Author: John Hammer

Greensboro police officers won’t be getting take home cars anytime soon, following action taken by the City Council at the June 1 work session.

The Greensboro City Council did not discuss having an independent investigation of the death of Marcus Deon Smith at the work session on Tuesday, June 1 – or at least not in public.

Fares for Access GSO will be raised incrementally, instead of being doubled, in accordance with a consensus of the Greensboro City Council at the Tuesday, June 1 meeting.

Two weeks have flown by and the grand opening of Revolution Ridge, originally scheduled for May 21, is Friday, June 4 at 9 a.m.

The agenda for the City Council work session on Tuesday, June 1 is not what is expected at this time of year, which for the City Council is budget season.

The Greensboro City Council has two major public hearings on the agenda for the June 1 “hybrid” meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Greensboro Country Park is going to begin its transformation next month. The $4.8 million construction project at Country Park is scheduled to begin in June, and as part of the project the Nathaniel Greene Loop Drive through the park will be permanently closed to motor vehicles. 

The City Council is considering starting a program to provide police patrol officers with take home cars, but there appears to be confusion about the cost.

After taking a year off in the world of Zoom, the 2021 North Carolina Folk Festival is going to be back in downtown Greensboro. The NC Folk Festival will be held Friday, Sept. 10 through Sunday, Sept. 12 with Del McCoury and his band performing on opening night.

The Greensboro City Council is once again considering providing Greensboro police officers with take home police cars – but “considering” is the key word.

Former Greensboro City Councilmember Jamal Fox has a new job. It was announced on Wednesday, May 26 that Fox is coming back east to be the new city manager of Takoma Park, Maryland.

The City Council budget work session on Tuesday, May 25 mainly concerned additional spending in the recommended 2021-2022 budget.

The special Greensboro City Council meeting Tuesday, May 25 was only scheduled for 10 minutes, but it didn’t take quite that long for the City Council to unanimously appoint Assistant City Manager Chris Wilson as interim city manager beginning June 15.

The City Council decided to up the proposed bond from $120 million to $135 million at the work session on Tuesday, May 25.

Music For a Sunday Evening the Park a Greensboro summertime tradition is planning to be back in 2021 with live performances beginning August 8.

Memorial Day weekend is coming up and the City Council has yet to make a decision on when the 2021 City Council election will be held. The election is scheduled to be held this fall, with the primary on Oct. 4 and the general election on Nov. 2.  The City Council had scheduled a vote to set those dates at the May 18 meeting, but when the NAACP objected to holding the election this fall, that was put on hold until the “next meeting.”  The “next meeting,” which is June 1, has now been pushed back to the June 15 meeting.

The Greensboro City Council has two meetings scheduled for Tuesday, May 25 – 10 minutes apart.

A comment frequently heard and seen on social media about city operations is a complaint about the city eliminating glass from the residential recycling program.

When the Greensboro City Council recently discussed the proposed 2021 bond referendum, the city’s longtime expert on bonds and financing Rick Lusk was absent. Things are different in this pandemic world and, as it turns out, Lusk, who had been director of the Financial Services Department since 1992, retired at the end of March. 

City Manager David Parrish presented his proposed 2021-2022 budget to the City Council at the Tuesday, May 18 meeting.

The Greensboro Planning Department is proposing an ordinance to impose landscaping requirements on property in the Central Business (CB) District, what most people call downtown Greensboro.

At the Tuesday, May 18 City Council meeting, Mayor Nancy Vaughan participated virtually and Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson chaired the meeting. Johnson – who was mayor from 2007 to 2009 and has been mayor pro tem on and off since the 1990s – has her own distinct style of running meetings.

The City Council decided at the meeting on Tuesday, May 18 that, once an appeal of a Zoning Commission decision is made, it cannot be withdrawn without the approval of the City Council.

The Nov. 2, 2021 City Council election is now a definite maybe.

The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) held its final virtual public meeting on the proposed fare increase for Access GSO on Monday, May 17.

