Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for your patience. I apologize for being late this evening. We're going to start with introductions. We will start to my right.

Good evening. I'm Commissioner Yvette Townsend Ingram, also known as Commissioner YTI, and I serve Mecklenburg County at large.

Good evening. I am Mecklenburg County Commissioner Elaine Powell, representing Huntersville, Davidson, Cornelius, and North Charlotte. Welcome.

Good evening. I'm George Dunlap, elected by the people from District 3.

Good evening. My name is Leah Altman, County Commissioner serving at large, and I also have the privilege of serving as Vice Chair. Welcome.

Good evening, everyone, and welcome. My name is Mark Jarrell. I've been elected by the people of District 4. It is great to see everyone, in particular our partners from the Sheriff's Office. Thank you all for being here. And I do want to acknowledge our elected colleague and Sheriff Gary McFadden. Thank you.

Good evening and welcome. My name is Arthur Griffin. I have the pleasure of serving as County Commissioner-at-Large.

Good afternoon. My name is Vilma DeLeek. I represent the most powerful district in the county. And I've been told not to say that anymore. And I grieve this evening because I grieve because of what's been said. District two is the most powerful district in the county. And thank you for allowing me to represent you.

Good evening. I'm Laura Meyer and I represent district five.

Good evening. I'm Susan Rodriguez McDowell and I have the honor of being elected by the people of district six. Welcome.

All right, now that introductions are out of the way, our invocation and Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Commissioner George Dunlap.

We'll do the prayer first. I mean, if you want to stand, that's fine. We'll do the prayer first. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you at this time thanking you for all your many and wonderful gifts. Before we ask for anything, we just want to thank you for your presence. We want to thank you, Lord, for being in the building. We thank you for every person who is represented in this room. We ask a special blessing upon their families, their homes, that when they return, they will find a safe space. Father, we thank you for being in our lives. We thank you for those who are on the battlefield, We

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation,

So we start out every meeting by making sure that the public is aware of our mission, our vision, and also our board priorities. These are the elements that help guide our conversations and our decisions, so we think it's important that you all know what's guiding us. Our mission is to serve Mecklenburg County residents by helping improve their lives and community. Our vision, Mecklenburg County will be a community of pride and choice for people to live, learn, work, and recreate. Our FY26-27 board budget priorities are as follows. Economic development, education, environmental stewardship, he

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. It's with great pleasure that I turn to my colleague, Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell, to read National Kinship Care Month here in Mecklenburg County.

Thank you. Appreciate that. And it's an honor to read this proclamation. And if I could ask our YFS director to come on down, and she'll be receiving this proclamation tonight. And I will just go ahead and begin reading it. Whereas this year, during the month of September, Kinship Care Month is observed as residents of Mecklenburg County are proud to recognize children and the grandparents, other relatives who raised them in kinship care, who ensure their safety, promote their well-being, and establish a stable household for these young people to thrive. And whereas nationally, more than 2.7 m

Thank you so much, Commissioner Rodriguez McDowell. Ms. Dale Campbell, we'd love to hear from you.

Thank you so much, Ms. Steele-Campbell. Yes, let's give her a round of applause. And wait, before you leave, let us carry the motion, then we'd love to take a picture with you. The motion having been made and properly seconded, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? And that passes. Thank you.

Thank you for your service. Thank you. We appreciate you.

Take a picture. Squeeze in, everybody. Kind of center a little bit. There you go. There you go.

And I now turn the gavel back to you, sir.

Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. Next up is public appearance. Bear with me as I read this rather lengthy statement. Public appearance is the period during the board's regular meeting that members of the public are provided the opportunity to speak on matters not appearing on the agenda. Members of the public who appear during public appearance portion of a regular meeting may discuss any matter within the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners except for the following types of matters. A matter which appears on the agenda of that meeting of the board. A matter which concerns the candidacy of

Three minutes, sure. So what we'll do at this point, let's have Portia De La Foz, Corey Jamison, and Jeanette Kinnard come down, and you will each get three minutes. And we'll let you guys determine the order. Anybody can speak first. Thank you. And after they speak, we'll hear from Jackson Dumas. You have three minutes, ma'am.

Is Jackson Dumas here? Come on down, Jackson. Jackson, you get up to three minutes. Just start whenever you're ready.

Appreciate it. We're going to move to appointments now. We're going to move to JCPC, which is the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council first. Colleagues, there's multiple slots that we have to vote on, and it can get a little confusing. So I just want everybody to know what the clerk has done is the applicants who are not selected for a specific category will be eligible for the general slot. She has, Madam Clerk, you put asterisks by certain names as well. Do you want to tell us what those were for?

So we'll muddle through it. We'll muddle through it. But again, it's just the way that it's laid out that everybody who is a part of those specific slots are eligible for general slots. So even if they don't get a specific slot, their name will be listed on the general slot.

