognizes foster families, social workers, and advocate. It also promotes recruitment for newer families and encourages community support through volunteering, donations, and advocacy. This website offers resources and information to help promote positive outcomes for youth in care. You can reach out to the National Foster Care Month by www.childwelfare.gov forward slash foster care month. Another resource we have is Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina. This is a nonprofit organization that supports foster, kinship, and adoptive families in North Carolina. It provides training, advocacy, peer support, and connections to resources while working to improve foster care systems and reduce placement disruptions for children. You may utilize this resource at www.ffa-nc.org. Then we have Fostering North Carolina, which is a learning site for kinship, foster, and adoptive families. This site provides guidance on becoming a foster family, training requirements, and connections to DSS or private agencies that license and support foster families through fosteringnc.org. The site does have webinars and videos to answer any frequent questions. It partners with the state and UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work. We have Fostering Perspectives, which is a North Carolina publication that shares stories, guidance, and resources for foster parents and youth in care, along with the child welfare professionals. It helps families better understand foster care and improve support for children in the foster care system. at fosteringperspectives.org. And lastly, we have Rapid Resource for Families, a behavioral health and placement coordination organization that helps match children and youth with appropriate care, including therapeutic foster care and residential services. It also provides training, referral support, and tools to improve placement stability and access to services, which can be reached at rrff.com. Lastly, we thank you. So fostering parenting is more than providing shelter. It is offering hope, guidance, stability, love, and a sense of belonging. Thank you for your time and commitment to Cabarrus County.

Thank you, ladies. Thank you. And I also want to introduce Miss Jessica Hartford. So we had the opportunity to meet her on Friday. She is one of our lovely foster parents here in Cabarrus County and was gracious enough to volunteer to share a little bit about her story as a foster parent. Yes. Thank you.

Yes. My name is Jessica Hartford. I've been a foster parent with Cabarrus DSS for about a year now. In that year, I've had over 12 placements in my home, whether it be respite or permanent foster placement or emergency foster placement. It has been a whirlwind. I've actually worked directly with Paris. She's helped me with one of my foster sons who had surgery. She helped me pray for him. It was a wonderful experience. And Lisa, every time I needed, I had some not so awesome... and they've always been here to just support. A little bit about my backstory is I am a former foster youth. I grew up in a very troubled home. I then ended up being homeless at 17. So when I became an adult, I knew that I wanted to help in some way whether it would be fostering or just helping a non-profit so fast forward i became a mom um and i was like oh i don't know if fostering is right for me and my daughter ended up joining a girl scout troop that all those kids were either kinship or foster children. And so we just, you know, we loved on them. We supported other foster agencies up where I'm from in New Hampshire and then moved, decided to start the foster care process up in New Hampshire, decided, oh, we're moving. So let's not let's not do that. And we six months, six months to a T. I called Cabarrus DSS. I was like, let's go. And then from Then on, it's like my life has changed so much. My first placement, I went into it, I'm only going to take older children. I got a baby. He is the joy of my life. However, he is because of the joint parenting that we have. Mom didn't have her license right away. She couldn't get to her drug classes. I drove her. she was going to do drugs she called me it's not just about fostering the child it's about fostering the family creating those connections a lot of times we see people have their kids come into care because we're not being a community we're not wrapping our arms around these people that truly need it. And so as a foster parent, it was my goal to just wrap myself around the family. And right now, it looks like they're on the course to reunification for that family. And then I have another boy. He is 12. He's autistic. And even the judge was like, is he going to is somebody going to adopt him? That's going to be our family because he is just he's an artist. He's a love and everybody who meets him just falls in love with him. And I do have a little speech that I did write, not that it's anywhere close to what they had, but it's just a plea to everyone to kind of take a step back and kind of, everyone can foster, everyone. If you're not on the front lines doing what I'm doing, that's okay. You can do other things to kind of support in that way, in other ways. Okay. There are children tonight who do not know where they'll sleep tomorrow, children carrying their entire lives in a trash bag, children who had to leave behind their favorite blanket, their pets, their toys, their school, and sometimes even their siblings, not because of choices they made, but because of choices adults made around them. And while we wake up every day with choices, children in foster care often do not. We choose what we eat, where we go, and who comforts us when we are hurting. These children do not get to choose if we feel safe. They do not get to choose if someone shows up for them. So instead of asking, why would I let the state into my home? Maybe you should ask, what if that was my child? What if your child was sitting in an office waiting for someone to say yes to them? What if that was your child praying for a safe place to sleep tonight? And instead of asking, what if there are bad kids? Remember this, hurt children often act hurt. Trauma does not make a child bad, it makes them scared, angry, guarded, sad. What they need is not judgment. They need someone willing to see past the pain and love them anyway. The beautiful thing about foster care is that there is not just one way to help. Some people foster babies. Some people open their homes up to teens who have spent their years believing no one wants them. Some keep sibling groups together so brothers and sisters are not forced to say goodbye to the family that they have left, only family they have left. Some provide respite care so exhausted foster parents can breathe for a moment. I would like to add that I would like to call those aunties because you just get to take them for a little fun outing and then bring them back. Some become their forever family a child has always dreamed about. And even if you cannot foster, you can still be a part of a village these children desperately need. Bring a meal to a foster family. Donate pajamas, backpacks, diapers, Christmas gifts. Offer to babysit. Encourage foster parents when they're tired and overwhelmed. Show these children that they are still good people in the world. Because sometimes changing a child's life does not start with something huge. Sometimes it starts with a simple choice to show up. One bed, one safe home, one person willing to care. It can change everything. Thank you.

Ladies, thank you all so much. It's clear that you have such a heart for these families and these children and watching you on Friday and Jessica, just hearing your story. I'm just incredibly grateful that we got to hear it. And I know that foster care is very important to us up here and Commissioner Jones and Commissioner Patrick were able to come to the foster family event on Friday as well. So we want to make this something that is more prominent as far as an initiative that we would like to see in the county as well to get more families interested in fostering. So thank you all very much. Thank you. all right we will move on to informal public comments and sheila is up here this evening with us um so thank you and welcome sheila we appreciate it dean how many do we have this evening seven okay wonderful yes ma'am whenever you are

