Charlotte City Council passes 2023 budget: Wednesday, June 1

Charlotte City Council has voted to pass the $3.24 billion 2023 fiscal year budget, which will mean no tax increase for residents and a boost in pay to city employees.While citizens won't see a bump on their taxes, there will be changes to parking in South End and uptown. Chiefly, hourly parking rates in both areas will go up by 50 cents, and drivers will now need to pay to park on Saturdays.Along with those items, the budget also includes money to electrify city vehicles.The city government's Twitter account noted the council voted unanimously to adopt the budget, and said the budget also would not lay off or furlough employees.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/wake-up-charlotte/charlotte-city-council-meeting-budget-eastland-mall-projects/275-96dc067c-560d-44e1-8490-0bf0bce8e596Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has finally confirmed clear backpacks will not go to high school students this school year, with only one week left in the school year.This comes after months of silence on the backpacks -- which cost the district nearly $500,000 -- didn’t go out as planned in March.  The backpacks were supposed to be one of many tools to curb violence in CMS schools. When the plan to deploy clear backpacks in CMS high schools was first announced, the community backlash was swift.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-clear-backpacks-not-distributed-school-year/275-8580dc74-bcaa-403c-b329-c17db3d900ecWatch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!