Well, I'm going to go, I'll let you know. That's a great question. I'll let you know as we go through each one because there's multiple slots there. So as we get to each one, I'll say how many are eligible that we have to, well, there'll be nominations. Yep. I'll let you know how many slots are there that we'll nominate. And if we go beyond those slots, it's the normal process. It'll have to come back to us. Okay? Okay. Do you have something, Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell?

I just was a little confused. If you nominate someone for one of the specific smaller groups, does it bounce down to the general big list if they don't get chosen for the... So you don't need to nominate them again in the general?

When we get to the general slot, you'll have to nominate on the general slot. You have to nominate each slot. Commissioner Leak.

The question deals with when one does not want to... state who they are. How do we know? They said prefer not to answer on the front page.

Yeah, so as far as ethnicity, Commissioner Leake is referring to ethnicity. Every applicant has the ability to choose prefer not to answer. So if any board member of you have an issue with that, obviously you don't want to nominate that person or for those of you that it doesn't matter, then certainly can move forward with it. So with that being said, what we'll do is we're going to start with nominations or appointments are needed on the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to fill two two-year terms expiring June 30th, 2028. This is the youth slot. Brianna DeCruz, George Doe, Nikith Manapeli, a

I'd like to nominate Amrita Yarlagada and also Benjamin Marchand.

All right. Commissioner Griffin. George Doe. Commissioner Altman.

Nikith Manipali, Phil McNary, and Monica Pettiford.

Hold on one second. No, this is the youth slot we're doing right now. That's okay. There's only two that have not been nominated, and that's Samita Kutam and Anvija have not been nominated so far. Right now we have Brianna DeCruz, George Doe, Nikith Manipali, Benjamin Marchand, and Amrita Yalagada.

All right, it's been moved and properly seconded to close nominations. All those in favor say aye. Ayes have that. So, Madam Clerk, this will come back. All right. Moving on, nomination or appointment is needed on the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to fill one two-year term expiring June 30th, 2028. This is the juvenile defense attorney slot. And we have one name.

And seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? That's unanimous. Congratulations. Lava Netra. All right. Nominations and appointments are needed on juvenile crime prevention council to fill one two year term expiring June 30th, 2028. This is the substance abuse professional slot. Brittany Hammonds and Phil McNary were recommended by the JCPC nominating committee. Well, we have, um, right now we only get, we only can have one and we have three names. Commissioner Altman, you're first.

She said Phil McNary. Yes. Commissioner Myers said Brittany Hammonds and Commissioner Griffin. Brittany Hammonds. All right. So we only have one slot and there's two nominations. So this has to come back. Madam Clerk. All right, nominations or appointments are needed on the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to fill one two-year term expiring June 30th, 2028. This is the business community slot. Robert Edwards and Chiquita Patterson were recommended by the JCPC nominating committee. What is your question? Carlton Johnson has been nominated. Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell.

Chiquita Patterson and then Commissioner Altman. Monica Pettiford, District 4. Any other nominations?

Moved and seconded. All those in favor to close nominations, say aye. Aye. All right. Nominations closed. This one will come back as well, Madam Clerk. All right. Nominations or appointments are needed on Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to fill two unexpired terms, unexpired terms expiring June 30th, 2027. This is the general public slot. Are there any nominations? Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell.

Carla Carlisle. Commissioner Leak. Yes, Lockhart, District 2. J.G. Lockhart, District 2, Commissioner Dunlap.

First of all, I want to clarify something. Given the fact that there was more people nominated than the slots we had available, all those people who have previously been nominated can still be nominated in this category. So we're going to give Mr. Doe a second bite at the apple.

Commissioner Griffin? Yeah, I'd give Carlton Johnson another bite. He was nominated earlier. Okay. Commissioner Meyer?

Alexandra Jenkins. Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell?

Hold on one second. I'm sorry. Say that again. Imani Eason and who?

Bobby Mattress. And I've got to put Benjamin Marchand in there again.

Okay, hold on, Benjamin Marchand. All right, and I am going to nominate Monica Pettiford in this, Commissioner.

Give me one second. Carlton's already been nominated, so that's perfect.

Who's the closing nomination? I have it.

Let me come to Commissioner Powell before we do that.

I nominate Phil McNeary and Chiquita Patterson.

All right. So Phil McNeary and Chiquita Patterson. Before you make that motion, Commissioner Leak, let's make sure that we've got it right. Madam Clerk, I'm going to go down the list and make sure we're straight, okay? I've got Carla Carlisle. George Doe, Imani Eason, Alexandra Jenkins, Carlton Johnson, J.G. Lockhart, Jennifer Louis-Jean, Benjamin Marchand, Bobby Mattress, Phil McNary, Chiquita Patterson, Monica Pettiford, and Joseph Williams.

