Transit plan could be a windfall for Mecklenburg’s towns

Northern Mecklenburg, Pineville and Mint Hill are enthusiastic about the potential for millions in newfound road money

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Millions in road money helps shore up support for expanded rail and bus lines; towns could repave and extend streets, build sidewalks, install streetlights — and boost spending on ‘parks, public safety, you name it’

by Tony Mecia

If you look at a map of the proposed transit expansions under the new transit plan, you’ll see that none of the proposed bus or rail lines runs anywhere near Mint Hill.

There’s the Red Line to the north. Extensions of the Blue Line to the south and the Gold Line to the east and west. A new Silver Line from the airport to Matthews.

None of those comes within 6 miles of Mint Hill, a town of 28,000 on Mecklenburg’s eastern edge.

Even with no nearby transit corridor, though, Mint Hill appears ready to sign on to Charlotte’s renewed transit push. The plan would call for a referendum on raising Mecklenburg’s sales tax, including in Mint Hill, which contains several of the county’s most tax-skeptical voting precincts.

So why is Mint Hill on board with a transit plan that would bring it no transit and result in a higher sales tax? The answer: an estimated $6 million a year in money that it could spend on roads.

“In conversations with my mayor and board members, the road money is probably the biggest deal for us,” says town manager Brian Welch. “We are supportive of regional transit. That money coming back to the roads in Mint Hill is a huge deal.”

Welch says $6 million a year represents about 25% of the town’s general fund, or its main operating budget.

While Charlotte leaders emphasize the “transformational” and “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to expand mass transit, the issue is playing differently in Mecklenburg County’s towns. While they support Charlotte’s larger transit ambitions (with Matthews as the one glaring exception), many seem to be especially enthusiastic about the prospect of millions in newfound road money, which would represent a big boost to their budgets.

‘Game-changer’

At a meeting last month, Cornelius town manager Andrew Grant told commissioners that projections call for $5.75 million in new money from the sales tax, which represents about 15% of the town’s budget.

“I cannot say enough — there is not enough hyperbole to cover — it’s a game-changer for road funding,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career.”

To varying degrees, officials in Huntersville, Davidson and Pineville have said the same thing — that the transit plan would mean both the expansion of rail, to the benefit of the region, and more money for town road projects, which their residents have wanted. Unlike transit money, which would be overseen by a new 27-member transit authority, the towns’ road money would flow directly to the towns, which would decide how to spend it.

Charlotte, Cornelius and Huntersville have voted to support the proposal, and Davidson, Pineville and Mint Hill are expected to support it in votes next week. Backers hope that the General Assembly approves the measure in November, which could lead to the issue being on the ballot as a referendum in November 2025. If successful, Mecklenburg’s sales tax would rise to 8.25%, up from the current 7.25%.

It’s unclear if all that will happen on the desired timeline, or if voters would approve it. (Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs cautioned this week that the General Assembly might not promptly pass the legislation.)

Wide range of spending options

The proposed legislation would allow the towns to spend the road money on a wide variety of transportation-related projects, including design, construction, land acquisition, landscaping, resurfacing, sidewalks, bike paths and electric car-charging stations. It could even be spent on “emerging intelligent transportation technologies,” such as “magnetic levitation and hyperloop,” or “measures to protect a roadway system from cybersecurity threats.”

Some town managers and elected officials have suggested that they could use the sales tax windfalls to replace existing money budgeted for roads. That would allow increased spending on non-road priorities or relieve some of the pressure to raise property taxes.

The freed-up money, Grant said, could then be used for “parks, public safety, you name it.”

In Huntersville, where there is lingering suspicion that Charlotte won’t follow through and build the Red Line, commissioner Amanda Dumas said this week at a meeting that even if the rail doesn’t materialize, “We will still get investment in our roads, in Huntersville, in a significant amount, which frees up some of our money to be able to do other valuable things for our town, or to catch up with the traffic issues and the road issues.”

Huntersville’s town manager estimates the town would receive $10 million to $12 million a year, or around 10% of its annual budget.

Charlotte’s plans

Charlotte would also receive a big chunk of money for roads, an estimated $102 million in the first year.

In a presentation to the Charlotte City Council last month, Ed McKinney of the Charlotte Department of Transportation said that money represents about 11% of the city’s general fund. His presentation didn’t mention building or widening roads. Rather, it focused on the possibility of using the money to make existing roads safer and more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.

He said the money could be used in “places throughout Charlotte that don’t have access to transit.”

“There are some basic needs: There are sidewalks, there is street lighting, et cetera,” he said.

The city has identified what it calls “strategic investment areas,” 16 spots throughout the city selected because of growth, safety and traffic congestion:

McKinney showed one example of Harrisburg Road, in east Charlotte in an area known as the Far East, which could benefit from signalized crosswalks, sidewalks and street lights:

McKinney told the Charlotte Business Journal that the city has a list of 2,000 potential projects that it would prioritize for funding. Some of those could be addressed with $55 million from a transportation bond issuance on the ballot this fall.

Some of the Charlotte money would also go to fix what are known as “orphan roads,” streets just outside the city limits that are in poor condition and are not maintained by the state or the city.

Objections in Matthews; road money not a ‘needle mover’

Although most towns have said money for roads could help address congestion and safety, the town of Matthews says it would be a small amount of money.

Matthews commissioners voted last month to oppose the transit plan because it would likely replace the Silver Line to Matthews — originally envisioned as light rail — with bus rapid transit. They say that decision was unfair, unwise and reached behind closed doors. Proponents insist no decisions have been made.

A Matthews spokeswoman said the amount of road money would be “less than $5 million a year.” She added:

We don’t anticipate the amount would be a needle mover for us in terms of being able to fund substantial projects. In the meantime, our primary focus is refining the draft legislation to ensure it supports regional transit development. Any funding for roads is secondary to this goal. 

Town manager Becky Hawke said in an email that the cost of a single road project would far outpace any road money the town received: “These types of funding levels would by no means solve the transportation issues facing our region.”

Matthew Mayor John Higdon said in a recent appearance on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins” that the local money for roads from a sales tax would improperly relieve the state of its road-building obligations.

“We would be the only county in North Carolina that is levying a tax against our residents to pay for roads that NCDOT should be building anyway,” he said.

Charlotte leaders, who focused on building support for transit in recent years, agreed reluctantly to less money for transit and more money for roads because Republican legislative leaders said repeatedly that they preferred road-building to trains and bike paths. The agreed-upon formula calls for 40% of money collected to go to rail, 40% to roads and 20% to buses.

If Mecklenburg’s efforts on transit succeed, the framework now being established to channel money to the towns could be replicated with surrounding counties someday to build a larger Charlotte-area transit network. Neighboring counties generally express support of expanded transit, but none is at the point where it is willing to tax its residents to pay for it. An arrangement that provides local governments with some of the proceeds could soften the blow. (Maybe.)

Mint Hill says the intersection of N.C. 51 at I-485 could use some safety improvements. (Photo from Google Maps)

In Mint Hill, Welch, the town manager, jokes that he has a list in his head of a few spots in town that might benefit from newly found road money, like the intersections of N.C. 51 with I-485 and N.C. 51 with N.C. 218.

But he acknowledges there are still many challenges to getting the transit deal approved, so he’s making no concrete plans.

“I’m about as conservative with the budget as they come,” he said. “I don’t even look at those chickens until they are walking around.”

Tony Mecia is the executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. Reach him at tony@cltledger.com.

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Where would the road money go?

Under the terms of the revised transit plan, an increased sales tax would fund transit and also provide nearly $140 million a year for roads in Mecklenburg. Here’s how Charlotte and surrounding towns say they would spend the money:

Charlotte

• Estimated annual amount: $102 million

• Possible uses: Sidewalks, street lights, pedestrian crossings in “strategic improvement areas” throughout the city.

Cornelius

• Estimated annual amount: $5.75 million

• Possible uses: U.S. 21 widening, Catawba/21 intersection, Torrence Chapel/west Catawba intersection, North Main/Potts Roundabout, Northcross Drive extension, Hickory/South Main intersection, Bailey Road extension, Bailey Road flyover, Westmorland interchange, N.C. 115 widening

Davidson

• Estimated annual amount: $3.125 million

• Possible uses: Unclear

Huntersville

• Estimated annual amount: $10 million to $12 million

• Possible uses: Town manager Anthony Roberts suggested to Huntersville commissioners that it could be used for road resurfacing

Matthews

• Estimated annual amount: Less than $5 million

• Possible uses: Declined to speculate, wouldn’t be a “needle mover for us in terms of being able to fund substantial projects,” spokeswoman says

Mint Hill

• Estimated annual amount: $6 million

• Possible uses: Safety measures at N.C. 51 and I-485 and at N.C. 51 and N.C. 218, town manager Brian Welch says

Pineville

• Estimated annual amount: $1.72 million

• Possible uses: Right-of-way acquisition for future road expansions, expansion of Polk Street, upgrading intersections on Johnston Road, town manager Ryan Spitzer told council members

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Transit plan basics

Want to understand the newly proposed transit plan? Check out our FAQ from a recent Transit Time newsletter.

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More to come on transit plan coverage; what ideas or questions do you have?

Editor’s note: Our weekly transit/transportation newsletter, Transit Time (produced in partnership with WFAE), is committed to thorough and fair coverage of the Charlotte region’s transit plan. What questions or suggestions do you have? Leave them in the comments, or send us an email.

We will answer them in a future newsletter.

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