Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget

CabCo Budget: The Blueprint for our Future

The budget is the annual financial plan for Cabarrus County Government. In North Carolina, counties are an extension of State Government. Most of the County's revenue comes from certain sources and must be used for specific purposes. Nearly 80% of the County's budget funds State-required services, like Social Services, and school construction and maintenance. The other approximately 20% goes to non-mandated (optional) services--these are local programs that serve local needs and resident interests, like libraries and parks.

Explore a full breakdown of how FY25 County taxes are used at cabarruscounty.us/TaxBillExplainer. This easy-to-use app takes your property value (searchable if you aren't sure) and fully explains how it's used within County government.

State-required services (mandated)
Services, programs and projects the state requires Cabarrus County to fund include:

• Elections
• Building Code Enforcement
• Emergency Medical Services
• Emergency Management
• Mental Health
• Public Schools
• Property Assessment
• Register of Deeds
• Sheriff's Office/Jail Operations
• Social Services
• Tax Administration
• School/Courthouse/Jail Facility Construction and Maintenance (NOTE: all large-scale construction projects are designed to meet the county's needs for 50 or more years into the future!)

Local priorities (non-mandated)
Cabarrus County applies a smaller portion of its budget to local priorities.

• Local funding discussions always start with support for our schools, which include Cabarrus County School District, Kannapolis City School District and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Beyond construction, the County funds increases to local school staff salaries; school nurses at each elementary, middle and high school; safety enhancements; technology; and more.
• Public safety is also a top priority for County officials. Funding goes to enhance resources, tools and training for our local Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Sheriff's Office, Emergency Management Department and the Fire Marshal's Office. The County also monitors and supports public safety through Planning & Development and Construction Standards.
• Cabarrus County residents expect a good quality of life. The County supports lifelong education, health, wellness, agriculture and environmental management. You may have participated in one of these initiatives by visiting our local libraries, parks, senior centers, the Cabarrus County Fair, Cooperative Extension office, the Arena & Events Center, Household Hazardous Waste Facility or Construction and Demolition Landfill (Irish Potato Road.).
• Behind these state-required and local priority services are core services that keep our technology running, manage finances, increase transparency, improve operations, maintain buildings and support a dedicated workforce of more than 1,400 public servants who focus on delivering the best possible service to our residents. The County also contracts to provide some core services on behalf of the cities and towns in Cabarrus County, which cuts down on duplication of services and administrative costs.

What's not on the list? Roads and bridges. The State does not permit counties to maintain roads and bridges. For more information on those programs, contact the NC Department of Transportation or your city (if it's within city limits).

Learn more about county and city services by reading the UNC School of Government online book, "Local Government in North Carolina."