Moved and seconded to close nominations. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Ayes have it. We'll move on to the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee. So reappointments are needed on Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee for four three-year terms. Larry Blakeney Sr., Robert Burton, Jeffrey Giddens, and Charles McCrory are all eligible for reappointment. Is there a motion?

Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Congratulations on the reappointments. Next, we're going to move to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, which... is the CRC, so reappointments are needed on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee for three, three-year terms expiring July 31st, 2029. Lambert Ginn, Debbie Nash, and Sam Smith Jr. are eligible for reappointment. Second. Moved and seconded. Commissioner Roderick Smith-Dowell.

There are two of the nominees that are on this list. that also in their comments, as I read their applications, also mentioned that they want it to be on adult care. And so since we have so many openings on adult care, Madam Clerk, could we isolate those two names so that we don't assign them to this, which has so many applicants, and put them instead on adult care?

Madison, do you have any updates on that one?

Let me go to Lee first, and then I'll come back to you.

So does that mean I should share the names so that they don't get assigned to this?

That would be unfair to them because they signed up for this.

Right, but they signed up for three, and one of them is adult care.

These are reappointments, which means they're currently serving.

Oh, I'm sorry. These aren't for the reappointments. These are for the – I'm sorry.

Maybe I said that wrong. This is reappointment right here.

I'm so sorry. That's okay. I'm here for the general appointment.

Let's come back to that in just a second. Commissioner Lee.

No, no, no. This is for the Community Relations Committee reappointments. We're not on that other list just yet, Commissioner. This is the reappointment to the CRC for three three-year terms expiring July 31st, 2029. This is for Lambert Ginn, Gwen, Debbie Nash, and Sam Smith, Sam Smith Jr. Hold on everybody, hold up everybody, one second. There's two different, for the Community Relations Committee, for this one, there's two different lists. This list right here is for reappointments. The next one we're about to go to is for six slots. This is for three open slots. Three people are eligible fo

All right. Any other discussion hearing? None. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Congratulations on the reappointment. Now let's move to the larger list. Thank you. So nominations or appointments are needed on the Charlotte Mecklenburg community relations committee to fill six terms. Let's go with commissioner Meyer.

Um, I nominate Laura Bailey, Lee Kinep, Jennifer Lewis, June, Constance Wallace, and Ebony Lucas. Could you repeat that a little fast? Sorry, Laura Bailey.

Good night. Jennifer Lewis, June. Constance Wallace, Ebony Lucas.

You had Constance Wallace? I didn't have that the first time. Where's Constance Wallace? Wallace? You said Constance Wallace? Next page. She's on the next page. Next page. Oh, I see. Okay. I'm like, okay. All right. Perfect. Commissioner Altman.

Okay. Robert Edwards, Miles Mabry. Kim Mabry, you say Miles Mabry, Kim lamb and Yash, but no, no, no, no. Thank you.

Thank you. Garetha Butler, Jessica Edwards and Ryan Reed.

Any other? Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell.

Aditya Upadhyay. Aditya, it's on the second page.

Yeah, I see it right above Constance Wiles.

I got you right below there. Okay. I'm going to nominate Kira Robinson and Rory Pegram. George, you had somebody?

I think you've got them because if you look at the statistics, they are short on men. Yeah. And we need to nominate some.

Yeah, there you go. All right, Commissioner Powell.

I'd like to nominate Ingrid Bravo-Nunez and Omar Saxton and Aditya Apadhyay.

We had her, Commissioner Rodriguez McDowell did. He had her already. Okay. That's why you didn't know. You got your word. Okay. Well, hold on. Commissioner Leake, you had another nomination?

All right. Cindy Young. Go ahead and make your motion.

I'm trying to put some District 2 people because they're heavy with 5-4.

Go ahead and make your motion, Commissioner Meyer.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor, say aye. Ayes have it. Madam Clerk, you caught all those, I'm sure. We're going to move to the Citizens Capital Budget Advisory Committee. Moved and seconded to reappoint Adam Kurse and Gabriel Mathlis. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it. Chair? Yes.

Okay, so for the public, there is a vacancy on the Citizens Capital Budget Advisory Committee. There's not a specific slot or anything like that. It's just general. Okay, so public, you heard that. Please apply because we do have a vacancy if you want to serve your community. Next, with that being done, great job, team. With that being done, manager, I'll turn it over to you. We've got a heavy manager's report tonight.