The morning of Friday, May 14, 2021, for the safety of the people of the state, a law was necessary requiring people to wear masks in public. By 1:30 p.m. on Friday, the law was not necessary and it was not dangerous to people’s health to go out in public without a mask or adhering to social distancing.

After a long break the world is opening back up, and the City of Greensboro wants to help you plan your summer and keep it safe.

With little discussion and no vote, the City of Greensboro is beginning a drastic change in the way it compensates employees with the 2021-2022 budget. According to the preliminary budget presentation on May 11, the city will begin the process of moving employees from a merit system to a step system where every employee on the same step is paid the same salary regardless of performance evaluations.

Republican Lee Haywood has announced he’s giving the 6th District congressional race another shot in 2022.

The City Manager proposed 2021-2022 budget that will be presented at the City Council meeting on May 18 begins the process of changing the employee compensation plan for the City of Greensboro.

Two major items are on the agenda for the Tuesday, May 18 Greensboro City Council meeting.

Mayor Nancy Vaughan wants to set aside a separate fund for minority owned and led businesses and nonprofits from the $56.6 million American Relief Act money. But her plan may have hit a bump in the road to her plan to distribute some American Rescue Plan money based on race.

The Greensboro City Council reached a consensus on going ahead with the City Council elections in November at the Tuesday, May 11 work session.

City Manager David Parrish announced on Tuesday, May 11 that he was resigning effective June 30, and it appears there is already a battle brewing over his replacement.

In what was a surprise to many, Greensboro City Manager David Parrish announced today that he is resigning effective June 30.

The Greensboro City Council may discuss the 2021-2022 budget at the work session on Tuesday, May 11 beginning at 2:30 p.m. The good news is that the preliminary budget presentation recommends maintaining the current property tax rate of 66.25 cents.  At that rate, property tax revenue is projected to increase by $3.7 million or 2.1 percent to $182.4 million.

The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) will hold the second of three virtual public meetings on Access GSO fares at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 11.

It’s deja vu all over again with the Greensboro City Council hybrid work session scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 11.

The job count for Greensboro in the past week is not as rosy as it may seem.

The water and sewer budget report, which the City Council did not hear at the May 4 work session, includes a request for a 4.5 percent water and sewer rate increase.

Sixth District Congressman Ted Budd announced on April 28 that he was running for the open North Carolina Senate seat in 2022.

Before discussing the proposed $120 million bond referendum at the Tuesday, May 4 hybrid work session, the City Council heard a report on the $56.6 million in American Rescue Plan money the city has been allotted.

The Greensboro Police Department is seriously shorthanded, but that doesn’t mean criminals aren’t being arrested. On Monday, May 3, the Police Department reported three armed robbery calls, which appeared to be connected. 

High Point University President Nido Qubein announced that HPU was establishing a new School of Dental Medicine and Oral Health on Wednesday, May 5.

The Greensboro City Council appointed a new member to the Greensboro Zoning Commission at the May 4 meeting, but it was not without controversy. It is rare for a city councilmember to vote against an appointment.  However, the nomination of Mary Skenes to fill a vacancy on the Zoning Commission passed, according to Mayor Nancy Vaughan, by a 7-2 vote with Councilmembers Michelle Kennedy and Sharon Hightower voting no.

A 3-cent property tax increase was projected by Greensboro city staff for 2023 during the 2021 bond presentation at the Greensboro City Council hybrid work session on Tuesday, May 4.

The Broadway hit Hamilton will be coming to the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, April 6 to April 24, 2022.

The illegal City Council work session held on Tuesday, April 27 was halted by City Attorney Chuck Watts after the first item on the agenda, which was listed as “Guilford County Economic Development Alliance (GCEDA) Update.”

The Greensboro City Council will consider granting an economic incentive of up to $1.6 million to Lollytogs Ltd. at its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 4.

The Greensboro City Council has two “hybrid” meetings scheduled for Tuesday, May 4. The first is a hybrid work session beginning at 3 p.m.  According to the city, at a hybrid meeting the City Council and city staff are in the council chambers, but the public is not allowed to attend except virtually.