Photos and caption contest: Today's Greensboro city budget meeting

None of these photos will be showing up in our next issue (which will feature a dirt article about the city's proposed 2013-14 FY budget), but these shots were too good to disappear into the abyss of my iPhoto not to share.

The city held its first of three budget meetings with council and city staff today, and it's a lot of material to go through. Sometimes the meetings are dry, boring or complex (above). Other times, you don't know what to think (below — also notice Chief Miller's expression). 

And there are moments of what could best be described as frustration: 

Did you miss today's meeting? Not going to be at the next two? Feeling left out?  Don't worry, I have an idea: how about a caption contest for these photos (including the one below)? I didn't mean for any of these shots to be entertaining, but too many of them are and I'm curious what our readers can come up with. Council members and city staff are allowed to participate. GO!

Compensation study presented to Greensboro City Council

Human Resources director Connie Hammond and consultants from two firms presented their findings from a compensation study that began in late 2010 to city council and staff in two separate meetings on Feb. 16.

Among the findings of the study is a recommendation for implementing compensation increases to make Greensboro's compensation packages, including benefits, more competitive with comparative cities and municipalities. The total cost of the proposed increases comes out to $1,697,347, which would bring compensation and benefits to the 50th percentile with comparable cities but would not include a reduction in compensation for employees who are above the target range.

Only three city council members showed up for the first presentation — Nancy Hoffmann, Marikay Abuzuaiter and Nancy Vaughan — though Zack Matheny slipped in about 20 minutes after the presentation was supposed to start.

Hammond said a compensation study like this hasn't been done in 20 years, so it isn't surprising there is some adjustment necessary. The study compared Greensboro to 22 cities for the study, which made the cut by being within 300 miles, having a population of over 100,000 and a metro area of between 100,000 (like High Point) and 1.8 million (such as Charlotte). Most of the cities were in North Carolina and Virginia, with a few in outlying states.

The comparison compensation study was completed using "benchmark jobs," meaning specifics of which specific positions are above or below the target compensation rate is still being calculated and should be completed next month. Matheny said he would want to see specifics of which jobs would be impacted before he voted on it.

Vaughan asked interim City Manager Denise Turner Roth if the increases could be incorporated into a "no tax increase budget," and was told a rough estimate of these costs was already factored into the budget council has been discussing.

"The job market out there is not great — I am personally experiencing it," said Matheny, who is currently unemployed besides his council position. "All of city’s employees would love a raise and our constituents may say 'Why are you giving them a raise? They should be happy to have a job.' There is a lot of education that needs to go into this."

The city is below the target range around the 50th percentile for five benefit categories, including wellness incentives, disability benefits, paid holidays, education assistance and retiree medical over 65. The city is one paid holiday behind its target range.

Abuzuaiter said the proposed increase in wellness incentives could save the city money on health insurance in the long run, which a presenter confirmed but said it would take approximately three years before the savings were visible.

The city is within its target range in five other benefit categories and above in three: dental, life and medical insurance. In general, the city's compensation rate was closer to the goals than in benefit categories, with 10 general categories falling within the range while two are above and three are below. Longevity, probationary increases and take-home patrol cars were all below the target compensation range.

YES! Weekly Preview -- June 15

YES! Weekly Editor Brian Clarey gives us a colorful rundown of what may be our dirtiest issue to date!

Oh yeah, and Happy Father's Day to all whom have filled the role. The YES! Weekly staff salutes you!

Greensboro city manager to recommend $13 million in cuts

City Manager Rashad Young presents his budget to the city council next Tuesday. He told District 5 residents at a community budget meeting at the Oak Ridge Meadows Club House on Thursday that he will recommend $13 million in cuts, with an additional $5 million in contingency cuts as a hedge for a worst case scenario in which the state of North Carolina makes severe cuts in revenue to local governments.

In community presentations since late March, Young has outlined three tiers of cuts. The third tier reaches only $15 million of the $18 million council has asked him to consider. Young said if the city is forced to cut an additional $3 million, the savings would be achieved through “personnel expense reductions.”

The proposed budget cuts assumes no change in the city’s handling of solid waste.