My name is Jerry Anderson. Cabarrus County stole my child, and now they want to go by We Thrive, Children Thrive here, after I made that announcement. Anyway, my suggestion is government should be nice up here. Be the nicest. Be where you can see through it. Don't hide things. When people ask questions, they bring on more questions. And then we have to peel the onion. But I want to bring attention to 2524, a board meeting here that was on TV. They talked about us the first 20 minutes, a private citizen. You think that was right? You were there. You're the only one that's left. Can you believe that? They talked about gagging us and stuff, and all of them are gone, except you, Kenny, and Jay White. One man asked Jay White, look, I told y'all a long time ago, God told me to come up here. I didn't know to come up here. God told me. Does that mean anything? Anyway, one man asked, I thought he was a friend of mine, asked Jay White, could he gag us? That hurt. Anyway, bless his heart, he's permanently gagged. I'm still here. And Kenny Workman's the only one left out of that board meeting there to try to shut us down. Talk about us on public TV. A private citizen. I'm going to go further. Billy Bags sent Jeff Jones in here like a hurricane. He took Laura Lindsay's place and jumped up there. And he did a Mike Downs to me. Listen, don't say much. I'm going to take care of it. I'm going to call you. He did. Called us from his office, said he was going to investigate. All he was trying to do was stop our story, like Mike Downs did. Anyway, come up here, took your place, come up here, made a vet stop his free speech. look terrible and then last last month he's up here defending her because she was she she don't answer vets questions she she was up here with mike downs why is she still up here interim is she just waiting for money we ain't gonna get no county manager so anyway we brought sean newton in here and he got gone we got her mike mike downs double she's been here the whole time And so I've been peeling back this onion. Y'all won't talk to me, but I peeled it back. We got, my daughter went through with a helpless child, right through DSS, right through the court. We got people over there, been there 24 years. Cozy relationship, and y'all know about it.

Cozy relationship sent these people right through.

Thank you, Mr. Anderson.

Jeter Anderson. Jeter Anderson.

How y'all doing tonight?

Wow, they just make anybody a doctor today, don't they? Well, social services doesn't do what they said they do up here. At least not for my family. You call them, you might get a charge. Or you ask a question, you might get in trouble. We never got answers for our child being removed out this county. And it might have something to do with H.J. White, who is the DSS prosecutor. It takes, you know, he come over from Hartsell and Williams over there, and so did the Judge Christy Wilhelm. And this board ain't supposed to have nothing to do with over there, but when that judge and their contracted out DSS worker come from the same place, you're going to get run through them. You're going to get run through them, and you're not going to get to see your kids. And they're going to get adopted out to these... Big women up here to come and get you... You might have a stolen child if you're an adopted parent. Do you ever think of that? I'm an adopted parent in Cabarrus. You probably got a stolen child because I'm telling you, we never got an answer why our child was taken. And we never was going to get an answer because... They will seal this case quick. Sealed. You're not going to get an answer for why your child is taken. And Kelly knows about this. We told her time after time. This guy's not in the best interest of children up here. When you tell somebody somebody's not in the best interest of children, you're supposed to work on it. Otherwise, you're endangering the welfare or pushing the endangerment of welfare of Cabrera's children. This guy with a relationship with Christy Wilhelm should never go through with him. Ever. That's wrong. Okay, I've been in front of judges that recuse their self. Oh, I know Mr. White. I know him too well. I can't. But this Christy Wilhelm, Watch his kids. Went a step further than knowing them and going in front of them. And that's okay with y'all because your DSS is doing well. Just keep pushing them through with that judge and that prosecutor because y'all get big. If any other little county did this, I've been through dozens of counties, they'd be rich. They'd have lawyers and be able to trade lawyers out. And they'd be like y'all building court buildings and stuff. They're putting the executive plumbing in. They'd be rich like y'all. They would be rich. We'd have an acting county manager. We need a county manager. We can't have one to sit up here and act What's the act? Get us a county manager. Get us a county manager. Don't have one to sit up here and wait for the retirement. Hopefully that retirement hits you soon so you quit acting. Anyway, this veteran still needs answers. You may not be able to answer to that case, but how is a federal helpless child treated in this county? Could answer that for him. And the first investigation with Jessica Bridges wasn't sealed. You say everything is sealed. Man, everything is not sealed. And I don't know how anything is sealed when we're talking about it. So nothing is sealed, man. And I'll tell you what, Mr. Jones, you need to learn to respect veterans, but I see you stand with people who don't.

Chair Lindsey, can I address that public comment real quick?

Yes, Commissioner Wortman.

Okay.

Mr. Anderson, we have looked into this and looked into this and looked into this. Yeah, you looked into it right. And in 2021, you were sent a letter by ex-county manager Mike Downs that documented over 3,100 case files looked at, over 1,500 other things looked at. And they sent it to you. No, I didn't get that. In addition to that, the state has also looked at yours, and they have sent six letters to you. And in case you didn't get them, Todd Shanley has the letters that we got copies for so that hopefully you can get those answers. But we have looked at it, and that is the best that we can provide you, sir. We hear you.

I got somebody to give this to.

Thank you. So that's what we have that we can provide.

I appreciate you. But if you're going to ask my question out here, ask it the right way. Before... They come and took my child. It wasn't nothing in the courthouse going on. I should know why they come and took my child out of my house. It hadn't been to the court yet. I should know why. And she should know. And you defend her? Why? She can't stand on her own two feet? I don't believe she can.

Mr. Anderson, I just respectfully ask that you take those letters. And if you have any questions, you let us know, please. Thank you, sir.

Sheila.

And you.

Rachel Phipps.

Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Rachel Phipps. I'm here tonight to address the public school funding yet again. While recent social media commentary and certain calls to simply cut the fat focuses on a narrow view of the financial snapshot, my informed opinion looks at this as a public policy lens examining the long-term effect of these decisions. While we apply the structural perspective to these numbers, social media and online demands to slash tiny line items like a $1,700 civic membership or a manufactured distraction. Those memberships are essential connective tissue that build partnerships, bringing in outside donations and internships that exceed the cost. Our public schools aren't suffering from reckless spending. They are being squeezed by massive external economic forces completely outside of local control. Right now, districts across the state require $1.4 billion just to maintain existing services due to soaring operational costs, lack of a state budget, and expiring federal ESSER funds. This local crisis is further compounded by the looming threat of state mandated property tax cuts, which threaten to permanently choke our county's ability to fund essential local infrastructure. When the state and federal government pull back and restrict our local options, that massive financial bill lands right on our doorstep. It forces our school board into a possible choice. Do we fund a well-deserved teacher raise to combat turnover? Or do we patch a sagging school roof? The proposed GO bond, which is usually not the best idea, can act as a vital firewall against these compounding pressures. Because it is backed by the county's full faith and credit, it secures the lowest possible interest rate, saving taxpayers money over the long term. However, my support is strictly conditional on three guardrails. The survey online was so vague that I think many of us were even offended by it. First, we need a project menu, a definitive line item list establishing exactly which schools receive which repairs. Second, we must implement a capital lockbox to provide enforceable guarantees that these bond dollars strictly fix buildings and can never be diverted to pay for operating costs or administrative salaries. And third, we require independent citizen oversight. And that means an active committee of parents and experts tasked with tracking every single penny. By securing our infrastructure with these strict protections, we eliminate these impossible choices and ensure our operating dollars go exactly where they belong, to our teachers and our students. Let's build the shield for Cabarrus County, but let's make sure we hold the handle. protect the future of our kids while being transparent about where our tax dollars go. Thank you.