Well, thank you all. I know that there'll be some questions and feedback. And just colleagues, if you remember, this is part of what we agreed to that we would get periodic updates from our partners at Advocate Health. So they are here fulfilling that responsibility. So with that being said, let's open up for questions or comments. Commissioner Griffin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Colin, Hillary, and Marcus for your presentation. There are probably many questions I could ask, but I'm going to hone in on this education space, since it's real dear to my heart. Probably get these numbers mixed up, but somewhere years ago, there was an articulation of some 3,500 or 3,600 jobs being created as a result of the Pearl And about half of them, in terms of qualifications, did not need to have a four-year degree, but needed some additional training and certification, perhaps at the community college level, et cetera. partnered with right now at C

The bell's for me, so thank you. Go ahead and follow up. No, no. Yeah, I mean, there is an MOU with the high school with American Airlines that they haven't executed yet. So I'd like to see the results of the follow through. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Leak.

No comment at this point. Yes. Is this old Brooklyn, part of Brooklyn?

Is that why we're bringing back second ward into that community? Because I understood you previously to say you weren't supporting a second ward. I said it.

I don't think I've ever said I don't support second ward since that's my high school. The school's coming out of the ground next to the gym. I know where it's coming out of.

but I'm asking the question, have you changed your mind? What's wrong? George Dunlap.

What's the, what was the question? Commissioner Lee.

My question is, are we supporting this plan?

Well, this is an update on the, just what the, on, on the total plan. Well, it is, it's, excuse me. I'm sorry. This is just an update on the, the, the current project. And, um, the, the, They're required to come. I'm not against it.

And so that's why I asked Donald, what's the problem?

This is really just the update that they're required to do. So I think many of us have had the opportunity to go and see the work that's being done and you know, and trying to continue to make those connections through CMS to, as Commissioner Griffin stated, and some of the workforce development opportunities that have been highlighted in the economic development pieces.

So I think... Will this hinder any of the high schools we have already with the health program?

Philip O'Berry. No, this actually, I guess the goal, and as we were talking through this when we first were trying to approve the TIG, was to make sure that there was a connection directly with CMS to support the children at different schools.

Yeah, for clarity. My questions are based for clarity for the general public.

All right, thank you. Thank you. Any other questions, board members? Yes, sir. Thank you. Okay, so let me just add a couple things. One, appreciate you all coming. I did have an opportunity to come by and see what was going on with the... The summer camp. And I think that was, that was phenomenal. Actually, I wish I could have stayed all day, but that, that was really phenomenal. So I am glad that we got this update. The economic impact is, is, is pretty impressive. I would double down on what commissioner Griffin said and, and, you know, continuing to make sure that we're, we're focusing, uh,

Thank you. Let me get their presentation real quick.

I know we have questions. I'm going to start with Commissioner Dunlap and Commissioner Townsend Ingram.

Mr. Chair, in order to get the item for discussion, I'm going to first offer a motion that we amend the FY2027 budget ordinance to reopen jail north by increasing expenses for the sheriff's office by $3,213,591 and increasing revenue by the same amount to include $2,866,250 from state and federal sources and to transfer to the general fund from the sheriff's special revenue fund an amount of $347,341. Second. All right.

It's been moved and seconded. We're going to move into discussion, uh, prior to go into the motion. So, uh, go ahead. Commissioner Dunlap, commissioner Townsend, Ingram, then commissioner leak.

Well, I would just simply say this. I think we have a responsibility to provide, um, the resources needed to adequately fund and support jail operations and uh... i think the case has been made where we have citizens no matter what they did or may not have done, who are sleeping in not the best of conditions, and we have an opportunity to improve that. And I think what has been offered is reasonable, and therefore I would hope that this board would unanimously support the recommendation.

Thank you, Commissioner. Let me go to Commissioner Townsend-Ingram.

Thank you both very much for the report. When I went to the conference last week for the North Carolina County Commissioners, they gave a report of the jail health care costs. And we actually did really, really good in Mecklenburg County. We only came in about 2% over our projected budget. So you're doing an excellent job with care there. I just have some questions and I will, I will, I am in support of, of, of the motion. Um, the degree of violent crime offense, are we housing all of them? Um, in, I guess as right now we are because there's only one facility. Is there, um, is there an opportu

Do you have like a... like a one-sheeter that can explain and build the case for the programs, the many programs that you have, and I know that you give presentation yearly, but I was curious to know what percentage of those who go in, go through one of your programs, whether it's the barber or whatever, what percentage of those people actually stay and are contributing to the community without recidivism? You know, what's your recidivism rate for those that go through the program versus those who don't?

Thank you. Commissioner Lee, Meyer, and then Griffin.

Let me say thank you for bringing your staff here tonight. And if I were to ask you how much did it cost you to bring them here to be with us to ask for funds to maintain and do what you need to do, you'd be able to tell me that, am I right? And I'm glad to see each of them here with you. And the thing that makes me feel so much better about it is you are saying to us about the detention center and that the detention center is going to be Housing young people, am I right?

And in our community today, you've got 14 and 12 and 13-year-old children who are finding themselves involved in problems. And it's more than mental health. It's neglect to some degree. So you have to fit into that process. Am I right? You have to be the mother, the father, the uncle, the aunt.

