The Guilford County commissioners are going to be earning their $20,000 a year salaries next week since they have a very busy two days to kick off the week.
The commissioners will meet on Monday, Feb. 24 and Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Bur-Mil Club in Greensboro for their annual two-day retreat.
The just-released agenda for the meeting shows that the board will discuss a wide variety of issues with county staff and special guests over the two days that are meant to be a long-term planning session on major strategic goals, among other things. The very first issue the commissioners will tackle is a “Light Breakfast” at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, however, after that comes a lot of debate, serious county business and information gathering.
On Monday morning the board will have a discussion on local economic conditions and changing county demographics as well as a report on the state of the county’s property tax base. It will also hear updates on the county’s budget at this point in time – just after the halfway mark of the fiscal year. In addition, the board will have a wide-ranging discussion on the county’s Health and Human Services Department’s efforts, including how the county handles child abuse and elder abuse, substance abuse and senior care issues.
The board will also consider new staff needs for its social services operations as well as needs for the coming new Behavioral Health Center, which is currently under construction.
Monday afternoon, the board will engage in a wide-ranging discussion on the needs of Guilford County Schools. This was a central issue for the board in much of 2019 and the board is on the verge of taking action on the matter. The Board of Commissioners will consider placing a school bond referendum on the ballot in November and will also debate putting a quarter-cent sales tax increase on the ballot as well to help pay for issuing what’s likely to be a school bond referendum in the hundreds of millions.
That’s not the only bond issue the board will consider at the retreat. The board will also consider a request from Guilford Technical Community College for a bond referendum on the November ballot for capital projects.
Monday will finish up with a presentation on economic development in the county, an update on a new fire prevention services study, and a discussion on the construction contract to build a new animal shelter.
Tuesday will be a busy day as well, with the board getting updates on trails and greenways as well as on the 806-acre county farm that once served as the county’s prison farm.
On Tuesday, the board will also take a high-level look at the county’s long-term capital improvement plans and also get a very preliminary look at the 2020-2021 county budget.