“I don’t pretend to know what decision the city council will make on solid waste,” Young said. Earlier this month, the council voted to narrow the list of companies considered for a contract to handle the city’s solid waste to three that are proposing to reopen the White Street Landfill. Estimated cost savings by reopening the landfill through a private company range from $7.5 million to $8.9 million. Under the city’s current schedule, a contract for the operation of the landfill could be in place as early as July 1, but the city has been threatened with an injunction. The council has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to go into closed session to discuss pending litigation.

“I am cautiously optimistic at this point that we’ll not have to go up to $18 million,” Young said, “but when [the state gets] to the end of the line and the budget’s still not balanced, then that’s when they start to do things that are distasteful to us all.”

Young said the city has historically maintained funds for vacant positions to give it a cushion to absorb unbudgeted expenses.

“We have a personnel liability that we do not budget for, to the tune of about $8 million,” he said. “Much of that occurs in public safety. Particularly in police we don’t directly budget for recruit classes. So when we bring in 30 recruits and it might cost $800,000, we have to eat that cost. When employees separate from service, we have to pay them out for any vacation time. We don’t budget for that.” He added that there are police overtime costs that are not budgeted.

Young said the city uses funds from vacant positions to cover those contingencies.

“It’s very difficult for the council when I tell them: ‘No, you can’t cut these vacant positions because if you cut them I’m going to have a budget problem in the next year,’” he said. “They don’t really like to hear that from me. So it’s going to be a multi-year strategy for us to deal with that unbudgeted expense.”

Young said out of an appropriated fund balance of $4 million for the current fiscal year, the city expects to have $1.5 million left over.

Out of the audience of about 15 people, two praised Young for his performance as city manager.

“My husband and I have seen a lot of city managers come and go,” Willie Taylor said. “I don’t think the city has seen leadership that equals the leadership you’re giving.”

The city manager received a round of applause.

A third resident complimented Coliseum Director Matt Brown for his handling of the 2011 AT&T US Figure Skating Championships.

In addition to staff, those attending the community meeting included District 5 Councilwoman Trudy Wade, at-large city council candidate Cyndy Hayworth, Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton and political consultant Bill Burckley. No at-large members of council were present.

Fire service and school crossing guards among concerns in District 5 budget meeting

Councilwoman Trudy Wade and City Manager Rashad Young

Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young told about 20 people gathered at the Trotter Recreation Center for a District 5 community budget meeting tonight that he will likely recommend that the council cut $12 million to $13 million.

The range of possible cuts goes from $9 million to $18 million, and the possibility of the NC General Assembly balancing its $2 billion shortfall by cutting funding to cities creates a giant question mark for Greensboro, which, like all municipalities, is statutorily required to pass a balanced budget by July 1.

Young has made presentations in the city’s other four districts already, and tonight’s audience had the benefit of getting the details of his three-tiered budget cuts, which were presented to council on April 19. A second District 5 meeting for the northern portion of Councilwoman Trudy Wade’s district will be held on May 12 at the Oak Ridge Meadows Club House.

Many of the details of tonight’s presentation were familiar: Based on the direction of council, Young will not entertain the possibility of a property tax increase. Property tax revenue for the next budget year is projected to be flat. Keeley Park in northeast Greensboro comes online next year and will require an additional $320,000 to operate. Also, the city estimates that utility rate increases will incur another $267,000.

Many of the first-tier cuts, which would save an estimated $9 million, involve delaying maintenance of vehicles, letting supplies of materials such as asphalt and garbage cans draw down and eliminating positions — some filled, other vacant. And in the case of the parks and recreation department, Young said the city is considering contracting out maintenance and cleaning services to save money.

The proposed cut that raised the most concern in the city manager’s first slice at the budget is an item related to reducing contracted services with outside fire districts. One of those districts if the Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department, whose Mackey Road station is located outside of the city’s corporate limit but is the closest to the Adams Farm neighborhood.

Young said the reduction would eliminate a backup position for a person to cover a regularly scheduled firefighter who is out on sick leave. The city funds three positions for the Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department.

"In structure fire cases, we have to assemble 15 people to fight a fully engaged structure fire,” Young said. “And so the reduction that we make is in that buffer. What that consequence will be is that on some days instead of three, we may have two people there on that engine. However, if there is a fire response, Greensboro’s coming anyway because you can’t fight a fire with three people.”

The Adams Farm area is not the only one affected by the reduction. Young said the city also plans to reduce contracted services with outside fire districts in the Colfax area past the airport and in northeast Greensboro.

More questions came with Young’s presentation on Tier 2 cuts, which result in an additional $4 million in savings.

Under this scenario, the city would close the Folk Teen Center, with savings coming from the elimination of two part-time, three seasonal and six roster positions.

Asked to justify the cut, Parks and Recreation Director Greg Jackson said, “The teens were not coming there.”

Young added that the area is sparsely populated and there is not an adjacent neighborhood with a large population of children, so the location is not convenient. He said the teen programming would continue at other locations.

The city would also defer replacement of firefighters’ uniforms except in critical cases in which they are torn or contaminated. The practice of hiring back retired police to assist in investigations would be scaled back.

District 5 resident Gail Stroud asked Young how public safety might be affected by reducing hirebacks.

“We’re giving them more responsibility and they have more work to do,” the city manager said, indicating full-time sworn officers will have to pick up the slack.

Under Tier 3, Young singled out a measure to take fire Ladder Company 49 on Friendly Avenue out of service and reassign firefighters to a nearby station.

“This is one that’s probably the most difficult here,” Young said.

The city is also considering eliminating half of its school crossing guards. Last year, Young proposed eliminating the program altogether and met with Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green to see if the district would take responsibility for the program. The district didn’t and the city council ended up blinking in the standoff and restoring the cuts. One of the schools affected by the proposed cuts this year is Pilot Elementary in Adams Farm.

Tony Wilkins, a District 5 resident who is running for city council at large this year, asked if there would be a liability problem with using volunteers as crossing guards.

“That might be something we would explore,” Young responded.

At least one resident indicated she concurs with the council’s directive to not balance the budget by raising taxes. She implored Young to tell the council: “There are people who have actually sold their cars to pay their property taxes. And that’s a reality a lot of people don’t understand.”

Councilwoman Wade was sitting directly behind her.

“We understand that,” she said.

Wade asked Young how much the city might save by putting its municipal solid waste in the White Street Landfill instead of shipping it out of the county. The council indicated by a straw poll earlier this week that it favors narrowing its list of contenders for a contract to handle the city’s solid waste to three companies that have proposed to reopen the landfill.

“If White Street receives all our municipal solid waste, [savings] could range anywhere from $4 million to $8 million,” Young said.

Stroud urged city leaders to look for some long-term strategies to save taxpayers money. She was only one of a number of residents who questioned whether the coliseum should be privatized considering that it operates at a loss every year.

Wade said many of her constituents feel the same, and argued that the positive impact the coliseum has as an economic generator could also be realized if it was in public hands.

At-large Councilman Danny Thompson offered a spirited argument in favor of maintaining public ownership of the coliseum.

“The coliseum, I almost see it as a utility,” he said. “It’s an extremely important asset to the city. We don’t have a river. We don’t have a beach. We don’t have a mountain. We do have a coliseum that is a crown jewel, and it’s a PR piece, a marketing piece that the rest of the country sees…. ‘That’s where they have the basketball tournaments.’ 800 events a year.

“We’re going to spend $1.4 million. Let’s say that’s your business. You’re funding this business. It brings in an incredible amount of sales tax revenue. And it does provide that job for the waitress at the Olive Garden. It provides income for the owner of the franchise at the Olive Garden, and all of the cooks and the dishwashers for that restaurant. Also for that hotel that people stay at…. I am a firm believer that the coliseum is a generator of economic activity that the citizens of Greensboro benefit from…. It is critical and it is important that we support it. I don’t know if I’d want to give away that asset.”

Greensboro might pare down bond project list

At-large Councilman Robbie Perkins (right) and City Manager Rashad Young chatted with constituents in District 2.

Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young will suggest that council consider paring down the amount of bond debt to be issued next spring by delaying some projects when they meet tomorrow to discuss capital improvement projects.

Young declined to specify by how much he will recommend reducing the proposed $35 million bond package, saying he will probably give it some more thought before the council’s 3 p.m. briefing. The matter came up for discussion at a District 2 community budget meeting tonight at the Maple Street police substation.