Good evening, Commissioners Ingramers. So as I go out into the community, I always ask questions. One of the questions came up, why are our taxes continuing to rise? Many of the fire districts are... are planning to increase our taxes. Then next, they're saying about the proposed $300 million bond. If approved, this would increase our property taxes possibly by 2%. These funds would go toward school buildings and maintenance projects, not teachers' operational expenses and salaries. Number three. What is included in the budget to help support our transition homeless people back into society? We have about 800 strong from what I understand. I'm talking to people. They're not using the system. They're telling me, Ingrid, I had a nervous breakdown while learning my job. Ingrid, I did this or I did that. I'm not trying to use the system. I'm trying to be a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen. We need to continue to listen to people's concerns and focus on solutions rather than assuming individuals are trying to take advantage of our system. Thank you. I am Ingrid for the people of Cabarrus County, by the people of Cabarrus County, because I am Cabarrus County. Thank you.

Hiya, Dawn. So I wrote a few things down, so I may be looking down. So I am up here today about CCS funding. I went to the school board. I saw you, Larry, and I saw you, Laura. So I'm hoping you guys were able to talk to the school board while you were there. I went to the school board and I talked about still not having an agreed upon funding resolution with this county commission, which is very troubling for our community. Our schools provide schooling for several thousands of our children, and I am not understanding why there are still discrepancies when we are, many of us are online. I know I've seen Ian online, I've seen Laura online, and I've seen Larry online. talking about the schools, but not necessarily talking to the schools, which in my opinion solves nothing. We are asking for 8.5% increase. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is about 8% increase, and Kannapolis City Schools also about 8% increase. However, Cabarrus County is a school system that has not been listened to. And I'm just wondering if that has anything to do with the transgender bathroom thing that's been highly discussed and debated by several of our commissioners on this board. And if it does, that is wrong. It is wrong not to fund and not to listen to a school system simply because you don't like their policies. What we should be doing and what we are paying you to do is to conversate with the school board, which you have a direct line of communication to. Now, Larry, you can look to the side, but I'm looking at you. Sir, if you care about our county and what you signed up for to do, which is to be a county commissioner, Your responsibility is to our school system. Your responsibility is to your constituents who pay for you to sit here, who pay for you to do a job for all of them. I am truly taken aback by what I am seeing by this commission online, when you can simply have conversations with the people who are in your same party. You're all Republicans. And I think you guys could have a conversation and can fix this and not make our school systems suffer as a result. If you don't want the job, step down. It's that simple. And Ian, as you work to get votes for this coming election, I think you would be pleasantly surprised how giving into and leaning into our school system as opposed to attacking them online may help just a tad bit. And Laura, I'm gonna remind you again, you sat on that school board. You had many conversations about the budget and you have voted for this budget every single time, even when it increased. Remember those things and remember your sign on to making sure public education thrives in our community. Thank you.

Hello, Robert Mitton of Cabarrus County. When elected public officials tell blatant lies in public, they must be called out, even in places like North Carolina. Go figure. When Pittman spoke at the Board of Education last Monday night, he told three lies, all three anti-American right-wing lies. This nation was never and never has been and never will be a Christian nation. The founding fathers, most of them were free thinkers known as theists. Several of the founding fathers have documented quotes denouncing Christianity and religion. Being a transgender person or trying to be or a gay person is certainly not a mental disorder. It cannot be treated by psychotherapy as claimed by Pittman. Medical science says says this is false, and it's a very evil claim for Pittman to make. He has no scientific evidence to back those two lies up. It is the people who think this evilly, like Pittman, who have the mental disorders. Get that smirk off your face. When Pittman uses his evil plots to twist around American history for his liking as he speaks, he speaks as anti-American, as a pocket... propagandists for Putin and Trump. No, Commissioner Pittman, nowhere within the Northeast Ordinance of 1787 does it mention the Bible or Christianity has to be taught in order to become a Christian territory. That is absolutely false, and you cannot find those words in the coordinates. Go Google it. Thomas Paine, a fierce advocate of deism, vehemently opposed organized religion and its treaties to age the religion. He argued that traditional institutionalized faiths such as Christianity were merely human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind to monopolize power. Thomas Jefferson had many problems with the Christian religion that he wrote his own version of the Bible, known as the Christian Bible. Jefferson Bible, where he basically mocked Christianity. There is no miracles, and Mary certainly was not a virgin. Ethan Allen, staunch proponent of deism, published Reason, the only oracle man, in 1785, attacking religion dogma and advocating for a rational, natural religion. You cannot find the words God, Jesus, or Bible in the Constitution. The Pledge of Allegiance existed for 62 years without the words, under God, until Eisenhower added them. The Treaty of Tripoli stated, and I quote, the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion, signed by John Adams. Jefferson and Madison explicitly opposed any law that would privilege Christianity as a state of religion or fund teachers of Christian religion. The way that Pittman uses his evil lies to push his evil plots in his cult has me thinking that Pittman is the Cabarrus County Joseph Goebbels. Glass, if you may. A lot of people think that way. Your evil mental disorders should keep him out of office. And please excuse my speaking impediments. He had to leave. Here it is.

Alright, thank you all very much. We will move on. I need a motion to approve our consent agenda as presented. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Alright, that carries 5-0. We will move on to our new business. We need the resolution requiring transparency on federal and state budget impacts. I will ask Commissioner Wartman to speak on this.

Elise Pugh and I, Dr. Elise Pugh and I met with Rick Hoffer and Stephen Bryant there in the back Friday, had a very good meeting about this resolution. We have most of our comments already available in this, and we're just waiting on one more. So what my ask is going to be is that we put this to the consent agenda at our next meeting once we get those comments, and that way also we're able to set up another meeting with Rick and Steven before we bring it to the regular session next month, if this board is okay with that.

Mr. Pittman?

Man, whoops, is it on? You're on. Madam Chair, I prefer that it be an action item, not consent.

Thank you, sir. I was actually going to mention that as well, that we will discuss it at the work session in June and then place it. We'll take a vote to place it either on consent or action at that meeting, if that works for you all.