I understand that, but I'm saying even with 18-year-olds, some of them act like 12 and 13-year-olds.

So all I'm saying to you, thank you, and I've never been against you, Sheriff. I always ask the question, what programs do we have? How are we enhancing our young people so that they will not be repeaters and be returned? And if you look at the report that comes to us to talk about who's in there, they look like me. And something has to change to help us to get our young people and parents to understand the responsibility. Mecklenburg has grown so much, but we never hear anything about if these young people are old people, whomever moved to Charlotte Mecklenburg and commit crimes here, you hea

Thank you. I don't want to be a visitor. I know I talked to Valerie Woodard one time and she talked to me about it. That's been some years ago. And thank you for young people for being here tonight. You look good in your white shirts and your blue. You look great. You look fabulous. Thank you for being here. So I'm hoping that we can help to cut back on on the problem that we're having in Mecklenburg County with our youth and with our other individuals. Some people are white collar criminals. We don't get them down there, do you? You lock up white collar criminals?

Thank you. I need to tell you about some of them.

Thank you. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you to all the deputies. Uh, I know it has to be extra hard, like it's hard enough to do your job, but extra hard to have this overcrowding. And so when we get the jail population report every day, it is stunning, you know, like every day I look at it and I think, wow, how are you, how are you managing that? So this seems very necessary. And it also seems like a matter of public health, you know, in overcrowded conditions. A lot of things can happen, and so I'm really glad that you came before us to solve the problem, and I support it. I just have one quest

Yeah, and there was food cooking, but I can't. Food cooking. So is Aramark there?

Thank you, Commissioner. Let me go to Commissioner Griffin.

Thank you, Sheriff, for your presentation. But let me just say before I have some specific comments and questions, thank you for what you do for the people in there. These are dads, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, et cetera. Belonging husbands, wives, belonging to somebody. These are human beings. And certainly you do what you can in terms of intervention and rehabilitation with your various programs. And my hat's off to you for doing that work. I, like my other colleagues, we get the jail population report. And my colleagues remember me sharing with them. I was just blown away. That's 74%

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Before I move to Commissioner Meyer, I do want to take a moment to recognize Councilwoman Joy Mayo has joined us. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your service as well. Let me go to Commissioner Meyer.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for being here, Sheriff, and thank all the staff for being here and thank all the staff that can't be here. You guys do have such a hard job. is thankless, and I just want to recognize the work that you do. And like you said, Sheriff, you're overcrowded whether Irena's law was in effect or not. You're overcrowded. So we need to do something. And I just want to start off by saying I support this 100%. We need to do something. People need to get off the floor, so to speak, not really the floor. So I support this. I also have a question about the capacity of Jail N

Capacity under 800. Yes. So theoretically... we could use some of that for a juvenile detention center. And I want to thank Arthur Griffin for pretty much teeing up the conversation about what are we going to do about our youth. Let's stop it before it happens.

Would you be willing to lease part of the space to the state?

Okay. Sheriff McFadden, I have to tell you that you had me at hello. This is a no-brainer. We have to do this. And I mean, actually, we're not really doing anything except a statutory obligation to vote for this, to switch money around. So thank you. You have my utmost respect for how you run the jail. I have always... respected how you treat the residents and your focus on mental health. And I just really appreciate the work that all of you all are doing. I know this is extremely difficult. And so I do want to jump on to the juvenile detention center bandwagon for a moment in that we're speak

With the utmost respect, I just have to say that we have been doing this dance for a number of years. I've been here. We've been dancing around for a while. And I really, I'm imploring that if you say that when this phase opens, that you're ready to have that conversation with the state. Well, it seems that there's been one obstacle after another. And so I'm running out of time. And so I just want to say with respect, I'm taking your word that you're saying that you want this too. And I certainly hope we can make it happen. And I hope that we can get support from the board.

Thank you. Let me go to Commissioner Dunlap.

Yeah, I just wanted to put some perspective on what's taking place tonight. In 2008, when my commissioner passed away, I was appointed by the Democratic Party to replace her. And at that time, if I remember correctly, the majority of the county commission were Republicans. And they voted not to seat me. And the reason they voted not to seat me was because there was a vote coming up about whether or not we would build a new jail. The new jail would cost $300 million. And they didn't know how I was going to vote. Well, when we took them to court, they relented. I got appointed anyway. And I cast

Commissioner Altman. Interesting conversation. I'm definitely in listening and learning mode. Further to that, I just want to understand two things. I understand, sir, that this is going to be funded by your special revenue fund. What is that? How does that money get generated? And is it sustainable year over year?

Okay, so it hasn't been spent, so now there's a chunk. Once it gets spent, will you need ongoing funds to sustain this? Do you think the revenue fund will sustain it? I can read the Sheriff McFadden.