“Our driver is we don’t want any additional debt expense that we have to cover from the general fund,” he said. Young said that for every $1 million in bond debt issued, the city typically has to pay about $100,000, or 10 percent, in debt service, and that the council’s policy has been to only issue as much new debt as it retires old debt so as to not increase “overall debt expense.”

The $35 million package comes from bonds approved by voters in 2006 and 2008. One item on the list that Young ruled out for postponement is an aquatic center at the Greensboro Coliseum that voters approved in 2008.

“The $6 million for the aquatic center is committed to the building [activity that is] underway,” Young said. “Everything else is fairly flexible in terms of our decision.”

Another item on the list is $8.3 million for street improvements, also approved by voters in 2008, that includes Merritt Drive, High Point Road streetscaping, Horse Pen Creek Road, the Cone Boulevard and Nealtown Road Connector, Alamance Church Road, sidewalks and maintenance.

Goldie Wells, the former council representative for District 2, pleaded for a key transportation priority in northeast Greensboro.

“Council members: Please remember that Cone Nealtown Road [has been in line for funding] for about 20 years,” she said.

Young offered reassurance by stating that if council opts to delay projects they will probably be looking for something with a bigger price tag to realize more significant savings than the Cone-Nealtown project would yield. Afterwards, he explained that the 2008 bond money for the project is only for the purposes of design and right of way purchase, and that the more significance expense of construction likely won’t be absorbed by the city for at least two years.

Other projects on the list include

• $3.3 million for the Old Randleman Road Fire Station (District 1, approved in 2006);

• $750,000 for land acquisition for the Reedy Fork Fire Station (District 2, approved in 2006);

• $2.1 million for the Hilltop Road recreation center (District 5, approved in 2006);

• $2 million for economic development (approved in 2006);

• $3.5 million for the Lake Jeanette Library (District 3, approved in 2006);

• $100,000 for neighborhood park renovations (approved in 2008);

• $500,000 for Gateway Gardens Phase II (District 1, approved in 2008);

• $335,000 for housing loans for energy efficiency and affordable housing (approved in 2008); and

• $8.3 million for the Natural Science Center.

Responding to a question from the audience, Young acknowledged that the city has not yet budgeted for the operation of the aquatic center, explaining that he received a budget proposal from Coliseum Director Matt Brown on Friday, but that the two have not discussed it yet.

“There will certainly be an additional expense,” Young said. “The question at this point is how that expense is going to get addressed. Is it going to get covered within the coliseum’s budget based on the fees that they generate from the activities of the facility or it going to require something additional from the general fund to cover that? And I haven’t made a determination on that.”

The city recently created a position for aquatic center manager, and hired Susan Braman to fill it at a salary of $65,000.

Responding to another question, Young said he has reached out to Guilford County Schools Superintendant Mo Green to negotiate funding for school crossing guards. Last year, the city and schools butted heads over the issue, and the council ultimately decided to continue to cover the expense for at least another year.

In previous budget meetings, Young has discussed the city’s $9 million budget shortfall this year, and plans to cut an additional $9 million in anticipation of possible cuts in Raleigh that could sent a ripple effect down through local governments.

Tonight, one resident asked him for some good news.

Young said the city is starting to see an uptick in commercial and private investment, adding that the city is issuing more building permits than in previous periods. He said an American Express data center is under construction in eastern Guilford, the city has received “a number of viable proposals” for the South Elm Street Redevelopment project, and developers have expressed early interest in redeveloping the Bessemer Shopping Center, a commercial area anchored by the McGirt Horton Library in District 2.

As with a previous meeting in District 1, tonight’s gathering became a campaign stop for at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins, who has announced plans to challenge incumbent Mayor Bill Knight in this year’s municipal election. Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan also attended the meeting. Danny Thompson, the other at-large member on council did not attend either the District 2 or District 1 community budget meetings, but was present at the District 4 meeting.

District 2 Councilman Jim Kee struggled to get his constituents’ attention following Young’s presentation. But when he introduced Perkins, they listened with rapt attention. Perkins issued an optimistic prognosis for the city, noting that the area has been named one of the top places in the world for data centers.

