News & Record Cartoon
I loved the cartoon in today's paper. I kow lots of my friends and family will see my face behind that computer. Although I try not to use the *&_+#$% words. Hey ! I said I try.
Greensboro Budget Talk
City Budget Briefing
This morning I went to the city hall and listened to City Manager Ed Kitchens and City Budget Director Larry Davis tell the Greensboro City Council members about the proposed 2006-07 budget. There were some questions and some discussion from council members.
One thing that was discussed was the possible loss of transit funds from the federal
government. The council was told that if Greensboro loses the current transportation money coming from the feds, city taxes will have to go up 25 cents per 100 dollar assessed value on property. This is just to maintain current service.
One thing that wasn’t discussed was the expected transit funds from the federal government. The city expects to get money to fund 80 percent of the cost of bus service to connect all the city college campuses with each other and with downtown. Students would ride free on all city buses. The colleges will help pay for the service after a few years. All colleges in the area, with the exception of NCA&T, are ok with the plan. Sneaked into this plan is funding for a downtown circulator that has been talked about for several years (AKA a downtown trolley).
Maybe we can find out about this at a later briefing.
The city fire dept. needs 30 new folks, 29 new firefighters for the 2 new fire stations and one employee at the city-county combined 9-1-1-center. Some money will be used for training so that the new firefighters will be ready to move in as soon as the new stations are ready. All agreed that fire protection is a necessary service that should be funded.
I learned in other meetings that several other stations are projected to be built and staffed in the near future to service newly annexed areas and older stations will be replaced or updated. I think that most of this will be paid from bonds.
It was also noted today that next year (after the city elections) debt service will go up because of bonds approved in 2000.
January 2006 (after city elections) water rates will increase by 10 percent.
There will also be an increase in expenses in the 2007 budget to cover some of the costs associated with the trash transfer station. This is now referred to as the Refuse Transfer Station. There was no talk about the fact that the dump (AKA the city landfill) will still be used for Construction and Demolition Waste.
Sales tax revenue into the city till is expected to rise by about 6 percent next year. Retail sales in Guilford County have been flat for several years but are expected to improve. The Guilford County Commission controls how much money goes to municipal governments out of the county sales tax revenue. And who knows what that bunch will do.
Tom Phillips again suggested that the city take a look at fees vs taxes. He mentioned Cable TV as a good place to start. He also thinks that the council should take a second look at low interest loans to businesses locating or expanding in the central business district downtown. There was some discussion about this. I heard Councilman Phillips tell Mayor Holliday, “I’m going to vote against it, anyway.”
There was the usual discussion about how Park and Rec money should be spent. And some more discussion about who should pay for maintenance of the new downtown park. The City Manager advised against accepting a donation of the park by the current owners because the city had no part in planning the park and the costs associated with maintaining it. He said that the city can put a cap on what they will pay if the park belongs to someone else, but if the city owns the park, all costs associated with it will have to be the responsibility of the taxpayers.
There was some more talk, but at noon some of the council members had other things to do, so the meeting broke up until later in the week.
This morning I went to the city hall and listened to City Manager Ed Kitchens and City Budget Director Larry Davis tell the Greensboro City Council members about the proposed 2006-07 budget. There were some questions and some discussion from council members.
One thing that was discussed was the possible loss of transit funds from the federal
government. The council was told that if Greensboro loses the current transportation money coming from the feds, city taxes will have to go up 25 cents per 100 dollar assessed value on property. This is just to maintain current service.
One thing that wasn’t discussed was the expected transit funds from the federal government. The city expects to get money to fund 80 percent of the cost of bus service to connect all the city college campuses with each other and with downtown. Students would ride free on all city buses. The colleges will help pay for the service after a few years. All colleges in the area, with the exception of NCA&T, are ok with the plan. Sneaked into this plan is funding for a downtown circulator that has been talked about for several years (AKA a downtown trolley).
Maybe we can find out about this at a later briefing.
The city fire dept. needs 30 new folks, 29 new firefighters for the 2 new fire stations and one employee at the city-county combined 9-1-1-center. Some money will be used for training so that the new firefighters will be ready to move in as soon as the new stations are ready. All agreed that fire protection is a necessary service that should be funded.
I learned in other meetings that several other stations are projected to be built and staffed in the near future to service newly annexed areas and older stations will be replaced or updated. I think that most of this will be paid from bonds.
It was also noted today that next year (after the city elections) debt service will go up because of bonds approved in 2000.
January 2006 (after city elections) water rates will increase by 10 percent.
There will also be an increase in expenses in the 2007 budget to cover some of the costs associated with the trash transfer station. This is now referred to as the Refuse Transfer Station. There was no talk about the fact that the dump (AKA the city landfill) will still be used for Construction and Demolition Waste.
Sales tax revenue into the city till is expected to rise by about 6 percent next year. Retail sales in Guilford County have been flat for several years but are expected to improve. The Guilford County Commission controls how much money goes to municipal governments out of the county sales tax revenue. And who knows what that bunch will do.
Tom Phillips again suggested that the city take a look at fees vs taxes. He mentioned Cable TV as a good place to start. He also thinks that the council should take a second look at low interest loans to businesses locating or expanding in the central business district downtown. There was some discussion about this. I heard Councilman Phillips tell Mayor Holliday, “I’m going to vote against it, anyway.”
