Cabarrus commissioners adopt Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget
Published on June 17, 2025
Cabarrus County Commissioners voted Monday (June 16) to adopt the Fiscal Year 2025-26 (FY26) budget, which takes effect on July 1.
The budget maintains the current tax rate of 57.6 cents per $100 of assessed value.
With that, owners of a $356,350 house (the median single-family assessed home value in Cabarrus) would pay $2,052.58 a year in County property tax.
The approved budget ordinance consists of the General Fund ($399.5 million), the Community Investment Fund ($93.9 million), the Landfill Fund ($2.9 million), the 911 Emergency Telephone Fund ($465,885), the Arena and Fair Fund ($2.7 million), the Fire Tax District Fund ($9.65 million), the Social Services Fund ($475,000), the Intergovernmental Fund ($2.6 million), the Workers Compensation and Liability Fund ($7.56 million), the Health and Dental Insurance Fund ($24.67 million) and the Opioid Settlement Fund ($3.19 million).
Following a budget meeting held earlier this month, changes were made to the Recommended Budget before commissioners adopted the final version, including:
- Increased funding for Cabarrus County Schools (CCS) to meet their original 12.69% increase request. This adjustment also boosts funding for Kannapolis City Schools (KCS) and local charter schools. Equitable funding ensures that all school systems receive the same per-student percentage increase based on Average Daily Membership, regardless of individual request amounts.
- Restored Economic Development Corporation funding to $400,000—consistent with annual funding levels since FY16
- Added the purchase of four public safety vehicles that had been requested during the budget planning process
These adjustments were funded by eliminating the animal shelter design ($2 million) and reducing contributions to the Community Invest Fund (CIF) and CIF Fund Balance.
The FY26 budget is shaped around sustaining and investing in existing services. Here are some highlights:
Sustaining County operations
The County’s budget is designed to support essential operations including public safety, health and human services and infrastructure.
The plan includes the purchase of two ambulances for Emergency Medical Services and two vehicles for the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office for a total of $724,830.
Aside from 24 job reclassifications to better align roles with job duties and support growth, FY26 staffing will remain the same.
Meeting the increasing costs of education
The Adopted Budget continues the County’s strong support for education, funding both operating and capital needs beyond state mandates for both public school systems (CCS and KCS) and Rowan Cabarrus Community College (RCCC).
The budget allocates $29.05 million for capital investments across schools, representing 86% of the County’s total capital investments for FY26. This includes:
- CCS: $14.91 million for deferred maintenance, paging/intercom systems, security systems and replacement of outdated technology
- KCS: $6.07 million for deferred maintenance, an activity bus, energy savings, technology support and upgrades and design funding for additions at A.L. Brown High and Jackson Park Elementary
- RCCC: $8.07 million for deferred maintenance, parking lots at South campus/CBTC, South Campus elevators and the designs of S201 renovations and the Workforce Innovations Center
Continuing to support County capital needs
The budget includes 12 County-level projects totaling $4.87 million: This includes:
- $150,000 for an ADA transition plan
- $550,000 for the design of Camp T.N. Spencer Park building consolidation and renovations
- $900,000 for the replacement of the Vietnam Veterans Park boardwalk
- $430,000 for the design of Concord Library renovations
- $800,000 for Governmental Center generator replacements and Human Services Center HVAC replacements
- $400,000 for building exterior envelope repairs
- $600,000 for Phase 5 expansion of the Construction and Demolition Waste Landfill
- $170,000 for Soil and Water Conversation easement
The full FY26 budget will be available online on Friday, June 20, at www.cabarruscounty.us/budget under the tile labeled “FY26 Adopted Budget.”
Budget development timeline
The FY26 budget runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The plan is the result of many months of planning, discussion and outreach.
In February, the board held its two-day retreat to officially kick off the budget season. Following that, County management held meetings with individual departments to cover plans and goals for the upcoming year.
During the same time, the County hosted two budget-specific Government 101 public events. Officials gathered at locations in Kannapolis and Mt. Pleasant to provide an overview of the budget and revaluation processes and answer questions.
For those interested in exploring more about County finances, the newly formed Cabarrus Commission on Financial Efficiency (COFE) meets monthly. Many of the group’s discussion items, as well as accompanying Q&A documents, can be found at cabarruscounty.us/COFE.
There, visitors can also find information about the group, photos, links to other budget materials and more. The site also offers an “Ask a Question” section for public submissions, as well as a place to share ideas about what topics the group should tackle in the future. Registration is required to submit on the site.
Residents can stay updated on all County programs and projects by visiting www.cabarruscounty.us/CabGo and following Cabarrus County at facebook.com/cabarruscounty and on Twitter and Instagram @CabarrusCounty.