“That’s something that very few places in the whole country have,” he said. “We’ve already landed a $1 billion investment from AmEx on two sites out there, both the main site and the backup site. And we are lined up if we play our cards right — we’re lined up for further success in that type of industry in the future. Now that doesn’t bring in a lot of jobs — about 100 or 150 — and a data center. What it does bring in is a huge amount of tax base. If a billion dollars is assessed within the city limits of the city of Greensboro, the city of Greensboro and Guilford County will yield $13 million a year.

"Well, if you had an extra $13 million a year and it only cost you two or three,” he added, gesturing towards the screen on which staff’s budget figures were projected, “then a lot of those problems go away.”

Mayoral politics crop up during District 1 budget meeting

Mayor Bill Knight (left) considers a request for a meeting with District 1 residents at Brown Recreation Center today. Also pictured: District 1 Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small and at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins.

A community budget meeting for District 1 in Greensboro today turned into a public challenge to Mayor Bill Knight and a campaign stop for his mayoral challenger, at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins.

District 1 Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small summoned Knight and Perkins to the front of the assembly in a basketball gymnasium at Brown Recreation Center

"Mayor Knight: District 1," Bellamy-Small said, as if making an introduction, before asking the mayor if he would meet with her constituents.

“We can certainly look at it,” Knight told the crowd of upwards of 50 people. “Sure can,” adding that he had mostly planned on listening today.

Knight defeated incumbent Mayor Yvonne Johnson in 2009, in part, by appealing to conservative voters in the newly annexed Cardinal area and won his election without significant support from black voters in east Greensboro.

Following brief remarks, the mayor departed for an unspecified engagement. During the question-and-answer portion, some residents had asked why none of the three at-large members of council were present to hear their concerns. Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan has said she is not seeking reelection. At-large Councilman Danny Thompson attended a District 4 community budget meeting in west Greensboro on Monday, but was a no-show today. Perkins came in near the end of the meeting today.

Perkins praised Bellamy-Small, a political ally.

“Dianne is a constant advocate for what you need in this part of Greensboro,” Perkins said. “And she has continually worked for economic development, for infrastructure in order to get that economic development and those jobs in this part of the city. And she has the vision and the persistence to stay to the plan.

Perkins has said he plans to run for mayor, challenging Knight.Filing for city council races begins in July.

"We're talking about serious business in the city of Greensboro because the manager's talking about what he has to cut," Perkins said. "But in order for us to retain the quality of life that we have enjoyed, we've got to grow this tax base and we've got to grow jobs. If we don't do that we're going to have to continue to cut the level of services that we provide."

The city is facing a $9 million budget shortfall this year, but City Manager Rashad Young has said the city plans to cut a total of $18 million in anticipation of reduced state funding as North Carolina stares down the barrel of a $2 billion shortfall. A majority of the city council told Young in January to not even consider recommending a tax rate increase.

More than one person in the District 1 meeting questioned that judgment.

"Raise taxes," Randy Scott told Perkins. "Raise 'em. I'm serious.... If you're gonna get a whuppin', get a whuppin'."

Perkins said he and Bellamy-Small have been on the losing side of many decisions over the past year.

"We ain't got five votes," Perkins said. "We're not going to raise taxes."

Bellamy-Small used the closing portion of the meeting to outline her agenda, highlighting matters only loosely related to this years budget.

“In District 1 we have gotten more capital improvement projects in the last 10 years than any district," Bellamy-Small said. "I feel good that for at least seven of those 10 years, y’all know who’s been there.”

The councilwoman said garnered applause after expressing her support for maintaining satellite early voting sites for this year's municipal election. A man who introduced himself as the chief judge for Precinct G73 said he had a group of people who would volunteer to staff a site in District 1 for free. Without taking a vote, the council had previously decided to eliminate the satellite early voting sites, but decided to give the matter more consideration after some members raised objections. Bellamy-Small urged her constituents today to "blow up the council's phones. The city manager wants me to be politically correct, but that hard for me."

Bellamy-Small also urged constituents to become engaged with the city council's redistricting process. Many of the councilwoman's supporters, including Perkins, have advocated that the lines be redrawn to place a larger portion of downtown in District 1, but Bellamy-Small indicated today she would prefer to retain the current map. The consensus at a public input meeting hosted by the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress earlier this month also supported that approach.

