WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-Questionable cuts in Mecklenburg County's budget

Questionable cuts in Mecklenburg County's budget

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Mecklenburg County leaders just passed next year's budget -- a budget that most certainly will hurt a lot of people.

The county is in crisis and cuts are inevitable.

This number - a jolting $79 million - an eight-figure shortfall for Mecklenburg County in the coming fiscal year.

And the county's put together a budget that helps make up that money.

The deepest cuts come from the county's largest departments: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system will lose $33 million. The Sheriff's Office is down $8 million dollars. And the health department is losing $2 million in funding.

Those major departments are losing a percentage of their annual money, but other programs are suffering even more. Some are losing funding all together.

These are programs some argue are just as important.

The county is cutting money to help with drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health programs. And there are substantial losses to disease fighting programs, like the Metrolina Aids Project.

Yet $1.2 million is being spent on indoor swimming pools.

And as WBTV's Melissa Hankins reports, the reasons why aren't crystal clear.