More budget stuff
A couple of tidbits related to Greensboro's budget talks:
1) City staffers are proposing higher prices on business licenses. As it stands, $1,200 is the most any business pays, regardless of how big they are or how much business they do. That's lower than all the state's big cities (Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville) and most of the medium sized ones (Wilson, Cary, Salisbury, Greenville).
The city aims to raise the cap to $10,000, which is what Charlotte and Winston-Salem charge. Raleigh's maximum is $20,000.
It's much, much more complicated than all that. Most businesses will pay more under the proposal, based on their size and their gross receipts and what they do. The money managers estimate they'll bring in $548,000 more a year.
2) The city also is talking about transferring ownership of Hagan Stone Park to the county. We'll see what these guys have to say about that.
3) And speaking of "we'll see" situations ... The city may ask Guilford County Schools to pay for crossing guards ($396,000 a year). Like the Hagan Stone deal, this is more of a shifting of responsibilities than a slashing of services. But seems like I'll pay for the park and the guards either way - whether its through my county taxes or my city taxes.