CHARLOTTE — From street improvements to CMPD, Charlotte’s $4.5 billion budget funds it all. It’s now Hannah Bromberger’s job to put it all together.
“There’s a lot of responsibility with it and I am very lucky to be in this position and to be able to stand on the shoulders of all of the greats that have come before me,” she said. “I’m lucky that those people have put the city of Charlotte in such a strong financial position.”
Bromberger is taking over as Charlotte’s Director of Strategy & Budget after working 12 years for the city.
It’s her and her team’s job to take Charlotte City Council’s priorities and find the most efficient ways to put money behind them. No two days are the same.
“My favorite part about working in local government is getting to provide the funds needed to all of our frontline workers, whether that’s public safety workers, whether that’s our labor crews, getting to see what they do every day is really amazing to watch,” she said.
As she and her team work on this upcoming budget, they are monitoring changes out of Raleigh. Voters this year will decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment to put in place a levy limit for property tax increases. Bromberger can’t advocate for or against the change but says she is prepared for whatever happens.
“What the language will say is it will ask residents if they believe that there should be a limit to property tax increases, and that’s about all the detail that we have,” she said. “So we anticipate that if that is approved, that the legislature would come back in November and December and put some enabling legislation around that.”
She is encouraging everyone who cares about local government to get involved in the budget process because that’s where change happens
“We always want to hear from residents and that helps us inform what we put together as part of the budget,” she said.