City Manager Rashad Young has been reluctant to signal where potential spending cuts might occur to reduce the budget by $18 million, and most of the questions from residents today did not address either potential areas for savings or the preservation of desired programs.

The council is scheduled to vote on a plan to handle the city's solid waste before approving next year's budget, but Young said, "Any savings that could be achieved by reopening the landfill is not factored in our budget."

Private companies have pledged to save the city as much as $7.2 million per year by opening the landfill, and staff has estimated that savings in the range of $3.5 to $5.3 million might be realized if the city were to reopen the landfill and operate it with public employees. Young said after today's meeting that if the council votes to reopen the landfill, some of the money will go into the city's general fund to pay for tipping fees, and some will go into a solid waste enterprise fund.

Neighborhood leader Patricia Alexander asked the city of prioritize funding for Heath Park. The city has allocated $100,000 out of $35 million in municipal bonds planned for sale in the next 18 months for neighborhood park renovations. Parks and Recreation Director Greg Jackson said the parks commission will be prioritizing the projects.

George Hartzman asked about the cost of implementing the Jordan Lake Rules, a state mandate to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous inputs in the Haw River watershed. Young said the city plans to spend money from a water enterprise fund to begin preliminary design of a nitrogen filtration system. The city is lobbying the NC General Assembly for a delay in implementation of the rules from 2016 to 2020. If the state doesn't grant the request, Young said the bulk of the costs will likely hit the city in 2013. He added that the bulk of the funds will probably have to be borrowed. The city currently has a backlog of $158 million in voter-approved projects that has been authorized but not currently borrowed, Young said.

The Rev. Nelson Johnson of the Beloved Community Center asked Young whether the council was deliberately dragging its feet on approving implementation of a federal grant for residential and commercial weatherization so that it could run out the clock and force the city to return the money.

"There's not been a warm welcome to this grant," Johnson said.

Charles Cherry, a former Greensboro police captain who was fired last fall after accusing the department of discrimination and retaliation, requested that the city post a "flow chart" on its website showing the amount of money paid out in settlements and spent on legal fees, along with the number of lawsuits filed against the city.

"You getting ready to have some more," Cherry added, almost as an aside.

City Manager tells District 4 residents to expect program cuts

City Manager Rashad Young confers with District 4 Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw before a community budget meeting in Lindley Park tonight.

Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young’s message to upwards of 50 people gathered at the District 4 community budget meeting at Lindley Recreation Center was clear tonight: “Everything is on the table.”

The city is facing a $9 million shortfall in the 2011-2012 budget. Anticipating deep cuts at the state level that have the potential to trickle down to the local level, council directed staff during a January retreat to cut even deeper — a spending reduction of $18 million — Young said. The council has also directed staff to produce a budget without a tax increase.

The city is required by state law to produce a balanced budget. Revenues are projected to drop from $254.9 million this fiscal year to $250.0 million in the next, Young said, while current-level expenditures are on track to increase to $259.0 million. The city is already $2 million in the hole this year because of disappointing property tax revenues.

“What is currently driving this decline in revenue is the lack of growth in property taxes,” Young said. Last year, the city projected 1 percent growth in the property tax base, but the current-year growth fell significantly short of expectations, so the city has revised its projection to 0 percent growth for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Additional demands on the spending side come from increases in fuel costs and increases in mandated state contribution to the retirement system, along with additional costs to operate Keeley Park, which is scheduled to open in northeast Greensboro in the next fiscal year, Young said.

The city manager’s declaration that all options for reducing the size of the budget are under consideration came with only one caveat.

“I will not accept or forward reductions in sworn police and fire fighter positions,” he said, adding that he could think of no other limitations.

Public safety, which comprises police, fire and emergency medical services, comprises 43 percent of spending from the general fund and makes up the largest slice of the city’s spending pie.

About a dozen Greensboro fire fighters stood outside the recreation center before the start of the meeting handing out fliers that urged support for continued investment in fire protection.

Dave Coker, president of Professional Fire Fighters of Greensboro Local 947, acknowledged the city manager’s pledge to spare sworn public safety positions, but expressed additional concerns.

“There are other ways that our service delivery can be impacted,” he said. “We would like to not see any reduction in existing fire companies and any reduction in staffing.”

