LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Public hearing set on budget for Winston-Salem
To the Editor:
The city property-tax rate would remain unchanged, city services to residents would remain at current levels and the city would raise its minimum pay to $12.50 an hour under the $530 million budget for 2018-19 that City Manager Lee Garrity has recommended to Mayor Allen Joines and the City Council.
The proposed budget allocates $363 million for operations, $42 million for debt service and $125 million for capital improvements. The property tax rate would remain unchanged at 59.74 cents for every $100 of value.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will begin reviewing the budget today, May 31, and will hold a public hearing at 4 p.m. June 7 in the Council Chamber (Room 230) on the second floor of City Hall. This hearing will be televised live by WSTV.
The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote at 7 p.m. June 18 in the Council Chamber before voting on the budget. This hearing will be televised live by WSTV.
By state law, the council must adopt a budget for 2018-2019 by June 30. The budget would take effect July 1.
The proposed budget is $48.8 million more than the current budget. Capital improvements supported by user fees, such as water, sewer and stormwater projects, account for 73 percent of this increase. Spending in the general fund, which accounts for most tax-supported services, would only increase by $2.6 million, or 1.3 percent.
Copies of the proposed budget will be available for review at public libraries within the city, city recreation centers and City Hall, 101 N. Main St. Suite 30. The proposed budget will also be posted online at www.CityofWS.org.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will hold workshops on the budget at 4:30 p.m. today, May 31; June 5; and June 11 in the Council Committee Room (Room 239) on the second floor of City Hall. A workshop will be held at 2 p.m. June 12, if needed. These workshops are open to the public but are for the purpose of allowing council members to study the proposed budget. Citizens may watch these workshops live on WSTV on Spectrum cable channel 13 and AT&T U-verse channel 99 in Forsyth County. WSTV can also be viewed live online at CityofWS.org.
The Public Safety Committee will review the budgets for the Police, Fire and Emergency Management departments at 6 p.m. June 11 in the Council Committee Room. This meeting will be televised live by WSTV.
Citizens can also phone in comments about the budget on the city’s Citizen Feedback line, (336) 734-1400, or submit comments through a form on the city website.
Office of the City Manager, Winston-Salem
NFL’s decision on kneeling shows racial hatred
To The Editor:
The NFL’s decision to fine teams and blackball players who do not kneel during the national anthem is an obvious display of white supremacy and white privileged thinking.
A player’s kneeling has never been about patriotism. The irony is that while owners attempt to make kneeling about respect, the players are kneeling in opposition to the disrespect and oppression of Black and communities of color.
This is more proof that America is stuck in a destructive and divisive cycle of bold and blatant bigotry and racial hatred aimed at people of color. Here we have a majority, white-owned sports league that profits off the labor of majority Black athletes.
The National Black Worker Center Project will continue to highlight the NFL’s actions, and the action of all U.S. institutions, corporations and businesses that offer egregious examples of racist workplace discrimination and illustrate what #WorkingWhileBlack means.
Tanya Wallace-Gobern, Executive Director, National Black Worker, Center Project (NBWCP), Washington, D.C.
Note: This is in response to the NFL owners vote to fine teams if players on the field refuse to stand for the national anthem. The National Black Worker Center Project (NBWCP) launched in 2011 to address the job crisis for Black workers.