Okay.

and i'm okay if we if we want to put it on action that's fine um whichever way it's just i want to give um since rick and stephen brought this to us i want to have a chance to be able to meet with them once we have all the comments to see that that everybody's on the same page agreed okay i just need a motion and a second to approve this to be moved to the work session agenda

All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. Thank you, guys. We will move on to the county manager, Stephen M. Morris Behavioral Health Center lease with Monarch and Monarch sublease approval with Genoa Healthcare, Kyle Billifer. Good evening.

Evening. Thank you. As presented in the work session, this is the prime lease agreement with Monarch and then the subsequent sublease that they'll have with their pharmaceutical provider who I believe it's pronounced Genoa. There have been no changes to the agreement that was originally attached to the work session. There was a concern that there might be a minor verbiage change and that is why it was put on new business. But none of the attachments have changed.

Commissioners, did you have any questions or concerns regarding the lease? OK. All right. So I'll take a motion and a second to approve the lease as presented. All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? No. All right. That motion carries four to one. And you're still alright, so move to item 3, 4th amended and restated operating agreement for the Elma Sea Lomax Incubator Farm Park and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.

Correct. And as discussed at the work session, not much in the amended agreement has changed. There are some minor changes to the type of notification we would have to give them for termination and back to us. But there was some concerns as the board had received an email from a farmer in training. And I had provided a response to the board of commissioners on that. and i've also spoken to that farmer in training now to communicate all of that but one of the concerns came up was the fact that we did not in that agreement did not have an advisory committee put in place to look at the developmental plan to kind of discuss all of these topics and have both involvement from the CFSA, outside entities that have experience and expertise in farming, as well as some sort of involvement from our Cooperative Extension Department. So in the attachment that's on this agenda, term number three was added. That's different than what you saw in the work session. That verbiage reads, the CFSA will establish a program advisory committee with the goal of developing a five-year farm program development plan to be implemented on July 1st, 2028 by the termination of this agreement. That is where we have the current agreement that you're looking at expiring. CFSA will consult with county staff and cooperative extension about the membership of this committee. This committee did exist or a type of committee like this did exist long ago when the farm truly first started before CFSA was even involved. In fact, Kelly Sifford was on that committee. My involvement has been extremely minimal. I just handled the construction and the CIPs for looking at getting utilities out there, but I will probably be somewhat involved in this advisory committee, if nothing else, getting the reports from it. as will Tracy LeCamp from Cooperative Extension. So that verbiage was added. That was a concern of the board. Nothing else in the agreement has changed from the first time you saw it at the work sessions.

And I do appreciate you taking care of all of that and addressing those concerns. So everything is good now from his perspective. Ish.

Ish.

Okay. All right. So, Commissioners, I do need a motion to authorize the county manager to negotiate and execute an operating agreement amendment for the Elmesee Lomax Incubator Farm with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.

So moved.

All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That carries 5-0. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

All right. So we will move on to number four, facilities design and construction approval of the GMP-2 for progress place renovations. Michael Miller, good evening.

Good evening. Joining me tonight is Jason Harris with Messer Construction. We're here to present the guaranteed maximum price number two for the Progress Place renovations. This is a follow-up to the scope of work summary that I presented at the May work session. By now, you should all have a copy of the GMP documents. And after evaluating the bids and conducting scope review meetings with subcontractors, Messer is prepared to guarantee maximum price of $12,328,177. This will be incorporated as an amendment to the existing contract in place. And just to point out a couple of things. First, it's within budget. Overall, the GMP is approximately $266,000 under our estimate, and our estimate did not include owner contingency or bid alternates. So factoring in those two items, we're approximately $1 million under our estimate. So the requested action is for a motion to approve the GMP amendment and authorize the interim county manager to execute the contract change order to the existing contract between Cabarrus County and Messer Construction, subject to review by the county attorney.

All right, Commissioner, do you have any questions?

Thank you, Jason.

I do need a motion and a second to approve this.

So moved. Second.

All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? all right that motion carries for one thank you guys thank you thank you okay we will move on to item number five with the geo bond referendum resolution jim howden good evening sir good evening commissioners

this evening we want to talk about the initial general obligation bond referendum resolution and ask for your approval that resolution making certain findings and determinations and authorizing the filing of an application with the local government commission in connection with the proposed issuance of school bonds and community college bonds by the county of cabarrus north carolina now we need to include the maximum amount for each referendum within this resolution My recommendation would be that for the public schools, we use $340 million. And for the community college, $60 million, totaling $400 million.

This recommendation is based upon conversations with our financial consultants and trying to maintain our AAA ratings.

Correct.

Commissioners, what questions do you have?

And just to be clear, that's the maximum for the resolution for the application, and that number can go down, just cannot go up?

That is correct. That's correct.

Okay. Just a quick question, because we actually had a speaker talk about, just to clarify it for them, that they will include a list of projects, as they're required to on the ballot. and that these are for funding buildings and maintenance only. I think those two things are pretty clear. Am I correct in saying that?

That is correct.

Okay. And then she did bring up, which I thought wasn't a terrible idea, some kind of oversight or kind of subcommittee or something that kind of works on this for a while. We can talk about that later, but I thought it was interesting to kind of bring that up.

Perhaps it could be on the coffee committee.

Could be, yeah, as a little subcommittee. I'll bring that up and put that on the agenda.

Okay. Mister Pittman.

I just want to say you know I've seen a lot of opposition to this. I think some people don't understand why I support doing this, so I'll explain that. It's not an LOB where the people don't get a choice. It's a general obligation bond where the people get to vote on it. We put it on the ballot and the people decide. That's the main reason I support having a GO bond, is let the people vote on it. So that's why I'm going to vote for this. I'm not saying whether I will vote for it on the ballot, but at least we need to put it on the ballot and let the people decide. That's why I will support it.

Thank you, Commissioner Pittman. Any other questions, commissioners?

Just to make sure before we finalize, are you finalizing the number here with us tonight, too? Yes. So the $60 million for RCCC, that's their advance, not, what's the name of that project?

Workforce Innovation. Workforce Innovation.

Yeah, Workforce Innovation and S201?

Yeah, I believe it is S201.

But it's the S, renovation.

Yes, correct.

201, 202, whatever it is. So it's those two projects? That is correct. All right.

And just to also explain the reason why you're doing it separately is because it will be separate when it is on the ballot.

That is correct. There will be two questions. Okay. Yep. You can vote for both or against both or split them.

Got it.

Okay.

Any other questions? All right. Commissioners, I need a motion and a second to approve the bond resolution to... let's see recommended motion I just want to make sure I read this motion to approve the general obligation bond referendum resolution making certain findings and determination and authorizing the filing of an application with the local government commissioner in connection with the proposed issuance of school bonds and community college bonds by the county of Cabarrus All right. I got a motion in a second. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. And then now we will move on to our presentation of the FY27 recommended budget by interim county manager Kelly Sifford.