Thank you, sir. And then, Mr. Manager, I know you've been listening to the conversation also. And I think all of us, I shouldn't say, but I certainly would love to find a way to have our juveniles be able to be home. Do you have any insights or perspective that you can share? Because I certainly appreciate your point of view also.

Thank you. Is that it? Okay. A couple of things. And I want to piggyback on what the manager just said. So I don't want anybody to walk away from this conversation to think that many of us have not been engaged in the discussions with respect to the juveniles. And so we've had many conversations, whether it's phone conversations, whether it's face-to-face, there have been multiple conversations. And so We all want the same thing comes down to the dollars is as simple as that. Sheriff is asking for, um, the financial assistance from the state manager. And there's no daylight between the manager

So, Sheriff, I think To be clear, what I'm saying is, I'm reiterating what you just said about the discussions between you and Billy Lassiter, or you and the state. That's all I'm doing. Like I said, we are here for whatever support, if it's a data, whatever the case may be. So I just want to get, no, we have not voted just yet. I want to get a couple of comments out, and then I will carry the motion. It's been moved and seconded. I'll carry the motion in just a second. So I did wanna put the juvenile discussion to bed with respect to where we are as far as the county is concerned. We've heard

No, I just didn't want to be lost on that one. It's raising the floor and the ceiling at the same time. We've got to certainly deal with the increasing capacity, but also find creative ways to support Gary in terms of programs to reduce people coming back. So you're doing a great job, as I said earlier. I hope we can figure out some creative ways to help you do an even better job in terms of what you're doing.

So we can carry them. Because you can. Mr. Sheriff. Is your assistant here with you tonight? Might not call him that. I'm just calling him that. Might be your right hand or your left hand. Is he here?

Not son, but Robin. Thank you. Is he here?

Thank you. Thank you for being here, young man.

All right, we've got a motion on the floor. It's been seconded. All those in favor, let's see by show of hands. It's unanimous, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you all.

When you said his assistant, I was thinking of Shelby.

Thank you, Dr. Scott. Let me get a motion on the floor. So moved. Second. All right. It's been moved and seconded to approve the health plan. Does anybody have a quick question?

I don't have a question, but I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to share something with the public. The chair and I had the opportunity to visit with the sheriff this week. to recognize the attendance of the deputies. And I don't know what your total staff is, but we do know that 200, 200 of the sheriff's people had perfect attendance. And I think that's something to be celebrated.

I'm just going to add to that. They've always had that program, previous sheriffs also.

All right. Hearing no other question, all those in favor, let's see by show of hands. That is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Dr. Scott. We appreciate it.

Ken, before you start, I just wanted to say, colleagues, if you haven't seen Ken's shoes, you need to check them out, okay? Because Ken is killing the game. He's killing the game tonight.

Show the shoes, show the shoes. Oh, look at that. I got to see it. Come on down.

We can't see them right here. Hey, Ken is killing the game tonight, I'll tell you. Oh, the Carolina blue. Look at him, man.

Look at Commissioner Dunlap's face. You need a life.

Thank you, Ken. Everybody's got a question. Let me start with Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wrote down A wrong page. Darn it. I was looking for, oh, yeah, this is right. So on page 12, where we stand today with the 15% for residential and 30 for commercial, do you sometimes, or am I dreaming this, do you sometimes show us a graph of, you know, like where... how much the increase is compared to previous years like like over time like this time it's 15% for residential and usually isn't there like a color for for commercial and a color for residential so we can see

All right, before I go to Commissioner Townsend, Commissioner Dunlap, will you offer this motion just so we can just get it on the floor, please?

Yes, sir, I offer a motion that we receive the uniform schedule of values, standards and rules for 2027 reappraisal and set a public hearing on the uniform schedule of values, standards and rules for 2027 reappraisal for September 15th, 2026 and direct the clerk of the board to publish the notice of public hearing.

All right, it's been moved and seconded. Let's continue with the discussion. Let me go to Commissioner Townsend.

Thanks so much. And for all you do for us who don't enjoy taxes the way you guys do, like Michelle. But it was an interesting conversation when we went to the North Carolina, the conference that we had for all county commissioners. And tax, of course, revaluation was a hot topic. I'm interested in the community understanding better what reevaluation is, and I'm happy to see the book and things of that nature. Is there an appetite, or do we have the capacity to schedule, and maybe you're not the right person to ask this, maybe it's the county manager, a series of educational events and town hal

Thank you. Let me go to Commissioner Powell and Commissioner Meyer.

Thank you. I really love, I love that you had special slides for the golf courses that you really listened to us. And, um, it's important because undeveloped land has become an endangered species in Mecklenburg County. And so as we approach build out, it is shocking. you know, to the general public when they saw the values of the golf course, they just couldn't believe it. And neither could I. So I just want to thank you for that. And thank you for always being so professional.

