Kannapolis City Manager Wilmer Melton presented the recommended Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget to the Kannapolis City Council Monday evening. The total recommended budget is $134,218,842 which includes all seven operating funds of the City.
The budget includes no increase in the property tax rate. If the budget is approved in June, the tax rate will remain at 55.95 cents.
The proposed budget concentrates on three strategies:
Supporting the City’s greatest assets – its employees.
Fiscal Responsibility – the budget was drafted with the expectation that growth in revenues have and may continue to slow in the next fiscal year due to several national economic factors. Revenue streams anticipated to slow include property taxes and water and sewer revenues. The budget includes decreases in various departments to reflect the expected decreases in revenues and utility rate increases due to necessary operational, liability, and maintenance cost increases
Reinvestment in Core Services with an emphasis on customer service to residents.
“The Fiscal Year 2027 budget represents a new chapter for the Kannapolis, marked by the transition to newly elected City Council members, a new Mayor and new administrative leadership. This period of transition has provided an important opportunity for City Council and staff to reassess the City’s long-term priorities and strategic direction. City Council held budget retreats earlier this year to engage in thoughtful discussions regarding emerging issues, community challenges, future trends and goals for this fiscal year and the years ahead,” commented City Manager Wilmer Melton.
Council’s new Strategic Priorities which emerged from the retreats include:
Public Transit: revising the current system to explore the feasibility of on-demand transit service options and provide cost savings.
Enhanced Street Paving and Sidewalk Maintenance: This initiative aligns with the current City leadership’s reorientation of priorities to include more emphasis on day-to-day core services including street paving and sidewalk maintenance. There is $900,000 associated with this effort from the FY 26 budget and another $900,000 proposed in the FY 27 budget.
Western Area Fire Protection and Life Safety Services: a multi-phased transition from contracted fire and life safety services in the City’s western growth area to in-house provided service.
Historic Preservation Program: The Historic Preservation Focus Group establishes guiding principles for a new Historic Program.
Kannapolis History Museum and Downtown Visitors Center: renovation of the City-owned former Wells Fargo Building (more recently the Cannon Ballers Team offices). The Museum and Visitors Center would occupy this space. There was funding set aside in the FY 26 budget for this effort. No additional funding is allocated in the FY27 proposed budget currently.
Downtown Business Support Plan: subject to adequate feedback from downtown property owners and business owners regarding the establishment of a new Municipal Service District (MSD) Tax. For downtown and the entire City to thrive, one objective is to increase visitors - especially downtown. This Downtown Support Plan is largely centered on marketing and promotion of the downtown.
Capital Outlay Program: This program is generally designed for replacement of existing capital outlay items that have aged out to the point that ongoing maintenance is no longer cost effective. The City is behind on replacing capital and has been for several years.
Employee Pay and Benefits: City Council recognizes that the City’s employees are the most important asset in the organization. Accordingly, it supports the continued investment in pay and benefits that both retain existing employees while also attracting new talent.
Additional Budget Highlights
Transit - The proposed Transit Fund for FY 27 totals $733,000. The goal is to significantly reduce costs but maintain a reasonable level of service for the City’s residents, a reconfigured transit system has been agreed to with the City of Concord. These adjustments will begin in July 2026 and include an elimination of the Brown Route and possible slight modifications to the Blue Route, both serving Kannapolis residents. The Green Route and Yellow Route, both also serving Kannapolis, will remain as previously configured.
Additionally, over the next three years, Kannapolis intends to formally explore the feasibility of converting some or all of the fixed route transit system to an on-demand micro-transit system (“Uber” style). This will be pursued alone or in cooperation with the City of Concord.
Explore a Potential Park Bond – the bond would be for $40 million to cover construction of the Eastside and Westside Parks, development of Glen Avenue property for park and recreation purposes, and construction of Irish Buffalo Creek Greenway Phases 2 and 3, the extension of the Rocky River Greenway, and Phase 3 of the Gem Theatre renovations.
Gem Theatre & Swanee Theatres – expand development of financial sustainability plans that will result in increased revenues with a minimum reliance on General Fund subsidies for both theatres. Increases in pricing structures, rentals, events and passive recreation programming as well as reducing operational costs will be explored to achieve this goal.
Summer Concert Event Series – reduced funding in a broader effort to align recreational programming and entertainment expenditures with long-term financial priorities.
Utilities - Utility rate increases are proposed including $1.45 for the monthly water base rate and .53 cent increase per 1,000 gallons of water used, $4.80 in the monthly base rate for sewer and $1.08 increase per 1,000 gallons of sewer used and a $1 monthly increase for stormwater. The utility increases are to cover the rising costs of maintaining a clean water supply and sewer treatment system, expansion of wastewater treatment capacity, rehabilitation projects such as new waterlines and the Kannapolis Lake dam spillway project (which was built in 1940).
Personnel - Funding to cover increases in employee health and dental insurance and salaries.
Police - Replacement of police body cameras, in car cameras and tasers.
Fire - Six new firefighters for the Adaptative Response Vehicle Program (the vehicle was purchased with FY26 funds) and an increase in the cost of the Odell Fire Protection Contract for areas served inside the City.
Another year of right sizing operational costs. No new positions in any other departments. Reductions in the Human Resources, Economic Development, Information and Technology and Communications budgets. Short term borrowing of up to $6M in the General Fund to replace vehicles and equipment in various departments. For example, we need to replace a fire ladder truck which is 26 years old (which will cost approximately $2.6 million) as well as a 30 year old fire engine, police vehicles and public works department equipment.
A meeting to discuss the budget will be held at 6 p.m. on May 20. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 6 p.m., June 8, with adoption scheduled for 6 p.m., June 22, during the City Council meeting.
View the Proposed FY 26-27 Budget