Expenditures total $450,241,008, a $24,974,321 (5.87%) increase from the prior year. The following three sections present expenditures by category, fund, function and department.

Operations include all expenses, outside of personnel, required to provide service. Examples include office supplies, technology, equipment, uniforms, fuel and utilities. Operations expenditures total $262,750,461 a $15,283,458 (6.18%) increase from the prior year. Significant increases include:

Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA) – the budget includes an additional $874,432, an 8.64% increase from the prior year. The budget funds for inflationary and merit increases for CHA staff, nurses for the school nurse program. Additional funding will also allow CHA to provide a behavioral health program for the Jail.

Personnel Services include all expenditures associated with employment including salaries and benefits. The Cabarrus County Personnel Management Policy calls for annual cost-of-living salary adjustments (COLA) and merit pay raises based on performance. The budget provides a one percent COLA and merit pay raises of up to four percent. Included in these costs are also salary adjustment being implemented as a result of market study conducted of various department positions.

Personnel Services expenditures total $126,664,649, a $13,095,621 (11.53%) increase from the prior year. Increases include 12 New Positions to support the following functions:

Capital Outlay includes capital purchases between $5,000 and $99,999. Examples include equipment, vehicles, and furniture. Capital Outlay expenditues total $19,550,624, a $87,775 (0.45%) decrease from the prior year.

The budget across all funds totals $450,241,009 a $24,974,321 (5.87%) increase from the prior year. For further details of these funds, see the "Fund Summaries" section".

Education/School Debt

The budget for Education/School Debt is $144,145,385, a $7,665,269 (5.62%) increase from the prior year. Education/School Debt funds Cabarrus County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools, multiple charter schools, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) and debt associated with the acquisition and construction of capital assets for the school systems and community college.

Public Safety

The budget for Public Safety is $83,103,045, a $8,492,355 (11.38%) increase from the prior year. Public Safety expenditures provide safety and security for the public. This section includes the Sheriff’s Department, which includes the Jail, Animal Control and Animal Shelter. Other departments included in this category are Courts, Construction Standards, Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services and the 911 Emergency Telephone System Fund. Beginning with the FY24 budget the Sheriff's Office budget is adding separate divisions (departments) to account for deputies provided to Towns of Harrisburg, Midland and Mount Pleasant. In addition, a separate division has also been created to account for staff provided as School Resource Officers to Cabarrus County Schools.

General Government

The budget for General Government is $64,267,694, a $1,334,646 (2.12%) increase from the prior year. The General Government Service area accounts for county services for the benefit of the public and the governmental body as a whole. This service area includes: Board of Commissioners, County Manager's Office, Communications and Outreach, Human Resources, Tax Collection and Administration, Board of Elections, Register of Deeds, Finance, Information Services, Infrastructure and Asset Management, Health and Dental Insurance and Non-departmental, which includes programs that relate to the General Fund and not a particular department. Beginning with the FY24 the County Manager office budget is adding separate divisions to account for the many function that have been part of the CMO's budget. These new divisions (departments) include Budget, Strategy, Internal Audit, Procurement, Safety & Risk and Facility Design & Construction

Contributions

The budget for Contribution to Other Funds is $59,833,172, a $159,122 (0.27%) increase from the prior year. Contributions include expenditures to other funds such as the Community Investment, Capital Project, Landfill, Arena, and the OPEB Trust funds.

Human Services

The budget for Human Services is $56,650,713, a $3,545,608 (6.68%) increase from the prior year. Human Services expenditures are those that promote general health and well-being of the individuals within the community. This area includes Veterans Services, Medicaid and Senior Transportation, Cooperative Extension, Human Services, Aging Services, Child Welfare, Child Support and the Cabarrus Health Alliance.

Non-Education Debt Service

The budget for Non- Education Debt Services is $23,565,867, a ($3,450,419) (17.15%) increase from the prior year. Other debt service accounts for principal and interest payments on debt, other than school debt, for the acquisition and construction of capital assets such as the Arena, Jail, Jail Annex and Sheriff Administrative Building.

Culture and Recreation

The budget for Culture and Recreation is $10,232,233, a $372,561 (3.78%) increase from the prior year. Culture and Recreation expenditures provide residents with opportunities and facilities for cultural, recreational and educational programs. These opportunities include programming at the senior center, county parks, Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Fair and Public Libraries.

Economic and Physical Development

The budget for Economic and Physical Development is $6,358,498, a ($34,812) (0.55%) increase from the prior year. The Economic and Physical Development service area provides for the orderly planning of growth and development, along with incentives to drive economic growth in the County. This area includes Planning and Development, Community Development, Soil and Water Conservation, Zoning Administration, Economic Development Incentives and Economic Development Corporation.

Environmental Protection

The budget for Environmental Protection is $2,084,400, a -$80,472 (-3.72%) decrease from the prior year. Environmental Protection services provides environmental safety and quality. These services include the Landfill and Waste Reduction / Recycling Departments.

Expenditures are budgeted across nine functions: