Guilford County government, under the leadership of Guilford County Manager Mike Halford and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, accomplished a great deal in Guilford County in 2023.
However, the fact that the county did so apparently with absolutely no consideration whatsoever to the cost could be bad news for county property owners if the bills for all the projects, new positions, new departments, community program giveaways and everything else ever come due.
Hopefully, those bills will not need to be paid.
Guilford County started off the year in January by, very quietly, greatly expanding the size of the county’s Public Relations Department. The county hired three new public relations employees, which, in one fell swoop, quadrupled the size of the department that has the job of informing county residents of events, helping county administrators communicate with county staff, and attempting to spin the news as positively as possible when things go wrong.
The Rhino Times only found out about the move after asking why there were suddenly so many strangers with cameras and notepads showing up at meetings.
Guilford County, also at the start of the year, nearly tripled the size of its Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) department. At the beginning of 2023, Guilford County had three employees devoted to increasing MWBE participation in county contracts and services. After the county added five MWBE positions, there were eight county employees for that purpose.
That’s the main reason the MWBE Department budget was $385,000 in fiscal 2022-2023, and, in the fiscal 2023-2024 budget that took effect July1, 2023, the cost of the county’s MWBE efforts shot up to $1,566,976.
That took place after the county paid the bill for a giant $300,000 diversity study, which, to no one’s surprise, found that the county was not diverse enough in hiring workers or handing out county contracts.
In the weird new world in which commissioners now adds slews of county positions in the middle of the budget year – that used to happen almost exclusively when new budgets were adopted each June – the county has no problem adding positions as soon as they are requested and robbing savings to pay the cost.
Speaking of MWBE issues, in March, the Board of Commissioners killed an in-progress $20 million plus contract with Samet Corp. to build a new Sheriff’s Headquarters and related facilities. To this day, there’s been no public explanation as to why the county killed the contract. However, off the record, some county officials do acknowledge in vague terms that it was somehow related to the county’s dissatisfaction with the way Samet handled MWBE issues.
Later in the year, the county rebid that contract at great additional expense.
In June, the county commissioners adopted an $840 million wish-list/budget that was by far the largest in the history of Guilford County. It included plenty of pure giveaways to a wide range of groups, including $200,000 to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum to help fund its attempt to expand and become a UNESCO World Heritage Site and join company with the Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty.
Before adopting Halford’s massive budget proposal, the commissioners added new expenses, and Guilford County Schools made out like bandits – on top of the $2 billion the county has started borrowing for school bond projects thanks to voter bond referendums in recent years.
The county also, right after adopting the budget, granted county employees a slew of costly new benefits even though those perks came on the heels of an across the board 5 percent raise that went to every county employee including high-paid directors and the county manager.
The county spent over $100 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and then began spending the first of $20 million that it’s getting from the settlement of the nationwide lawsuit state and local governments filed against major opioid manufacturers and distributers.
At the end of the year, the county approved an $8 million project to renovate and beautify the government plaza in downtown Greensboro and was finalizing the issuance of well over $100 million in new debt in early 2024 for the school construction and repair.
It is a very, very, good thing money grows on trees or county taxpayers would be in trouble down the line.
The Rhino Times failed to mention the $50,000 gift Skip Alston and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners recently made to the Dudley High Athletic Booster Club. And yes, it was the only High School Booster Club
in the County that got such a gift? Appears nobody is guarding the henhouse for the taxpayers in Guilford County? In my mind, this appears to be gross negligence!
Jim Donaldson
This artical needs to be sent to each taxpayer in the city and county. When the people stick their hands out again and find there is no money to give, maybe they will understand how we all have been taken advantage of, so some with connections to the powers to be can satisfy promises made to get votes. Oh, I forgot, when they are told there is no more money, then the crooks will raise taxes and fees from the taxpayers in the name of anything they can think of.
With high prices, inflation, and a recession staring us in the face.
Guess what? It ain’t going to change, because this county has nothing but a bunch of idiots that keep voting dem’s into office. It will all come to a head one day when the turnip quits bleeding an they have no one left in the county to pay taxes. Only people left will be the homeless, the welfare bunch, and the Irving park crowd. The county will turn into a swamp, which actually already is. Wake up MIDDLE CLASS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.
As a recent newcomer to Greensboro, I am astounded at the seemingly Iron grips County and city leadership have over their voters. I don’t get it!
The information provided should be shocking to taxpayers in Guilford County AND Greensboro (and Jamestown) but with the apathy exhibited by most taxpayers this will barely raise an eyebrow.
SPENDTHRIFT “a person who spends money extravagantly or waste fully.”
So, ask yourself; Where would you be if you spent so much money in one year?
So that’s where the 30% increase in my property taxes is going. Thanks, Scott, for letting us know. That’s more than the Snooze and Record did. And that’s more than the new public relations employees are doing. What are 8 MWBE employees going to do that 3 could not? More MWBE is not going to increase the number of minority or women-owned businesses that can participate in county construction projects.
Sure must be nice to spend other people’s money. Homeowners need to organize and make their displeasure known.
You should see how much red tape and wasted time & resources it causes for staff in all the other county departments having to meet their silly mwbe standards. It is obvious to most that this is nothing more than racism with a fancy name.
Are we really surprised? Once Emperor Skippy decided not to lower rates when property values went up to keep the county revenue neutral, we all knew we were in trouble. And all those predictions have come true.
John I’m going out on a line and guess all the new hires that were hired were all minorities and were del vetted
Local politicians are no different than the big boys in DC. They love spending other people’s money.
It’s nice to know that the recent reassessment of property values will generate more revenue to pay for all of this. Yet, they will continue to be re-elected.
I mean we are everything to the surrounding area they need our money more then we need their labor this should be counted as good allowing tradesman to work local from everywhere from Julian/liberty to Danville all incumbent on our growth. You have stated that just the construction alone can bring in a possible billion dollars with our events centers boom also contributing every citizen should count their blessings to be proximity to Guilford county we are n an upward trajectory and much more will come. Your welcome!
Lol , tax payers are in trouble and screwed. Not hard to see how racism is prevalent in the county and city. We shall soon be like other Democratic run outhouses…Chicago, Detroit, New York, DC, Baltimore, Philly, SF.
You voted them in. The freebies will soon dry up then what?
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The Parasitic Sector prospers while the Productive Sector struggles.
It must be nice to be the beneficiary of a universal extortion racket, so you can indulge all your wishes and fantasies – at other people’s expense.
Government, in all its forms, is corrupt, self-serving, obese, and frankly, nauseating.
It is the biggest addict in our society, and it’s drugs of choice are money and power.
What’s with all the whining and kvetching? Hell, it’s not their money, they can do what they want.
I’ve said for years that little Greensboro has become “little Washington”, what with our drunken sailor spending, commitment to DEI before it was officially DEI, and other progressive programs. The Greensboro “bog” is our local version of the Washington “swamp”! Get out and vote, locally and nationally people.
P.S. Below it only prints CAPITOL letters……..?
Nothing but skips way of reparations in the back door. He’s such a racist a$$wipe. Karma is coming skip and your day is getting close.