Several comments from citizens revealed an urgent tenor of fiscal restraint.

“We are watching,” said Bob Skenes. “The turnout here is three times what it was last year. We’re going to continue to watch. I think libraries are wonderful. I think parks are wonderful. When you walk up to the door of your burned-out house, I’m not sure having that library down the street is going to do you much good. The rumors are flying, so leave public safety. Put your emphasis where you say you’re putting it. And let’s get some of those sacred cows. Let’s get White Street open. Let’s get our garbage back where it belongs. Let’s save some real money.”

Spurred by an interest in reducing the cost of waste disposal, the council is meeting tomorrow at 1 p.m. to interview five private vendors that are competing for a contract to handle the city’s solid waste, including three proposing to reopen the White Street Landfill in northeast Greensboro.

Some audience members pushed back against the notion that services unrelated to public safety are nonessential, and one woman asked the council to consider raising taxes to help Greensboro maintain a good quality of life.

“Cutting the nonprofits, cutting all the cultural assets in Greensboro would have a big impact on the quality of life here and also on the economic impact,” one unidentified man said. “Businesses are looking at relocating here — that’s one of the top things they look at — what’s going on culturally…. [The nonprofits] operate on shoestring budgets. The people that are employed there — none of them are making a lot of money.”

He turned to Skenes’ wife and said, “Aren’t you with Prudential…. I want you to sell some houses. I want you to sell a lot of houses.”

Young declined to name any particular programs staff might propose for cutting, saying it is too early in the process for that. He said his proposed budget will reflect three priorities articulated by council: public safety, infrastructure and economic development.

"We're about trying to provide the right environment for public investment," he said.

Each program will be evaluated to measure its success, Young said, adding that executive staff will look for programs to justify themselves with positive results across a range of areas. For example, parks and recreation programs will be judged on whether they reduce juvenile crime by providing diversion from wayward activities. The police and fire department's protect property investments. Planning and development staff will be expected to address boarded-up structures, which breed crime.

Laura Jackson, the District 4 representative for the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress, brought up the city's loose-leaf collection program, and suggested a better alternative might be to encourage residents to mulch their leaves to fertilize their lawns. The program costs the city $600,000 per year.

"One leaves, we are not at this point including a recommendation to eliminate loose-leaf pickup," Young said. "We made that recommendation last year, and council determined that was something we would want to continue."

Last year, the city council backed off a proposal to eliminate funding for school crossing guards after Guilford County refused to pick up the tab. Young said tonight that the program, like all others, is up for discussion.

Considering that council has already committed to not raise property taxes, one revenue enhancement the council is pursuing is an effort to collect delinquent parking fines by seeking legislative action to prohibit people with outstanding fines from renewing their driver's licenses at the DMV.

On the spending side of the ledger, some residents suggested reducing the amount of bonds issued to shave off the cost of debt service. Projects up for financing in the next fiscal year include the aquatic center, the Natural Science Center and several roadway improvement initiatives including the widening of Horse Pen Creek Road. Young said the dollar amount of bonds planned for issuance next spring is calculated to keep the city's debt servicing costs even. He said the city could hypothetically reduce its spending on debt servicing — and with it bond spending — commensurately with overall reductions in the general fund, but "you'll take more off in projects than you'll save."

Others suggested cutting grants to nonprofits and the city's Minority & Women's Business Enterprise Program, along with delaying the opening of Keeley Park.

One woman proposed privatizing the coliseum, but Young countered that the amount of hotel receipts stimulated by big-ticket events more than offsets the city's subsidy of the enterprise.

The city's aggressive goal for spending cuts, coupled with the apparent dearth of expendable programs, increases pressure on the council to approve a plan to reopen the White Street Landfill before the new budget comes up for a vote this summer.

"And so the council, being very concerned about how the state is going to resolve their budget challenge, asked us to come back with recommendations to cut 7 percent from the general fund or $18 million in an effort to be very conservative about some of these revenue sources being reduced or taken away," he said. "So if we only plan for what we project and the state comes back and eliminates some portion of these funds, then we're back into a deficit situation and we're going to be making some immediate, drastic corrections. So they asked us to do that planning and analysis up front."