My Commitment to Charlotte Residents
At J.G. Lockhart for Charlotte City Council, we prioritize transparent communication, community engagement, infrastructure development, public safety, and sustainable growth. We understand that clear, honest, and timely communication on these issues is essential to building and maintaining public trust.
Why Charlotteans Should Vote NO on Proposed Tax Increase
A proposed tax increase could place additional financial burdens on Charlotteans, hindering their ability to invest in new ventures, pursue creative projects, and contribute to the local economy. Read my stance on this and why you should vote NO.
As per the Transit Governance Interlocal Agreement of 1999, the city of Charlotte, her residents and her interests have had a 5% say in planning interests of all long-range public transportation plans and 11% of the voting rights in all long-range public transportation plans for Charlotte owned C.A.T.S. (Charlotte Area Transit System).
The city of Charlotte is the largest municipality in the county of Mecklenburg and state of North Carolina with a population of 1 million residents. The city of Charlotte makes up 85% of the county’s taxbase and population but only has a minority representation on the regional Metropolitan Transit Commission or MTC.
The current MTC has 17 members, 2 of which are self-appointed. C.A.T.S. does not have any representation and Charlotte is a voting minority (1 out of 17, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles) on this board of commissioners. The other 16 members are as follows:
Mayor of Concord
Mayor of Cornelius
Mayor of Davidson
Mayor of Gastonia
Mayor of Huntersville
Mayor of Indian Trail
Mayor of Matthews
Mayor of Mint Hill
Mayor of Monroe
Mayor of Mooresville
Mayor of Pineville
Mayor of Stallings
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Chair
NC Dept of Transportation Representative
SC Dept of Transportation Representative
York County, SC (Mayor of Rock Hill, SC
***The MTC has the authority to force the city manager to remove the CEO of C.A.T.S by a majority vote via the Transit Interlocal Agreement.
The transit plan with a one cent proposal was presented to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners by the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Although Charlotte makes up 85% of Mecklenburg County’s population and taxbase, Charlotte only had a 5% say in the planning and 11% in voting rights in what was presented to the Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners.
Charlotte taxpayers will fork out 85% (or 17 billion dollars) of the revenue that will be raised by the .01cent tax increase for a plan that does not offer best interest solutions for the city.
The current plan does not address the city of Charlotte’s transit needs for short term or long term. Micro transit is a temporary band-aid with unproven results in other cities. The current plan calls for 100 million dollars to go to road improvements for the towns of Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius in the first 5 years and completion of 50% of the RedLine to Mooresville before any other projects are started.
This passage of this one cent tax referendum will transfer the ownership and assets (including rail lines purchased from Norfolk Southern) of C.A.T.S to the new operating authority. This new authority (Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority or MPTA) will consist of 27 members:
6*** - Appointed by Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners
1 – Mayor of Huntersville
1 – Mayor of Cornelius
1 – Mayor of Matthews
1 – Mayor of Mint Hill
1 – Mayor of Davidson
1 – Mayor of Pineville
12*** – Charlotte City Council
***3 must be recommended by a “business interest entity of the county.” So in effect, Charlotte City Council will only have 6 choices, and the County Commissioners will have 9 choices leaving Charlotte’s interests in planning and voting as a minority again.
2 – General Assembly (1 House, 1 Senate)
1 – Governor
Of those 27 members, Charlotte will have 6 voices in the planning and voting (22%)
With the same money (17 billion dollars) Charlotteans will pay toward the current plan, Charlotte can address many of its bus-related transit challenges.
This plan is not for the city of Charlotte and its residents because it was not planned for Charlotte and its residents in mind and until Charlotte gains fair representation on this committee or any future committees, Charlotte taxpayers will always pay the lion's share of Mecklenburg County’s transits costs but see a pittance toward their own transit needs.
The Authority shall complete at least fifty percent (50%) of the Red Line as evidenced by a scope of work schedule created and submitted by the general contractor or construction manager on the project before the completion of any other rail project (pg7, Sec 4.9 (2, 3, 4)… Planning, design, and construction work may occur simultaneously on other rail projects, but only to the extent that those activities do not interfere with or delay the completion of the Red Line.
The Authority shall solicit input from the Towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville on all aspects of the Red Line design, including conceptual design, construction drawings, and station location. If the Red Line extends to the Town of Mooresville, the Authority shall also solicit input from that Town. (4) The Authority shall reimburse the City of Charlotte for the acquisition of the Norfolk Southern O-Line and related property. The amount to be reimbursed may not be more than the cost to the City of Charlotte to acquire the property from Norfolk Southern, including any costs for indebtedness incurred by the City with respect to the acquisition. The Authority and the City of Charlotte shall jointly agree to a schedule for reimbursement of these costs.
Download Amended Transit Governance Interlocal Agreement
Download Second Amended and Restated Transit Governance Interlocal Agreement
Download Original Transit Governance Interlocal Agreement
Download 2007 Transit Tax Report John Locke Foundation
Download PAVE Act: Projects For Advancing Vehicle-Infrastructure Enhancements Act