The city of Charlotte said it plans to be transparent with the public about how it spends more than $100 million in road money annually. The windfall comes after Mecklenburg County voters last week approved raising the sales tax to pay for a multi-billion dollar transportation plan.
The sales tax will increase from 7.25% to 8.25% starting in July.
Soon after that, Charlotte and the six Mecklenburg towns will receive millions for “roadway systems.” That includes intersection improvements, new travel lanes, sidewalks and bike lanes.
Ed McKinney, Charlotte’s point person for the mobility plan, said residents want to know how the money will be spent.
“The most common thing I hear is no matter where you are in support of this we need to know you are going to do what you say,” he told City Council Monday. “We need to know where the money goes, we need to know schedules, projects, etc.”
He said the city has created an online dashboard so people can track tax spending.
While 40 percent of tax revenue will go for roads, the other 60 percent will be for transit. A new transit authority -that is separate from the city- will handle that money.
