July projected peak in Charlotte; masks could be required when leaving home

CHARLOTTE — The Mecklenburg County health director said Monday the projected peak for COVID-19 in the county will be in July, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the county will be under a stay-at-home order until that point.

Mecklenburg County business leaders held a roundtable meeting Monday. Those meetings are usually private and Monday was the first time it was open to the public.

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County Manager Dena Diorio said the purpose of the meeting was to get ready for Phase 1 of the governor’s order.

Shopping malls and all retailers will be able to open, according to Diorio. She said the stay-at-home order will be modified and not lifted, which means people will be allowed to leave their houses for some activities, such as shopping.

The order is still in effect. The mass gatherings limit will still be 10 people. People will still be encouraged to wear face coverings. Phase 1 will either start Thursday or Friday, according to Diorio.

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A representative with the N.C. Retailers Association said in Phase 1, businesses that reopen will have the same occupancy requirements as businesses that are open now.

The requirement will be 20% occupancy of the fire code or five people per 1,000 square feet.

Diorio asked the Retailers Association about whether there should be a face-covering requirement for employees. The rep for the association said people are still having difficulty finding face coverings.

Businesses are encouraged to post signs and communicate on social media their policy on face masks. They will not need someone at the front counting customers, unless they reasonably believe they could get to maximum capacity.

The county may look at loosening some golf restrictions, such as allowing more than one person in a cart.

County Health Director Gibbie Harris said the state is likely going to recommend anyone who leaves their house to have a face covering. Harris wants to explore a face-mask requirement for shoppers during Phase 1.

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“The state is going to recommend that anyone coming out of their house has on a face covering,” Harris said.

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Diorio said they will look to Cooper for guidance on face masks. If Mecklenburg pursues a face-mask requirement it could end up being more restrictive than other parts of the state.

Carol Lovin, who is the executive vice president of Atrium, and Jesse Cureton of Novant aren’t currently endorsing a face-covering mandate.

“This community has been pretty compliant,” Lovin said. “Can you get there with just a strong stance on how important this is for the protection of everybody without doing a mandate?”

They say Mecklenburg County residents have been largely compliant and it may be more effective for the county to “strongly encourage” face coverings.

“You got to wear your mask. See to me, if you don’t wear your mask, you can’t come in,” Walmart shopper Sylvester Shaw said.

On dressing rooms, some retailers may sanitize and steam clothes that are tried on and not purchased. Others have indicated they will clean the items and keep them off the shelves for a couple days. There’s a good chance some places won’t open their dressing rooms.

Diorio says the county is in good shape tracing wise. According to officials, school nurses have helped. Around 70 people are trained to contact trace and 30 are doing it daily.

Shaw said, “The masks are a good thing, because you need to protect yourself, protect somebody else because you don’t know how you are going to get it, and it is very important to obey the law of the land and trust in God. It should be mandatory.”

News on Charlotte’s city budget for fiscal year 2021:

• No tax increase
• No furloughs or layoffs
• No capital project delays
• No reduction in bond referenda

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Highlights of the proposed FY 2021 budget include:

• Closing a $21.8 million budget gap created by COVID-19 by reducing discretionary expenses, eliminating vacant positions, and shifting funds. Taxes are not being increased and no staff are being furloughed or laid off.
• The FY 2021 proposed budget is structurally balanced with no use of operating reserves and no elimination of services.
• There were no capital projects delayed because of financial considerations.
• Not balancing the budget on the backs of Team Charlotte. Employees will be eligible for a 3 percent increase in pay. Sworn public safety employees will be eligible for up to 6.5 percent, with a 1.5 percent market adjustment and 2.5-5 percent step increase.
• Continuing to invest in public safety by completing our two-year police pay plan and year two of our three-year fire pay plan to increase pay for veteran first responders. Voluntary resignations are down for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) (25 percent) and the Charlotte Fire Department (50 percent), and new recruit applications are up for both CMPD (24 percent) and CFD (7 percent).
• A $50 million affordable housing bond. The same amount of funds has been committed to housing bonds during the past two bond cycles than the previous eight years combined.
• Investing $24.5 million in corridor revitalization through the Corridors of Opportunity strategy.
• More than $47 million invested in transportation and mobility to build and repair sidewalks, advance the city’s Bicycle Program, improve traffic flow and mitigate congestion.
• Continuing our environmental leadership by purchasing 20 electric vehicles and investing $1 million in an electric car charging infrastructure as part of the Strategic Energy Action Plan.
• We are keeping fees low. For the second consecutive year we are not raising Storm Water Services fees, there will be no increase to Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) fees, the 1.9 percent Charlotte Water rate increase is the lowest rate increase in more than 10 years, and Solid Waste Services fees are only increasing by 80 cents per month.