I appreciate it because it is valuable land. Thank you.

Well, she stole my thunder there. But I do want to thank you. I guess I should thank you. But thank you because, I mean, first of all, you guys remember. That's amazing. But I think back then it was I learned so much about golf courses because that was my number one email were complaints about golf courses. So thank you, thank you. You're welcome. I really appreciate you guys listening to us. Thank you. Thanks. Do you have a question?

Commissioner Leak. I'm coming back to you, George. Did you have something?

There was a picture in the paper of a commercial building, I mean a fabulous home, and then a small home on the west side of town. And the people called me about the tax rate. It was much higher for that smaller home on the west side of town than the Ballantyne House. I don't know whether you saw that or not.

Yes. So the question came to me and I could not answer that question based upon how you came up with that decision. It was a very small old house. Maybe it was built in the, maybe 30 years ago. And the lady was complaining about her taxes. she didn't have the money to pay for the taxes versus what the commercial, uh, facility that was, you know, fabulous was less. Okay.

Thank you. Let me go to commissioner Griffin done left. And then, uh, okay.

And thank you as usual for, uh, your plain spoken presentations, uh, particularly for the tough conversations about, uh, valuations and taxes. So appreciate that. Number one, uh, number two, hopefully Mr. Manager, as this, um, timeline of events from now until the end, we can pair that with some type of campaign around a homes program. Yes. While people are kind of, oh, wait a minute, I got a new tax bill or a new valuation. Somehow or another to tie that in with that campaign so that we can get greater participation. I think we We increasingly, each year, the participation goes up. And I thin

Can do. Final, it's Bureau Equalization and Review. Do they keep records? They do. In terms of hearings or presentations, et cetera?

Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Uh, commissioner Dunlap and commissioner.

Uh, yeah, I couldn't help, but notice the difference, uh, in terms of the expected of values this revaluation when compared to the last one, because we went from eight years to four years, and then our last revaluation, the average revaluation was about almost 50%. And so the highest this year expected is about 32%, and the lowest is about 11%. So we won't see these significant increases in values this time around, but I noticed that that group under 300,000 and the group 300,000 to 500,000, where the group 300,000 to 500,000 expects 11% increase, the lower group expects a 16% increase. What i

Thank you, sir. My only question is, It appears, it says commercial median increase is 30% up and residential overall median increase is 15% up. So am I correct in saying that we have a positive trend insofar as more of the tax bill, the tax bill is being shifted to commercial properties, shifting a little away from homeowners because commercial properties are appreciating faster? Is that a true statement? Because I would be happy if that's the case.

That's a good caveat, but I'm glad if our commercial market is getting stronger. Yes. Thank you.

Can we get a report? I don't know how long it'll take, so tell me if this is reasonable or not. But I would like to have a report of the tax-exempt properties. Who has the big chunk of it? I don't know how many pages that is, but I'd like to know.

Thank you commissioner. Well, Ken, you are the Michael Jordan of assessors. That is true. Um, must feel good to be number one. Um,

That was well-deserved, sir. That was well-deserved.

The whole ensemble was very good. I do have a couple of observations. Number one, Vice Chair Altman really touched on something that's important. I think the last reval we went through, certainly we saw the burden shift to residential versus commercial. And now we kind of see that trend reversing, which is, in my opinion, really good news for the community. It's not to the extent that we want, and it's not guaranteed where we finish, but certainly the way we're trending is really important. The other thing that I would say, and the slide that was right after that one, where we talked about the

Yeah, and thank you for that. And the reason why I wanted to point that out, because I think it's important as colleagues, we understand a couple of things. One, we had a tremendous amount of feedback from like working class families that were homeowners and saw these exorbitant increases, 50%, 75% increase in values. And then certainly to some, it certainly impacted the cumulative amount that they were paying in property tax. So, Now that we're seeing the reverse of that, I do think it's important for us to point that out because some of us are district reps in the Crescent where, to your poi

Thank you. So we appreciate you and the entire team. So thank you all for being here and for your work. Definitely appreciate you.

Thank you. Tyrone? Yeah, I'm going to carry the vote right now. Thank you. So it's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Does anyone oppose? No. That is unanimous. Madam Clerk, thank you for the reminder, Mr. Attorney. And before we move to consent, I do want to just say one thing. Earlier today, if you were up on 11 at any point, you saw someone walking around with a tiara on, on their head. They were walking around with it and there's a really special reason. It was our clerk because today is her birthday. I think there's one singer on this board, or maybe there

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Christine.

Thank you for all you do and hope you had an amazing day. You're working on your birthday. That shows your dedication. All right. Let's go ahead and move to consent. Can I get a motion to approve all those items not pulled? Moved and seconded. All those in favor, say aye. Ayes have it. We're going to move to item 26-0397. It's a grant application, Catawba Water Rehabitat Enhancement Program Fund. Commissioner Lee.

