City of Greensboro Mayor Provides Update on the Unit Assistance List

In the interest of transparency, Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter called an Emergency Council meeting on yesterday, September 3, for Council discussion regarding the Unit Assistance List (UAL) notification. The meeting was open to the public and is available for viewing on government channels.

"I want to commend this City Council for its commitment to transparency and accountability," said Mayor Abuzuaiter. "I called an Emergency Meeting to make sure our community heard it directly from us, and we asked the tough questions to get real answers. I'm grateful the LGC confirmed what we know to be true: Greensboro is an overall financially healthy city."

City of Greensboro leadership provided an update to the City Council yesterday following multiple conversations between City Manager Nathaniel "Trey" Davis and Office of the State Treasurer, Local Government Commission (LGC) staff regarding Greensboro's placement on the list. Following discussions, LGC staff confirmed that Greensboro "otherwise looks like a financially healthy unit."

More importantly they noted, "UAL inclusion should not be characterized as a determination that Greensboro is insolvent or faces an immediate cash emergency. There is no immediate emergency, and this problem is imminently fixable."

The City has nearly $100 million in its available fund balance, also known as its rainy-day fund.

LGC staff clarified that Greensboro's inclusion on the UAL is focused specifically on the City's General Fund balance relative to its total operating expenditures. In short, the LGC would like to see the City increase its available fund balance, or rainy-day fund, from 22.9% to 25%. In May 2022, the City committed to the LGC that it would achieve a 25% available fund balance by 2030. The LGC would now like to see the City of Greensboro hit that target much sooner. The City's ending FY25 available fund balance was $98.265 million. LGC staff expressed confidence in the City's ability to correct this single area of concern.

"I am confident that our City Manager and finance team will bring back to Council what we need to close this gap on a more expedited timeline than our 2030 plan," said Mayor Abuzuaiter.

City Manager Nathaniel "Trey" Davis echoed that commitment. "We appreciate the LGC's clarity regarding our financial health," said Davis. "The team will continue working to close the gap in advance of the 2030 target timeline. We have nearly $100 million in reserves and understand we need to increase that number. We will keep Council and the public informed as we move along."

The City will continue working constructively with the LGC and Office of the State Treasurer, and will provide Council and the public with updates as progress continues.