Charlotte City Council held a budget workshop Monday afternoon and heard it may take more money — and possibly higher taxes — to fill vacancies in the police department.
The council also outlined priorities for next year’s budget, including investments in city operations, fleet maintenance for emergency services and managing overtime costs in public safety.
The city also saw a small uptick in vacancies of sworn police officers, rising from 8.6% in 2025 to 9% this year. Councilmember Dimple Ajmera said that’s concerning.
"As the chief said at the hearing that, we are falling behind when we compare our city to other neighboring towns and municipalities," Ajmera said.
Later during the meeting, Council member Dante Anderson noted that it might be time to look at raising taxes to pay for more public safety.
"We might be facing a situation that we have to increase taxes, to double down on public safety, as it relates to CMPD as well as, our, our fire, sworn fire officers," Anderson said.
City officials also said much of the vacancy rate stems from retirements, with 80 to 90 officers reaching that milestone each year.
