Education, County infrastructure prioritized in Recommended Budget
Published on May 19, 2025
Cabarrus County Manager Sean Newton presented the Fiscal Year 2025-26 (FY26) Recommended Budget during the Board of Commissioners May 19 Regular Meeting.
The $399 million General Fund, a 5% increase over FY25, is “built on discipline, data and dedication to the people of Cabarrus County,” Newton said. “Departments are rising to the challenge of absorbing growth demands and modernizing services, while thoughtfully reducing spending in non-critical areas.”
The recommendation 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 $2,052.76 a year in County property tax.
At that rate, “the County can sustain and invest in existing services with a priority emphasis on public safety and education,” Newton said. “While I am confident this rate can continue to support operations in our five-year outlook, external impacts such as inflationary and recessionary factors, increased cost of living and year-over-year growth in education spending will continue to require forward thinking and strong budgetary practices to account for increased expense needs.”
Across all funds, including those supported by user fees, the FY26 budget totals $548 million. The budget also supports continued capital improvements and the Community Investment Fund.
How the Recommended Budget took shape
“Completing the FY26 Recommended Budget is no small task on its own,’ Newton told the board. “This year, challenges were compounded by the onboarding of a new county manager and a request cycle saddled with a $6 million deficit. I’m proud to say that staff rallied around strong financial stewardship and budgetary principles. They partnered to create a strong Recommended Budget that removes the projected deficit and found ways to invest above planned spending in key areas such as education.”
The County closed the projected deficit gap with two primary strategies:
- Challenging departments to practice strong financial stewardship by creating a budget that fully supports services while reducing spending on non-essential activities like conference travel
- Using intentional budgeting to align the Recommended Budget with historical spending, avoiding past surpluses of $20-$40 million while remaining conservative
Sustaining County operations
The County’s budget is designed to support essential operations including public safety, health and human services and infrastructure.
“Our dedicated employees continue to be one of the County’s greatest assets, ensuring stability and excellence in services delivered to residents,” Newton said. “As such, this year’s Recommended Budget maintains funding for existing benefits and traditional cost-of-living and merit raises for eligible employees.”
Aside from 24 job reclassifications to better align roles with job duties and support growth, FY26 staffing levels are budgeted to stay level.
Meeting the increasing costs of education
The Recommended Budget continues the County’s strong support for education, funding both operating and capital needs beyond state mandates for both public school systems (Cabarrus County Schools (CCS), Kannapolis City Schools (KCS) and Rowan Cabarrus Community College (RCCC).
Since FY21, total school system funding has grown 41%, compared to a 30% rise in property and sales tax revenue. During that same time, CCS and KCS student enrollment increased 5%
Historically, the County has planned for a 4.5% operating increase for the total education budget. This year, CCS requested 12.69% and KCS 9.75%. Equitable funding requires that CCS and KCS funding grows equally based on Average Daily Membership. This ensures that both systems get the same per-student funding percentage increase, even if one system does not request that large of an increase. The recommendation proposes a 10% increase for CCS and KCS.
RCCC, the County’s sole public higher education provider, has seen a 34% operating increase and 20% enrollment growth since FY21. The school now serves over 22,000 students annually..
The Recommended Budget allocates $29.05 million for capital investments across schools, representing 82% of the County’s total recommended 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
CCS, KCS and RCCC have numerous building requests. The County plans to propose a FY26 debt package to fund priority projects starting in FY27, with project selection discussions set for the coming months.
Continuing to support County capital needs
The recommendation proposes 13 County-level projects totaling $6.15 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
- $2.15 million for the design of a new animal shelter and Sheriff’s Office renovations
Timeline and public input
The FY26 budget runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
The County hosted two budget-specific Government 101 public events earlier this year. Officials gathered at locations in Kannapolis and Mt. Pleasant to provide an overview of the budget and revaluation processes and answer questions.
In February, the board held its two-day retreat to officially kick off the budget season. A budget public hearing is slated for the June 2 Work Session. The vote is scheduled for the Regular Meeting on June 16.
To view the proposed FY26 budget, visit www.cabarruscounty.us/budget and click the tile that says “FY26 Recommended Budget.”
For those interested in exploring more about County finances, the newly formed Cabarrus Commission on Financial Efficiency (COFE) has started meeting 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 the FY26 budget process, COFE and 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.