Yes, I pulled that for the very reason that it asked for a grant, but it doesn't say how much the grant is for. In your package, you have all of the information that lends to responding to the information on consent items, so please read that. It's important. Read the second one, please, sir.

Well, I can't read it just yet. You've got to make a motion. All right, moved and seconded. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes. Have it. Next is 26-0412, grant application, Federal Emergency Management Agency Building Resilient Infrastructure and Committees grant. I'm sorry, I don't see who pulled that one, Madam Clerk. They're all Commissioner Lee? Okay, Commissioner Lee.

Thank you. This is a federal emergency management agency grant. Okay. Please read your information in your package. It tells you exactly how much the grant is for. So the next time you will have that information. So move, Mr. Chairman.

Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes have it. Next item, 26-0415, budget amendment for FY27, West Mecklenburg Volunteer Fire Department, VFD funding, Commissioner Leak.

You need... I'm gonna move this before I even talk about it. It's important to make sure the West Mecklenburg Volunteer Fire Department receive the funds necessary to protect the people. So move. Second.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes have it. Last item, 26-0416, grant application, fiscal year 2027, NCDOT Rural Operating Assistance Program, ROAP.

It does just what it says. Rural Operating Assistance Program to support the people who live in the rural communities. So move, Mr. Chairman. Second. But there's one that she did not list, and it talks about this Baptist church.

Hold on one second. Let me go through. Let me carry this motion right here.

I thought you did. I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

No, that's okay. Let me just carry this, and then we'll come back to you. All those in favor, say aye. Opposed? Ayes have it. Commissioner Lee.

Yes, the one on the Greater Life Baptist Church. The leasing and the someone down on the left hand. Can the manager talk to me about that?

I didn't have that one. You're not, he's not prepared to speak to it. Can you follow up with commissioner legal?

No, let me say this. It's already in your pack, but that needs to be some clarity to this board as it relates to the leasing of the property, which it is. So I'll pull it next time. Don't get upset. I want to say to Mrs. Wood and her community. senior citizens who want to know what we're doing and how we're doing it. And that's why I pulled them.

And it was fine commissioner. It just wasn't pulled down. The manager wasn't ready to speak to it. So I'm just asking him to follow up, which is not a problem at all. So they'll, they'll follow up on that. You're welcome. All right, that takes care of consent items. We're going to go to commissioner reports. You've been last all night. Thank you for your patience. You're going first.

Thank you. And I actually do have a report for the first time in a long time. I have an intergovernmental mental health. Community meeting, September 10th, 6 to 7.30. Doors open at 5.30. It's a beautiful Park Road Park Pavilion. If you haven't been, you guys should come and look at that beautiful space. Yes, there will be refreshments. But it will be with city, county, and CMS. We all pretty much overlap a district, District 5, District 6. So I invite you all to come and invite the public to come. Thank you.

Thank you. And if Dr. Johnson is still listening, I'm thinking of you. And I wanted to say a little bit extra about Christine, because I'm so glad that she was born. So happy birthday. Thank you. When I'm finished with this job in 97 days, you are one of the people I'm going to miss the most. And I just thank you for so many things. You're so conscientious. You're so detail-oriented. You have such a strong work ethic. You're smart. You're dedicated. But most of all, you just have the kindest heart. And I really appreciate you and celebrate that you were born. So that's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell.

Thank you. I just want to share with the group that Mrs. Heart lost her grandmother and was buried on Saturday. And she was one of the strong supporters of District 2 in supporting me and my efforts in the community. This is Heart's grandmother. So remember her in your prayers, please, those that you know how to pray. Thank you.

Yes, sir. I usually don't have a presentation, but I do. passed out during our closed session this little piece about Alex. I met Alex in the late 70s when they were fighting school desegregation. It's a conservative think tank. They gave you... They gave you school choice in 2006. They pushed legislators to come up with toll roads around the country. They also gave you enrolled, enlisted, and employed, too. So if you look real, just drill down. But as you see, they're being highlighted because of this junk that they got on the ballot that's out now, these constitutional amendments. They all w

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. I appreciate that. So Commissioner Dunlap and Altman said they do not have a report, but I do. One, I want to say... Again, Dr. Johnson, you're listening. I want to just reiterate and double down that you are certainly in our thoughts and prayers and you are missed. Number two, Christine, I echo and ditto everything that Commissioner Powell said. Happy birthday to you and thank you for everything you do. And I want to give a special shout out on this board to our manager, Michael Bryant. So there hasn't been one thing that we have asked the manager to do tha

And with that, I am going to add this part. It's not about him. It's about the body. He does say.

Yeah, so thank you for that, and I will declare the meeting adjourned. Thank you.