The City of Greensboro’s Community Relations Division has put out its latest annual impact report and, according to the report, the top concerns residents raised were these: code compliance violations, homelessness and panhandling, speeding and traffic, parking problems and zoning disputes.
It could be called the City of Greensboro Complaint Department because it’s the primary contact for complaints and requests.
By the numbers, the division fielded 1,077 cases from residents in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. That included 721 phone calls, 212 emailed concerns and 35 walk-in customers from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
Staff also sat through 686 city meetings to stay tuned to citizen concerns.
The division, part of the City’s Executive Department, is the one that deals with those touchy situations where residents need help navigating disputes, finding answers or – in some cases – calming down an entire neighborhood.
This year’s report also highlights a new Spanish-language podcast, “Talk City Greensboro En Español.” It will be hosted by Senior Community Relations Specialist Isabel Gil. The podcast dropped in advance of Hispanic Heritage Month and is all in Spanish – with Gil interviewing city staff and community guests about issues of interest to local Hispanic residents.
The report also points out that the always-popular Greensboro City Academy program was offered twice in one fiscal year for the first time in history: There was a fall session in 2024 and another in the spring of 2025. The academy – which is a free series of classes that takes residents behind the scenes of city government to help them learn how it works – will now be a permanent spring fixture.
The idea is to take advantage of longer days and warmer weather.
City Academy numbers show that 25 people signed up for the fall 2024 session and 10 more went through the program in spring of this year. Since it began, nearly 500 residents have graduated from City Academy – and city leaders say they now have a well-informed group of local citizens who understand more about what the government does and how it does it.
Community Relations staff also managed to show up in some interesting places outside of City Hall.
Community Relations Specialist Shatrina Smalls completed the Other Voices diversity masterclass with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, and Gil landed a spot on the Leadership Greensboro Alumni Committee.
The team hit the national conference circuit with presentations about the City Academy and on Americans with Disabilities Act topics.
“Love Your Block” – the city program where neighbors roll up their sleeves and clean up problem areas – held two events during the year. Those two events resulted in about two tons of trash being hauled off.
The division also reported that 100 people volunteered for the cleanup efforts.
Mental health training for the staff continued as well during the fiscal year. Community Relations staff took courses through the Guilford County chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, which leaders say is part of an ongoing effort to better equip employees to handle difficult or sensitive calls.
The division isn’t a large operation – in fact, the report shows Community Relations runs with three full-time equivalent staff positions. Those three employees deal with over a thousand cases a year, represent the city at events and also do things like produce podcasts.
What, there is a Greensboro Community Relations Department? Interesting Department that even our Mayor, our former City Manager, our former City Attorney, our Greensboro Police Chief, City Councilman Zack Matheny, City Building Inspection and Building Code Dept. Head, Storm Water Drain and Flood Department Head, and the City Ordinance Enforcement Dept. Heads fail to inform you of when you request that they address an issue of concern relating to their jobs and responsibilities to the citizens of Greensboro. Absolutely amazing that all these individuals are so mis-informed on the tools for Greensboro Citizen’s to use to address these problems, leaving so many of us suffering and out in the cold!
No new news. Street people continue to build…who rolled out the red carpet? GSO is the place for street people to come where they are welcome
I think the city’s attitude is, “If you don’t like the way we’re running things, you can always move….”
After a 30% increase in tax revenue earlier, I don’t think even another 50% increase will be rnough to address the failing infrastructure AND all the council’s pet projects too.
I agree. And why does the city council continue to give away $3 million or more dollars to so-called non-profits? Has the Rhino Times or News & Record ever investigated the “non-profits” to see which ones are connected to politicians? My guess is all of them are connected. But it’s a way for the city council to ensure their supporters are “taken care of” each year in order to “get out the vote.” See how this works?
Greensboro has become a dirty, loud, and dangerous place. I grew up here. 2 years ago moved near Jamestown.
More and more CYA!!!!
“Staff also sat through 686 city meetings to stay tuned to citizen concerns.” What? Staff is in 2.744 meetings per day? Even Congress and The Senate have fewer meetings!
This is a sham that people have adopted via the OJ syndrome (keep telling yourself something and soon you’ll believe it).
They’re full of Shartrina Smalls!
Article suggests the Greensboro Community Relations Department has fielded 1077 cases this year from citizen’s concerns about the competence of our City Leaders and our City Departments. My best guess is the number of these complaints is quadruple this number as I doubt many of these leaders forward complaints they receive to this department? Or if you are like me and many other citizens in this community, you gave up and quit wasting your time trying to get a response from anyone involved with the City of Greensboro!
Street people are pitiful, they are mentally ill. These people need treatment, not condemnation. We need to come together as a country and help them.
The snobs who live in their HOA restricted neighborhoods need to get their noses out of the air.
They could be homeless one day themselves.
Deed restrictions and HOA bi-laws are straight from the gates of hell.
howbout shelter rather than housing along the RR right of way with a hose bibb, picnic table, locker & a port-a-pot ? feed them only there ?