2021 Budget Details

Closing the COVID-19 Budget Gap

• No recommended tax increase.
• $8.5 million in government reductions and adjustments.
• Eliminated vacant positions and established a hiring freeze
• Reduced discretionary expenses.
• $6.8 million shifted to General Fund to minimize impact to core services (public safety, transportation, planning, housing, solid waste, etc.).
• Shifting revenue to the General Fund from other sources, primarily the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) fund.
• $4.26 million from moving and expanding street resurfacing supplement from General Fund to the PAYGO fund and Capital Investment Plan (CIP).
• $3.5 million from additional revenue.

Supporting Team Charlotte

• 3 percent salary increase for General Fund employees.
• 1.5 percent increase and a step increase of 2.5-5 percent for public safety employees.
• Enhanced compensation for the public safety pay plan.
• 5 percent increase for police already at the top of the pay scale, effective in December.
• 2.5-5 percent increase for CFD employees at the top of the pay scale, effective in November.
• No health care premium increase.
• Continue providing employees with the $33 All-Access Transit Pass.
• No layoffs or furloughs.

Great Neighborhoods

· $50 million housing bond.

· $44.5 million neighborhood bond.

· Comprehensive strategy focusing on Corridors of Opportunity.

o Focus on six corridors.

o $24.5 million total investment between capital program and PAYGO, including $5 million included in Economic Development’s section.

§ $5 million available PAYGO to support business development in corridors.

§ $5 million available for other corridor activities such as placemaking, developing playbooks, community engagement, and housing activities.

§ $14.5 million capital investment for infrastructure enhancements, sidewalks, safety improvements and other transportation initiatives.

· $30 million to complete the Comprehensive Neighborhood Improvement Program.

· $3.4 million for innovative housing solutions beyond the housing bond.

Safe Communities

· $500,000 in funding resources to continue to build grassroots capacity to achieve safer communities.

· Launching a fellowship pilot to work with communities to address violent crime.

· Supporting a violence interrupter pilot.

· Three new, full-time employee positions for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office

· Three new safety and fire prevention officers in CFD through a federal grant.

Transportation, Planning, and the Environment

• $1 million for electric charging infrastructure, and 20 new, fully electric vehicles for the city’s fleet.
• $2 million to increase building sustainability.
• $102.2 million transportation bond, including:
• $18 million for phase one of the Bryant Farms Road Extension project.
• $15 million to build and repair sidewalks.
• $4 million to advance the city’s Bicycle Program.
• $2 million for Vision Zero.
• $7.6 million, supplemented with $6.7 million of existing funding ($14.3 million total) for a traffic congestion mitigation program in Steele Creek, south Charlotte, and University City.
• $20.3 million for the existing Northeast Corridor Infrastructure program.
• No fee increase for Storm Water Services and a five-year, $518.5 million CIP.
• Lowest water rate increase in more than a decade (1.9 percent) and a five-year CIP of $1.9 billion.
• No fee increase for CATS and the ability for CATS to maintain its existing service level, despite financial uncertainty. A five-year CIP totaling $149.1 million.
• $2 billion CIP for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Workforce Development

· $5 million available through PAYGO to support business development in corridors, including in the Corridors of Opportunity strategy

· $1 million to continue to enhance Economic Development programs, including virtual talent development programs.

· $450,000 of resources for Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise (MWSBE) development, including AMP Up!

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