Thank you very much. Your spaces, you had your actual book. for the budget as proposed. And I will now read the message for you. Honorable chairwoman and members of Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners I'm pleased to present the recommended budget for the fiscal year 2026 2027 FY 27 and FY 27 community investment fund capital investments for Cabarrus County. The budget as recommended would maintain a tax rate of 57.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The recommended general fund budget totals $412,174,074. Across all funds, the FY27 budget totals $559,576,464. The recommended general fund budget reflects a 3.17% or a $12,662,827 increase over FY26. County staff work diligently and creatively to overcome the challenges presented this year. Initial FY27 projections showed a deficit of $13,725,429. This resulted from the adoption of the FY25 tax rate of 57.6 cents, which was 2.4 cents below the recommended rate at the time, and that has been continued. Throughout the budget process, staff worked to ensure resources were used the most effective and efficient ways possible. Funds were reallocated based on Board priorities to minimize increases in the FY27 general fund. To further maintain balance, partner funding growth was limited to the amounts projected in the FY27 outlook. Staff also managed rising cost in utilities and fuel that exceeded the 2.4% inflation rate projected by the Consumer Price Index. In addition, the county addressed mandated service needs, including the addition of 21 positions in the Sheriff's Office to support the detention center and facility operations. The FY27 recommended budget represents a strong focus on maximizing taxpayer investments. Our departments are already delivering on that promise. Here are some results from the first two quarters of FY26. The emergency medical services community paramedics served 2,188 patients, an increase of 69.9% from the prior year. These services keep patients from being readmitted to the hospital and provide a less expensive approach to medical care for the medically frail individuals. The Sheriff's Office sees narcotics with a street value of $5,080,672. Veterans Services brought $11,432,564 in benefits to the veterans in our community, an increase of 47.9% over the previous year. Household hazardous waste collected 75,000 pounds of household hazardous waste, 32 tons of used TVs, computers, and other electronics, keeping these items out of our landfills and extending the life of that critical infrastructure. Impacts of the population growth. Cabarrus County is experiencing rapid population growth and significant demographic change. Between 2020 and 2024, the population increased by 9.2%, nearly 21,000 residents. The number is projected to grow an additional 10.2% by 2030. At that same time, the community is becoming older and more diverse. These trends are placing increased demand on mandated and non-mandated county services, a pressure expected to persist into the foreseeable future. Like many counties across North Carolina, Cabarrus faces the ongoing challenge of meeting these expanding service needs while maintaining or potentially reducing property tax rates for residents. Economic Outlook. County unemployment remains low and continues to perform favorably compared to national levels. Over the past year, job growth in the Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia metropolitan statistical area has focused on education health services, construction and professional and business services, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of December 2025, the unemployment rate stood at 3.20 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Unemployment is a key metric because it increases typically result in higher demand for county services. A stable labor market. has helped drive the county's average private sector wage up to $54,013, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Labor market conditions and ongoing competition for talent have led to substantial wage and benefit increases in the county's budget in recent years. Impacts of unfunded mandates. Cabarrus County continues to face increasing pressures from unfunded state and federal mandates. The county is absorbing the rising cost within its budget for school operations, inmate care and housing, and reductions in the food and nutrition service administrative reimbursements. Despite these challenges, Cabarrus has remained committed to supporting the local school districts through locally funded staffing, teacher supplements, school nurses, resource officers, and facility needs. Potential constraints on traditional revenue sources may further strain future budgets. Additional risks include rising utility costs and volatility in fuel prices. Staff have budgeted conservatively in these areas, so continued instability may require contingency funds. Projected needs. Cabarrus County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools, and Rowan Community College have significant facility needs driven by population growth and deferred maintenance. CCS and KCS collectively maintain more than 7 million square feet of building space in roughly 2,500 acres of school grounds. Addressing deferred maintenance remains an ongoing priority for all three systems, each of which conducts continuous evaluation and assessment to identify and respond to facility needs. As Cabarrus County growth continues, service demands are evolving across departments. Several departments identified expanded service needs driven by increased demand. This recommended budget prioritizes public safety above all other requests, adding 21 new positions in the Sheriff's Office while maintaining the current tax rate. Rising jail populations require the opening of a new housing pod, which will need 16 additional detention officers to support the 24-hour operations. The opening of the new behavioral health center, coupled with the increasing complexity of mental and behavioral health cases involving children in Department of Social Services custody, has created a need for continuous security at the Progress Place campus. To address this, additional deputy positions are included in the Sheriff's Office governmental units. To help offset these costs, positions will be partially funded through state social services and behavioral health sources. Staff also prioritized the purchase of four replacement ambulances and an EMS administrative vehicle, all of which were at the end of their service period. All emergency response vehicles are closely monitored for usage and maintenance. The county follows a structured replacement schedule to ensure that the fleet remains reliable and in good condition, saving significant funds over time. Also, cost recovery for critical services such as EMS was evaluated and implemented. EMS conducted a comprehensive review of the fee structure and recommended updates to better align with the true cost of service. meeting the capital needs. The following chart outlines proposed capital projects that can be funded with available cash on hand from prior year fund balances. These proposed projects are based on needs presented by Cabarrus County and local school systems. We have funded, proposed the ADA transition plan for Cabarrus County, 150,000. Animal shelter design and engineering, 1.1 million. The school systems reserve for teacher raises that will go across all schools, $6 million. Franklin Park second entrance $2 million. I am grounds maintenance building replacement $3.1 million. Jail housing roof replacement 415,000 playground playground replacements and renovations 180,000. For Cabarrus County Schools, we have Central Cabarrus High School parking and drive replacement $864,000. Charles Boger School roof replacement at $1.8 million. Concord High School parking and drive replacement $1.2 million. one million two hundred forty eight thousand six hundred dollars Cox meal high school roof replacement two million five hundred sixty seven thousand five hundred dollars deferred maintenance of one million one hundred ninety seven four hundred and sixty dollars parking and drive replacement for Northwest middle one million dollars school bus cameras eight hundred fifty thousand dollars WRLR Odell primary roof replacement $1.8 million. For Kannapolis City, we have an activity bus, which was partially funded in the prior year for $71,000. AL Brown ADA accessibility for the baseball band room in course room $1.5 million. Deferred maintenance of $1,044,000. Forest Park Elementary repaving 750,000 GW Carver and Career Center repaving 750,000. The Kannapolis Performing Arts Center roof replacement or AL brown roof replacement, $4 million. McKnight sewer replacements and kitchen upgrades, $575,000. The system capital for energy savings, $197,000. For Rowan-Cabarrus, we have building S203 roof replacement, $480,000. Deferred