City Manager Payne Presents Recommended Fiscal Year 2027 Budget to City Council

City Manager Lloyd Payne presented the recommended Fiscal Year 2027 budget to the Mayor and City Council today. The budget continues the City's commitment to providing exceptional service to residents while supporting a high quality of life.

To achieve this, the recommended budget maintains the current property tax rate of 42 cents per $100 valuation and prioritizes funding for essential City services and employee retention to sustain the high level of services residents expect and deserve. The budget also continues to support City Council's strategic plan priorities, including dedicated funding for transportation, affordable housing, and parks and recreation.

The total City-wide recommended Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 27) budget for all funds is $402,416,328.

Budget highlights include:

• $4.4 million in dedicated transportation funding to support maintenance of City-owned streets, including street resurfacing and intersection improvements to improve traffic congestion.

• $1.8 million in dedicated funding to continue progress towards City Council's goal of 30 miles of greenway by 2030. Currently, the City has over 17 miles of greenway. The budget will support construction of the Hospital Phase of the McEachern Greenway and design for the Wolf Meadow Branch Greenway.

• $1.8 million in dedicated funding for affordable housing, including continued partnership with WeBuild Concord and other private organizations to address the growing housing affordability needs of the community.

• Streamlines and consolidates operations to improve efficiencies and ensure the community's tax dollars go further - maximizing the efficiency of every dollar used.

• Continues investment in critical water and electric infrastructure to ensure safe and reliable drinking water and electricity for residents today and into the future.

• Continues to provide external agency funding opportunities to support the work of nonprofits providing vital services for those in need and helping to enhance residents' quality of life.

• Continues important investments in training, essential resources, and support employees need to do their work and deliver excellent service to the community.

• Due to budget cuts by the City of Kannapolis, CK Rider Transit routes and schedules are likely to be modified in FY 27. The City's budget continues support for CK Rider Transit to ensure routes, schedules, and stops within the City of Concord remain mostly unaffected to continue supporting the needs of the community.

Recently ranked as one of the safest midsize cities in America by SmartAsset, the budget continues to prioritize public safety to support safe neighborhoods and communities where everyone can thrive.

The new Fire Station 6 and Police David District at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport will open in early FY 27. The budget funds the design of a new Fire Station 13 on Flowes Store Road in Concord to expand fire service and provide faster response time to several areas in the community, and supports the replacement of several fire apparatus and police vehicles, as well as a new police K-9.

The City's emergency communications team has also outgrown the existing 911 Call Center within Fire Station 3 that was first occupied in 1996 and has not been expanded as the City has grown. The budget provides funding towards the construction of a new 911 Emergency Communications and Operations Facility that will be located next to Fire Station 3.

The complete FY 27 recommended budget, as well as a one-page overview, is available online at concordnc.gov/budget. Residents can also request to review a copy of the proposed budget in person at the City Clerk's office, located at City Hall.

Members of City Council received an overview of the FY27 budget recommendation from City Manager Payne during a budget workshop held on April 7, 2026. City Council will further discuss the budget and hold a public hearing during the City Council meeting on June 11, 2026, at 6 p.m. in City Hall. Residents can also watch the City Council meeting live on the City of Concord YouTube channel.