The second Greensboro City Council meeting this month will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 23, not Tuesday, May 24 according to the usual schedule.
There is no public forum at this meeting, also called speakers from the floor on non-agenda items. But speakers are allowed to speak on any item on the agenda.
City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba will be presenting the budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, which begins on July 1.
The city manager’s proposed budget is usually nearly identical to the budget passed by the City Council in June. The usual process is for the city manager to present the proposed budget and for the City Council to then discuss a couple hundred thousand dollars of that $600 million-plus proposed budget for hours and then pass essentially what the city manager presented, with the noted addition of a few hundred thousand for their favored non-profit organizations.
However, this will be Jaiyeoba’s first proposed budget, so there could be more City Council participation in the final budget document. At the work session in February, Jaiyeoba recommended adding a number of positions to the city manager’s office including an additional assistant city manager and the creation of a general services department.
The major issue is likely to be the tax rate. This is a reevaluation year, and if the City Council does not lower the tax rate it would be equivalent to about a 15 percent tax increase. The proposed Guilford County budget does not lower the tax rate, which results in a tax increase of an estimated $92 million.
Greensboro is required by state law to publish the revenue neutral rate, which would lower the tax rate for the city to receive the same amount of property tax revenue as if there had not been a reevaluation.
The city manager’s proposed budget is a public record, but it has not been released to the public and in keeping with the current policy of the city manager’s office won’t be released before the City Council meeting and may not be released after the meeting.
However, anyone can make a public records request for the proposed budget and in a week or two they may receive a copy.
Mandate Mayor and council found a real great City Manager. Within a few months he has already tried to remove the press from meetings, stifled public speakers, hidden and not released public information, and had non complete agendas and information for the public or even council members. What a stooge and threat to the public good. Mandate Mayor must be so happy to have a partner in disenfranchisment and opaque illegal proceedings.
Spot on Alex.
Why add personnel when the current employees in the legal department and the manager’s office don’t work now? Maybe if they worked, there would be no need to add to staff. If any staff should be added, it should be Parks and Rec, Police, Streets and other departments were employees actually do their jobs.
And the hits just keep on coming!
First the meeting date is changed, then the purpose of the meeting, OUR proposed budget, is not available to the taxpayers.
How much more are we expected to put up with?