CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte voters will find three city bond questions on their ballots in the Nov. 3 election, together asking permission for the City of Charlotte to borrow $425 million for roads, housing and neighborhood work.
The largest question covers $280 million in transportation bonds. That money would go toward building, widening and repaving streets, along with sidewalks, bike and pedestrian paths, bridges, storm drains and traffic signals. Some of the streets involved are part of the state highway system.
A second question seeks $125 million for housing projects that serve people with low or moderate incomes, including land purchases and the infrastructure tied to those developments. The third asks for $20 million in neighborhood improvements such as curbs, gutters, sidewalks, lighting and public open space.
Each question is a separate yes-or-no vote. A yes vote lets the city issue that bond; a no vote blocks it. The ballot language warns that property taxes could be raised to repay the debt, but the city’s own estimate of the tax increase needed for each measure is zero dollars per $100,000 of assessed value per year.
Interest adds to the bill. Using the highest rate charged on similar debt over the past two decades, the ballot puts the full cost of the transportation bonds at about $437.1 million over their life and the housing bonds at about $198.4 million.
The referendum grew out of the city budget. City Council approved the fiscal 2027 budget and five-year capital plan, which included the $425 million bond package, on June 8. Members introduced the bond orders on June 22 and adopted them after a public hearing on Aug. 10.
If voters approve, the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections will certify the count first. City Council will then be asked to formally declare the results, and the state Local Government Commission is slated to take up the referendum at its January 2027 meeting.
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