Charlotte bond referendums pass, unofficial election results show
Three city of Charlotte bond referendums to create affordable housing and make street and neighborhood improvements handily passed, unofficial election results show.
The “yes” votes for $226 million in bonds captured more than 73% percent of votes, according to tallies from the North Carolina Board of Elections with all precincts reporting.
Bonds for affordable housing passed 73.96% to 26.04%; street improvements 77.19% to 22.81%; and neighborhood improvements 77.14% to 22.86%.
The city hasn’t yet finalized a line-item budget for the bonds, but $146.2 million will go toward streets improvements, $29.8 million will be for neighborhood improvements and $50 million will be for affordable housing.
A Charlotte pro-bond campaign, Vote Yes for City Bonds, raised almost $500,000 this election to encourage voters to support the referendums.
Historically such bonds typically pass with 70% or more of the vote. There was no organized opposition this year.
Previous bonds and taxes
The last bond package was approved by voters in 2020 and included $197.2 million for transportation, housing and neighborhood improvements.
The 2022 bonds would not raise property taxes. The city’s AAA bond rating, the highest rating a municipality can receive, allows it to invest safely and take on less debt to keep tax rates steady for residents, spokesman Lawrence Corley said.
“(General obligation) debt is supported by the faith and credit of the city which includes levying taxes sufficient to repay the debt,” Corley wrote in an email. “Additional debt could impact tax rates, particularly when the additional debt is issued at higher rates.”
The proposed street improvement bond would fund street construction, streetscaping, pedestrian infrastructure, utility relocation, bicycle paths, sidewalk construction and repairs, lighting, traffic control and more projects included in the city’s Strategic Mobility Plan.
The proposed neighborhood improvement bond would fund infrastructure improvements, open public space and landscaping.
The proposed housing bond would pay capital costs of low- and moderate-income housing projects.
Vote Yes For Bonds raises $500,000, spends less than half of it
Though the pro-bond campaign raised $498,000 this election, it had spent only $220,000 of it as of Nov. 1 according to the state elections board.
The top donor this quarter was the Foundation for the Carolinas, a local philanthropy group, that gave $222,500 to the campaign. The campaign was left with $350,000 cash on hand on Nov. 1, the end of the third quarter reporting period.
The campaign was largely funded by the Charlotte business community — most companies contributing $5,000 to $10,000.
Business donors include: Ally Financial, Atkins Global, Atrium Health, Barings, Beacon Development Company, Canopy Realtor Association, Coca Cola Consolidated, CPI Security Systems, HDR Engineering, HNTB Companies, Lending Tree, Lowe’s, North Carolina Association of Realtors, Pappas Properties, Piedmont Natrual Gas, Spree Hotels, Truist and Vulcan Materials.
Sports donors include the Charlotte Hornets and the Carolina Panthers.
Individual donations include: Tracy Montross of American Airlines and Johnson C. Smith University President Clarence Ambrister
Here’s how the campaign spent its money this quarter:
▪ $25,000 on campaign consulting from Charlotte-based Brian Francis Consulting
▪ $8,500 on benchmark polling services from Campaign Research and Strategy, a consulting firm based in Columbia, South Carolina
▪ $20,743.97 on public relations counsel from Chernoff Newman, a marketing agency in Columbia, South Carolina
▪ $18,127.20 on mailing from Raleigh-based Longleaf Agency LLC
▪ $6,000 on public relations from Charlotte-based Moore & Van Allen
▪ $1,065.70 for travel expenses
▪ $17,500 on “grassroots coordination” from The DreamLife Agency, a Charlotte event planning company.