maintenance of $867,500. Information Systems Technology Replacements, $480,000. S202 Renovation Completion, $256,200. Security Systems Emergent Improvements and Expansion, $205,200. And the South Campus Hardscape Emergent Repair, $43,200 for a projected total of $35,491,660. And then we have the Soil and Water, Prime Farmland Soil and Water Conservation Easement, funds of $170,000, which would be funded from the deferred tax fund. Efforts to limit growth in the budget throughout the FY27 planning process, staff continually reevaluated current budget projections and the five-year financial plan. Revenue projections were refined to reflect historical collection rates. and the FY27 expenditure budgets were adjusted to more closely match actual historical spending patterns. Additional complications continue to affect forecasts, including the volatility of fuel prices. This not only impacts the county's fuel projections, but may also affect the cost of essential goods and services, including food supplies for the detention center. Taking all this into consideration, minor adjustments were made to revenue forecast, projected personnel growth, and partner growth projections. All partner agencies and school systems included in the county's budget were reminded to align their budget request with established projections and avoid exceeding those parameters. Staff utilized several strategies to balance the budget with no increases to the property tax rate or other taxes. To help curb Rising personnel costs vacant positions were carefully evaluated. This resulted in the elimination of six positions in the FY27 budget, offsetting some of the increases for the additional public safety positions. In addition, several roles were reclassified or reassigned over the past two years to meet evolving needs without creating new positions. While last year's annual market study was deferred, a targeted review of hot jobs is proposed for board consideration. This analysis will focus on high turnover areas such as child welfare where vacancies remain a persistent challenge. Contributions to other funds such as the landfill and arena were reduced with those operations relying on existing fund balances in their enterprise and special revenue accounts to achieve a balanced budget. The proposed budget maintains current insurance coverage for county employees while limiting cost increases through a change in providers. Retiree benefits established at the time of hire are also preserved. The budget also continues to fund merit increases, cost of living adjustments, and longevity pay. Together, these measures aim to reduce turnover and mitigate the ongoing costs associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training. County staff also worked collaboratively with the school systems to plan for potential teacher salary increases contingent upon the adoption of the state budget. To address this uncertainty, a joint plan was developed that uses fund balance for the first year. The proposed budget continues to support the school systems in the Cabarrus Health Alliance while allowing for measured sustainable growth. It maintains substantial operational funding for the school systems and provides resources to address critical deferred maintenance needs. The Cabarrus Health Alliance identified expansion needs driven by ongoing population growth, including increased demand from new food and lodging establishments and the need for additional environmental health staff to support septic system approvals and inspections. While these needs are recognized, expansion requests from CHA and the school systems, including additional positions and increases in teacher supplements, are not included in this recommended budget. Considering current projections, the recommended budget is balanced while maintaining AAA credit ratings from three major rating agencies. A funding proposal is on the table at the local government commission to obtain funding for two new construction school projects while preserving the current tax rate. However, any future large-scale construction projects and or deferred maintenance will require a new debt package and corresponding tax increase to address those needs staff have worked closely with the school systems and school boards to initiate the process for general obligation bonds which would be included for consideration on the november ballot the five-year outlook Achieving a balanced budget this year without increasing the property tax represents a significant accomplishment. However, based on current projections, this may be the final year the county can maintain existing service levels across all areas without seeking increases in revenues. Under assumptions of 2% annual growth in property tax revenue, sales tax, and other revenue sources, the county is projected to face a $9.7 million shortfall in FY28. Expenditure assumptions include 4.5% growth for education partners, 5% for county personnel, 4% for CHA, and 3% for operating expenses. Under these assumptions, projected deficits increased to 19.6 million in FY29, 30.3 million in FY30, and 41.8 million in FY31. While FY29 includes a property revaluation year, Potential state-level legislation may impact local tax levy options, adding further uncertainty to long-term revenue planning. Addressing these projected gaps will require thoughtful prioritization by the Board of Commissioners along with continued collaboration with partner agencies. Long-term planning will depend on several developing factors, including clarification on future revenue options, emerging service demands, and the outcome of potential general obligation bond referendum. Without significant adjustments to revenues or expenditures, the current trajectory is not sustainable at the existing tax rate. acknowledgements i would like to recognize several staff members who work tirelessly and creatively to address the projected deficit and develop a sound fy27 budget i'm especially grateful to rash khatri yesenia pineda and sophia politis for their thorough and collaborative approach in responding to numerous requests for information through this lengthy process i also extend appreciation to todd shanley Kyle Billifer, Dr. Elise Pugh, and Jim Howden for their strong teamwork and support. In addition, I would like to thank Mitzi Odell, Ashley Dobbins-Lingefeld, Tom Nunn, Suzanne Moos, and all of the department heads and supervisors who worked diligently alongside the management team to develop this budget. I especially extend thanks to the Board of Commissioners for its service to the community. As you consider this budget, you will receive significant public input both directly and indirectly. Budget decisions affect the entire community and require collaboration, thoughtful deliberation, and a shared commitment to long-term stability. I appreciate the seriousness and responsibility of those decisions. It is with a strong sense of accomplishment that I submit this recommended budget to the Board Staff faced a very challenging budget season and responded with creativity and diligence, identifying innovative solutions that result in a balanced budget that meets the essential needs of the community. We look forward to the board's thoughtful consideration of this recommended budget, as well as continued input from the residents and businesses ahead of the adoption on June 15th, 2026. And I did stop it there, but given last week's events, I do have a little bit of supplemental comment I want to add to it. Last week, an apparent agreement was reached at the state level regarding finalization of the state budget. After analyzing the information provided thus far, staff will make technical adjustments to the county budget based on the proposed state budget agreement. As part of these technical adjustments, staff are proposing to apply the planned reserve of $968,699 for next year's budget toward increases in teacher pay. Additionally, staff are proposing to allocate $1,199,386 from the fund balance to support increases in teacher staff pay and one-time bonuses. This year's increases include just over $1 million in one-time teacher bonuses, which will not reflect growth in future budget years. The total increase in the county's contribution to all school systems will be 6.37%. After accounting for these and other minor adjustments, the technical corrections for the proposed budget will result in a 3.53% increase in the general fund proposal, bringing the total to $413,604. thousand five hundred twenty nine dollars these changes will be included in the budget presenta presented for adoption on june 15 2026. thank you for your consideration respectfully submitted kelly you can breathe now i can breathe and get a drink all right and so um commissioners did you have any questions regarding that at all could i say something could i say something yes um