There was the usual discussion about how Park and Rec money should be spent. And some more discussion about who should pay for maintenance of the new downtown park. The City Manager advised against accepting a donation of the park by the current owners because the city had no part in planning the park and the costs associated with maintaining it. He said that the city can put a cap on what they will pay if the park belongs to someone else, but if the city owns the park, all costs associated with it will have to be the responsibility of the taxpayers.
There was some more talk, but at noon some of the council members had other things to do, so the meeting broke up until later in the week.
The Big Bang!
It is a few seconds past 10 am Monday, May 23, 2005. I just heard a horribly loud noise and felt my house shake a bit.
Now there are only the usual street sounds, a conversation on the sidewalk outside my house, the sounds of wind as it passes through the shrubs and trees, and the hum and bump of the city garbage truck as it stops and goes - empting the big cans of household trash and recycling in the neighborhood. Back to the usual Monday morning.
But, all is not the same. Gone is one of Greensboro's most interesting buildings. The trees and landscape surrounding the Burlington Building on West Friendly Avenue have been gone for months. All that was left was the skeleton of a once grand building. Now that is just a heap of rubble.
I am sad.
diane
Now there are only the usual street sounds, a conversation on the sidewalk outside my house, the sounds of wind as it passes through the shrubs and trees, and the hum and bump of the city garbage truck as it stops and goes - empting the big cans of household trash and recycling in the neighborhood. Back to the usual Monday morning.
But, all is not the same. Gone is one of Greensboro's most interesting buildings. The trees and landscape surrounding the Burlington Building on West Friendly Avenue have been gone for months. All that was left was the skeleton of a once grand building. Now that is just a heap of rubble.
I am sad.
diane
WHY?
I don' t know why, but now North Carolina is spelled the way it should be. I must have done something right. Maybe since I have kinda gotten that straightened out, I can start thinking about something else. See ya later.
diane
diane
spelling
Well, I told you so!
I did it. In the section of this blog called "about me" I misspelled my own state. I went to the "edit my profile" section and Carolina is spelled correctly there.
Please tell me how to change it on the blog. Like I said before, I'm still learning about this posting on-line stuff. I can't believe that I didn't find that Carolina was spelled wrong before now. I used to work as a proof reader.
diane
I did it. In the section of this blog called "about me" I misspelled my own state. I went to the "edit my profile" section and Carolina is spelled correctly there.
Please tell me how to change it on the blog. Like I said before, I'm still learning about this posting on-line stuff. I can't believe that I didn't find that Carolina was spelled wrong before now. I used to work as a proof reader.
diane
 |
| PPH |
TRYING
I am trying to improve my blogging knowledge and blogging skills. I have changed the site to allow comments from folks who want to identify themselves and those who had rather post comments anonymously. I know that so far I haven't posted anything worth commenting about, but if you know anything about me, you know that I have an opinion (valid or not) about just about everything. Also, I enjoy a good debate, and am not above changing my mind.
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you will soon find out that that spelling is not one of my strong points. So, if I get started on a real rant, expect some spelling and gramatical errors. Thanks for understanding.
See ya,
diane
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you will soon find out that that spelling is not one of my strong points. So, if I get started on a real rant, expect some spelling and gramatical errors. Thanks for understanding.
See ya,
diane
Cedar Street Area Redevelopment
Be A Part of Cedar Street Planning:
The City of Greensboro will hold two public meetings to gather feedback about the Cedar Street area on Tuesday, May 17 from 11:30 am - 1 pm and from 6:30 - 8 pm. Both sessions will take place at the Weir-Jordan House, 223 North Edgeworth Street. Property owners, residents, businesses, and developers should plan to attend in order to share what features contribute to a positive quality of life in the area and what detracts.
This area extends from North Eugene Street (Fisher Park Neighborhood area) to Prescott St. (one street past Mendenhall and Hill streets (Westerwood neighborhood area)
The Cedar Street study area is bounded by Battleground Avenue to the north, Friendly Avenue to the south, Eugene Street to the east, and Prescott Street to the west. With the recent completion of First Horizon Park and a proposed mixed use development, the Cedar Street neighborhood will see a number of changes in the years ahead. The City will use feedback gathered at the public meetings to ensure that the neighborhood transforms in a way that is desirable to everyone.
The City of Greensboro will hold two public meetings to gather feedback about the Cedar Street area on Tuesday, May 17 from 11:30 am - 1 pm and from 6:30 - 8 pm. Both sessions will take place at the Weir-Jordan House, 223 North Edgeworth Street. Property owners, residents, businesses, and developers should plan to attend in order to share what features contribute to a positive quality of life in the area and what detracts.
This area extends from North Eugene Street (Fisher Park Neighborhood area) to Prescott St. (one street past Mendenhall and Hill streets (Westerwood neighborhood area)
The Cedar Street study area is bounded by Battleground Avenue to the north, Friendly Avenue to the south, Eugene Street to the east, and Prescott Street to the west. With the recent completion of First Horizon Park and a proposed mixed use development, the Cedar Street neighborhood will see a number of changes in the years ahead. The City will use feedback gathered at the public meetings to ensure that the neighborhood transforms in a way that is desirable to everyone.
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