The Kannapolis City Council approved Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Monday evening with a vote of 6-1. The FY 2025-2026 Fee Schedule was approved with a vote of 5-2. The total budget for the upcoming fiscal year is $126,007,842 which includes all seven operating funds of the City.

The budget includes no increase in the property tax rate. The tax rate will remain at 55.95 cents per $100 valuation.

The budget concentrates on several strategies:

Fiscal Responsibility – the budget was drafted with the expectation that growth in revenues will slow in the next fiscal year due, in part, to several national economic factors. Revenue streams anticipated to slow include property taxes, sales taxes, and water and sewer revenues. The budget includes several expenditure decreases to reflect the expected decreases in revenues.  While these slower than expected revenues may not ultimately materialize, the budget is focused on short-term caution and fiscal responsibility.

Retaining existing employees and recruiting new people to work for the City.

Cash Reserves – The City has built its cash reserves (savings account) to pay for one-time expenditures versus the City issuing new debt.

The continued implementation of the Imagine Kannapolis Strategic Plan which includes mapping out the next five years of initiatives and projects for the City and subsequently, a five-year Financial Plan.

Maintaining Core Services with an emphasis on customer service to residents.

In 2022 the City launched the Imagine Kannapolis Strategic Plan. The goal is to imagine the future of Kannapolis, especially what objectives the City would like to achieve in the next decade. Thirteen focus groups were formed, and dozens of residents participated in developing the strategic plan. Priorities were balanced with the needs the City will have during the next ten years and items Kannapolis would like to have to be a healthy quality of life and economically strong City.

In this year’s budget, several Imagine Kannapolis priorities are funded, and a plan is outlined to fund additional Imagine Kannapolis priorities over the next five years. These will be subject to City Council ultimately adopting the final version of the Strategic Plan.  A re-examination of the initial Plan priorities and a discussion of potential changes is planned for the first half of the new fiscal year.

Imagine Kannapolis FY 25-26 Proposed Projects and Initiatives include:

$1,350,000 – Construction of a Fire Training Tower at Fire Station 1

$1,000,000 – Western Cabarrus Emergency Communications Tower

$105,000 – Fire Department Logistics Building

$124,500 – Downtown one-time capital and operational investments

$324,000 – Little Texas Sidewalk

$392,119 – Main Street Parking Lot

$100,000 – Downtown Event and Promotional Support (two part-time staff positions)

$100,000 – Cultural Arts/Historic Preservation Programming

Future Imagine Kannapolis Proposed Projects and Initiatives:

Eastside Park Construction

Revitalization of Midway Area

Midlake Avenue Sidewalk

Baker’s Creek Park Building Replacement

Irish Buffalo Creek Greenway Phase II (Rogers Lake Road to N.C. Highway 3/Safrit Park)

Public Works Operations Center Improvements

Westside Park Construction

Cabarrus Joint Public Safety Training Facility

School Athletic Field Improvements

Enhanced Street Paving and Sidewalk Repair

“While this year’s budget is less aggressive in terms of new initiatives and capital items than previous years, there are many projects underway to continue to move Kannapolis forward in a positive direction. Our revitalization is well established and many of our Imagine Kannapolis initiatives are on track to advance to their completion,” said Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg. 

Other highlights of the budget include:

Recruitment and retention of employees continues to be a high priority for the City. The budget includes five percent salary increases for employees, enhancements to health insurance and retirement programs, and a pilot employee daycare subsidy.

No new full-time positions in any departments. No new capital outlay items are included in this budget, however $2.1 million was included in last year’s FY 25 Budget.

The water and sewer base rate will increase by $3.31 per month. This represents only the second increase in six years and is required to fund improvements to the Kannapolis Lake Dam Spillway and to cover costs associated with the expansion of the Rocky River Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The repairs to the dam are mandated by the state. The dam was originally built in 1940 and is in need of these repairs.

No increase in stormwater fees. There is a $5 per month increase in the environmental fee, the first increase in several years. This is due primarily to an increase in recycling disposal costs and increases in collecting and disposing of garbage.