I just want to thank staff for the hard work. As many of you have probably realized by now, I'm very difficult to get along with when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. And you worked with me very diligently, and I'm proud of where you made it from a $13.7 million deficit basically to a balanced budget that funds what we need it to. thank you to the commissioners for also putting up with me and removing the three hundred thousand dollar commissioner special project fund that helped us get to this milestone I want to point out to the public that we did make changes to how this process works as it has worked in future years. And if you look at our agenda, there's some dates on there that you may want to sketch down. So we'll do the public hearing on June 1st. um if we receive significant input and it's like okay we need to make some some big changes here we can do another budget workshop on june 4th to make those changes and then adoption of the budget will be scheduled for june 15th i point that out because how it worked in years past is the public comment would be on the same night as the budget adoption and i think we as a board felt that it wasn't fair that we asked for the public's input, but we're prepared to vote on it immediately the same night. And so now that's been split. So if you have, please email all of us. Come to that. If you have my cell phone number, text me. Please don't share it. I get, you know, 5,000 calls a day. But I also commend staff for maintaining the county's budget at only a 3.5 increase, which I think is kind of a super feat. what we're looking at in terms of year-over-year inflation, fuel prices, and et cetera. So, thank you, Kelly, and thank you all. I'll be nicer now.

Commissioner Wartman.

To echo Commissioner Patrick, I wanted to thank our staff specifically, Rosh and your team here. Tonight, when we set that 57.6 cents several years ago, we were told it couldn't be done for a year, and you guys have managed to make it happen for two now. That doesn't go unnoticed. I know there's a lot of hours. and heartache that was spent in that. And I just wanted to publicly thank you three specifically. We see how hard you work and it has made a big difference for this county. So thank you very much.

And I definitely want to thank Kelly, Todd Shanley specifically for just being open to questions and taking my phone calls at all hours of the day to explain things as we go through this process and just really grateful to where we've gotten to at this place. And, you know, you all knew that we didn't want to raise the tax rate at all and hopefully I know it doesn't look like a very good potential that we'll ever get it lowered at this point. But that still is the goal, is to keep it as low as possible for our taxpayers. When Commissioner Pittman and I ran for office, that was what we ran on. And we are holding everyone's feet to the fire to do that. And so I thank you all for bearing with us. just listening to our our concerns and we have a balanced budget with the same tax rate so thank you thank you all very much any other questions or comments okay so we will move on to i think i do okay um do i need to make a motion to set the public hearing or is it already that. It's been said, OK, that's OK. All right. Thank you, ma'am. All right. So we will move on to reports. Commissioner Pittman, did you have any reports this evening, sir?

I went to the very same thing. The North Carolina DOT Secretary Daniel Johnson was there. He had some interesting points he doesn't want to throw out on the state. Mr Johnson gave a presentation on his efforts to be in contact with the communities. And we were the first MPO with whom he has met. The biggest priority is that he or the he is seeking to. Enhance and further the. Hurricane Helene recovery with deity personnel from across the state working on that. Division 11 and divisions 14. Had the greatest damage and he says they are at 90% recovery as of April 22nd. They're expecting bridges to be at 100% by years in. Otherwise they're trying to push out to get other local projects done. Recently got federal grant, a federal grant to study making air mobility improvements. and trying to solve problems with DMV. And, of course, being from down east, I have a bit of an interest in changing Highway 70 to Interstate 42. We go visiting down there, it's a mess, you know. But they're working on that, but he pointed out that Kenston Bypass is a big hold up to getting that finished. Plus, there's difficulty with funding, so they have no current timeline as when they'll be finished with making that change. Kingston, by the way, is where I was born. So that's not the only trouble they've had. OK. I went to the DHS Transportation Advisory Board meeting on May 6. Was reported that a new driver would start today, May 18th, and that would put us back at full staff with our drivers for that program. We had appreciation day on March 18th for the drivers. Annual driver training will be in July, and they reported a 97% on-time rate for that transportation. That's not too bad. They also mentioned some problems. The new training on safety with wheelchairs is kind of a big thing that they're having to get through, and they're getting it all worked out, but they're starting soon on doing that training every four months. It hadn't been that often. They're going to go to every four months. Certification of some members and staff ends on June 30th, so they need to be recertified if they're going to stay with the program. The milestone building, by the way, one of the members is in these wheelchair bound and it has to have transportation to get to the building to get in and we're going to start having those meetings eventually at the milestone building. And. He won't be able to do it that way unless something changes because the milestone building is outside the approved area for transportation. So I hope they get that worked out for him. On August, excuse me on May 6. I also went to the. LEPC meeting. Local Emergency Planning Commission. And they said that May 18th, a new facility for atrium and would be hopefully opening up by that time. To bear submersion management, voluntary water restrictions were in place as the county is in D3 to D4 drought conditions. Course everybody been hearing about that lately. They may be having to move to mandatory restrictions soon. Of course, that was May 6th. Midland Fire has a second drone put in service for being able to find people in trouble and that sort of thing. Let's see. the solar farm uh that most recently caught fire and our fire marshal got him to shut it down has been reopened which uh knowing jacob and that means they're in compliance or you wouldn't have done that but that is a continuing concern for people in midland because those things are very close to them and so they want that brought under control North Carolina Emergency Management reported on their preparations for hurricane season, which is almost upon us. And military games are coming next year. There was a special presentation by Tony Bateman, retired from Mecklenburg Emergency Management, who discussed effective training exercises. FEMA exercises, an overwhelming number of books on how to link all the information with actual training. He says no easy path because there's so much information out there. You try to go through it all, it's really going to take up some time. So he said there's no easy path or timeline for learning all this stuff. He prefers a one-page guide for simplicity in training, so he made one. And he told the National Training Center and FEMA that local departments need it more simple in the interest of time, and they need to move to hiring a contractor to handle writing local plans. The more required objectives, he says, the less efficient exercises will be. He says you need to have a list of one to three objectives that are pretty comprehensive. The lower you keep that, he says, the more efficient it will be. He told us about safety comes first, and evaluation is the most critical phase of planning training exercises. Um, planning program principles that he gave us number one, the purpose number two priority number three parameters number four process and five performance and priorities and life safety being the main priority. Um, he talked about property conservation, environmental preservation, and he gave us a website which I can give anybody wants it for getting further information on these things.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Oh, excuse me. I also went to Midland last week, and they had some very interesting reports. As usual, their person from the Sheriff's Department and the fire people, they've been very busy. A lot of stuff going down in Midland. But they had some questions for me about some things I've already discussed, and I tried to help them with that as best I could. Anyway, Midland has a lot going on. And they're not a small part of this county. Some people seem to think.

Thank you, Commissioner Pittman. Commissioner Wartman.

I attended a visitor's bureau meeting. We were working on their five-year strategic plan. And I have talked to Commissioner Lindsey and I would like to point out to the rest of the board that my seat on that board comes up next month. It is an at-large position, but I will not be asking to remain on it because I will no longer be a commissioner and I have some other plans to where I don't think I'll be able to attend those meetings. So if you would like to take that, that is a very fun, exciting board. It's amazing, but I will not be asking to be put back on that. I attended the Centralina Regional Delegates Meeting in Charlotte. They had an open house. They gave a few updates. Um, but it's kind of just for the delegates to get together and kind of learn how central line of works. I attended the very first, um, regional mental health facility board, um, where we, um, decided the rest of the board members that we're going to add so that every, every aspect of the community is covered. Um, I believe. We're even going to have somebody with lived experience on that board as well so that there's an insight that we don't necessarily see. Commissioner Patrick and I attended, we went to the LGC at the beginning of this month to advocate for Northwest Cabarrus High School and Northwest Cabarrus Elementary School. We went with Kelly and Jim Howden and then the financial consultants. And I'm sure Commissioner Patrick, if you want to address it when you talk, I think it went very well. They hadn't looked at our debt model since 2022. The staff was very open to questions. They were very open to hear what we had to say. We gave them everything they could want. The only thing they requested was our capital expenses for the next five years, which Kelly has provided. And then I think we've all had phone call with the state auditor, Dave Bullock. I also had a phone call with Treasurer Brad Briner. And Ian and I will be attending the LGC meeting next month. We are on the agenda. We're hoping to stay. If the LGC is watching this meeting, please just let us stay on the agenda and at least have a chance. So we have been invited, Ian and I have been invited to come back next month at the LGC to try to get those two schools for Northwest.

Thank you, sir. Commissioner Jones, did you have anything? Commissioner Patrick?

actually had only two assignments for this past month which is odd but I did the active living centers advisory council this morning you saw many of them here this evening doing the older Americans proclamation month we had a pretty light agenda this morning, but I would be remiss if I didn't remind you, as I do every month, that if you go to Texas Roadhouse this Thursday from 3 to 9 and take the brochure for the Council on Aging, you can get 10% of what you spend they will donate to the Council on Aging, and they they support they sponsor a lot of programs so you know you got to eat anyway so thursday concord mills location texas roadhouse three to nine get them ten percent um town of harrisburg meeting uh occurred they were given their presentation of the fy27 manager's recommended budget Their public hearing will be on June 8th, 2026 as well. And because of that lengthy budget presentation, that was a pretty light agenda. As Commissioner Wartman mentioned, we went to Raleigh to meet with LGC to advocate for those two really critical schools in the county right now, which are, as he said, Northwest High and Northwest Elementary. I feel really good about the place we're in. Very productive conversation. we were copied on what they were requested and we provided that to them within under a week and so June 9th is when that meeting is we will drive back up to Raleigh and make sure that we do the best we possibly can to secure the funding for those two schools and that's a short update for me but that's it

All right, thank you. So I do have my Cabarrus Health Alliance meeting on Tuesday of this coming week. I did have the opportunity to attend the open house for the new Brown Mill. That is the Cabarrus Health Alliance and Cooperative Christian Ministries. They are doing incredible work there. So I look forward to seeing all of the folks that they will be able to help in that new facility. It's incredible work. what they were able to do and be able to renovate that space. There were trees that were growing through it the last time I went there about a year and a half ago and They have just done absolutely incredible work there. And then please remember that we do have vacancies on any of our committees or boards. If you go on, I've had several people reach out to me about where it's located. So if you go to the Cabarrus County website, click on the government link. As soon as you click on it, the very first thing that comes up is boards and committees. If you click on that, it tells you application, vacancies, all of the committees that we have to offer. So we do encourage everyone to please go there and apply. And commissioners, did you all have any general comments to add? Anyone? Commissioner Wortman?

I just wanted to point out that my oldest son is here tonight, Grayson. Sorry, I know you're horrified at that. He's the student body vice president at UNC Pembroke. He has been in Raleigh, and part of his duties have been to meet with delegations. And I wanted to publicly thank Senator Chris Miesmer. Senator Miesmer took a lot of time out of his day to meet with my son and the students that he went with And Chris is busy, but he took the time. You made the newsletter. But I'm very proud of you, and I just wanted to acknowledge that you were here, and I'm very proud of you.

Grayson welcome it's obviously clear that your dad your dad is very proud of you and while we're giving our kids shout outs I do want to give a shout out to my son Ryder Blackwell who is going to be graduating from high school on Saturday I'm so proud of him and then also it's that time for the animal shelter video for this month everybody's favorite I know it's mine so here here are highlighted animals for this month

Hey everyone, Commissioner Laura Lindsey here to introduce you to a few furry friends who are looking for some sunshine for the summer. This is Oakley. He's a seven year old hound mix, full of a lot of energy and looking for his very own family. This is Liam. He's an eight week old gray tabby. He's very sweet and looking for someone to snuggle with. You can be that bright light and give them a summer to remember. Check out all of the available pets online at www.cabarruscounty.us slash animals.

Oakley is a kisser. I don't know if you could tell that from the video, but we spent many minutes kissing. It was probably why he didn't include all of them. And it is kitten season. tons of kittens right now at the shelter as well. So I would encourage you if you're out there looking for another family member, please go to the animal shelter to find that. So we do have a need for closed session. Yes, sir.

Some people think I'm not as old as I am, but some people understand I am. I'm officially an old guy because we found out on Mother's Day that our first granddaughter is having our first great-grandchild in December, and we're looking forward to that.

Great-grandpa.

My daughter's grandmother now. We nibbled on her toes when she was a baby. I'm looking forward to nibbling on some more when this one comes. And I want to thank you for having that public hearing on June 1st. You could have done it May 30th, and that would have been a problem because I'm marrying my second granddaughter to her guy on May 30th, and looking forward to that.

Thank you.

You've got an exciting couple of months coming up here, so congratulations.

yeah we got one more yes sir one more positive hey no it's good um our youngest daughter ava is also graduating um this wednesday you guys heard her speak at the plc so we are officially down to one child left in the school system and she did a great job at her speech for the plc too so very well spoken so congratulations

All right, and so we do have a need for closed session. So commissioners, I need a motion to go into closed session per NCGS 143 dash 318.11 a three, five and six. And we need to discuss discuss state. We need to discuss existing litigation with Newton versus Cabarrus County. All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. We are in closed session. Thank you all.