Winston-Salem City Council Adopts FY 2026-2027 Budget and Approves Several Items - June 1, 2026
Winston-Salem City Council Adopts FY 2026-2027 Budget and Approves Several Items - June 1, 2026
The Winston-Salem City Council met on June 1, 2026, at 6:00 PM with all nine members present. Mayor Allen Joines called the meeting to order. The City Manager provided updates on the pool program, parking signage improvements, and the new Dandelion Public Art Project. The Consent Agenda was approved with one item (C-1) pulled for discussion. The council then adopted the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget with a tax rate of 58.9 cents per $100 of assessed value, along with related resolutions, ordinance changes, and four demolition ordinances.
Consent Calendar
- Items C-2 through C-8 were approved unanimously by an 8-0 vote. These included: resolution conveying five lots for affordable homeownership units by Williams Development & True Homes (Southeast Ward); sale of city-owned property at 2203 Woodland Ave. for $1,600 under upset bid procedure; change order of $352,262.78 for additional engineering design services for the Multi-Use Path Western Section (total contract $775,187.85); contract award of $845,000 for design of the Glade Street Bridge Replacement Project to Whitman, Requardt & Associates; acquisition of easements for the Twenty-Seventh Street Drainage Improvements Project ($5,600); abandonment of public utility easements for Longwood Village Development; and approval of city council minutes from May 18, 2026.
- Item C-1 (Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan) was removed from the Consent Agenda and discussed separately before being approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during any of the four public hearings for demolition ordinances (G-4 through G-7). There was no general public comment period.
Discussion Items
- C-1: Resolution Adopting the FY 2027 Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan: Shereka Floyd, Home Program Manager, answered questions. Mayor Pro Tempore Denise Adams expressed concern that only one Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) applied for funding, urging better outreach to other nonprofits. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.
- G-1: FY 2026-2027 Annual Appropriation and Tax Levy and Project Budget Ordinances: Director of Budget and Performance Management Scott Tesh presented the final budget. The recommended tax rate of 58.9 cents per $100 of assessed value is a reduction of 0.4 cents from the proposed 59.3 cents. Tesh noted that Winston-Salem remains the lowest-cost municipal services provider among the five largest cities in North Carolina when combining taxes, water/sewer, and mandatory fees. Councilmember Regina Hall expressed concern about the potential closure of the secondary revenue collection site at the Black Phillip Smith Building, ensuring no employees would lose their jobs. Councilmember Robert Clark clarified that the $956,550 in the budget for nonprofit funding does not allocate specific amounts, which will be determined at the Finance Committee meeting on June 9. The motion carried 8-0.
- G-2: Resolutions and Ordinances Related to the FY 2026-2027 Budget Process: This omnibus item included: approval of the Capital Plan for FY 2026-2027 through 2031-2032 as a financial planning guide; adoption of the User Fee Schedule; expenditure of Opioid Settlement Funds; orders to collect current and delinquent taxes; amendments to Chapter 75 (Stormwater Management) and Chapter 42 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic, regarding off-street parking lots). Approved unanimously (8-0).
- G-3: Resolution to Amend Article II of the Personnel Resolution: Standardizes pay increase timing across police, fire, and general employees. Approved unanimously (8-0).
- G-4 through G-7: Demolition Ordinances: Four public hearings were held with no speakers. Each property owner had been notified. The council approved demolitions for 1135 Argonne Boulevard (Southeast Ward), 1331 Houston Street (Southeast Ward), 2705 Stokes Avenue (Northeast Ward), and 410 Barry Street (East Ward). All passed unanimously (8-0 each).
- G-8: Resolution Amending the 1976 Agreement with Forsyth County Relating to the Utility Commission: Assistant City Manager Aaron King explained the amendment expands the prohibition on elected officials serving on the Utility Commission to include any elected official in Forsyth County, not just city council or county commissioners. Councilmember Clark praised the commission's performance. The amendment requires approval by the county commissioners as well. Approved unanimously (8-0).
Key Outcomes
- Adopted the FY 2026-2027 Annual Appropriation and Tax Levy Ordinance with a tax rate of 58.9 cents per $100 of assessed value and the Project Budget Ordinance (8-0).
- Approved all budget-related resolutions and ordinances (G-2) and the personnel resolution amendment (G-3) unanimously.
- Approved four demolition ordinances at 1135 Argonne Blvd, 1331 Houston St, 2705 Stokes Ave, and 410 Barry St (each 8-0).
- Approved the amendment to the Utility Commission agreement with Forsyth County (8-0); the county will consider it next.
- Next steps: The Finance Committee will meet on June 9 at 4:00 PM to allocate specific nonprofit funding, and the council will take final action on those allocations at the June 15 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
You watching WSTV Digital Media. I'm Alan Joins, Mayor of Winston Salem. It's my pleasure to call to order this June first meeting of the Winston Salem City Council, and ask the city clerk to call the role, please. Councilmember joyner. Present. Councilmember Clark. Here. Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Here. Councilmember Scipio. Present. Mayor Pratim Adams. Here. Councilmember Taylor. Present. Councilmember Hall. President. And Councilmember Burke here. And would you join the city council meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance? Indivisible with liberty and justice for the same. And it will be replayed tomorrow morning at nine AM, and again Wednesday at nine PM. As you know, copies of our agendas as well as videos of previous meetings are always available online on the city's website. You just click on watch meetings online. As part of the special community celebration, Mayor Jones will recognize residents who are 100 years of age and older. This recognize recognition highlights the lives, experiences, and contributions of some of the community's most treasured residents. The deadline to submit nomination forms for the special recognition is today. So if you're listening and you have a member, please send those in today so we can get those in place. So family members, close friends, and caregivers still have time to go to the city's website to submit those recognition. So I just encourage you to look for that on the website. Also on the um website, you can find information about the mayor's inaugural summer youth program. We just uh slated to begin June 8th with a three-day workplace training session. So this is designed for youth ages 16 to 18 who participate in various job placement opportunities. So we encourage people to uh to register on the city website. Youth ages 11 to 15 are encouraged to register for our summer camp programs offered by the Winston Salem Recreation and Parks Department, Salvation Army Youth Camp or many other community-based camps that we have in the city. Along the same line, registration for the Winston Salem Police Department's 26 Youth Citizens Police Academy is also now open. This is a free program taking place June 8th through the 12th, and gives rising high school freshmen through seniors the opportunity to go behind the scenes of law enforcement, meet officers and specialized units, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of what policing looks like in our community. So just while we're talking about youth, I'm all um I I think it's it's actually not William, I got real Royston. But I'll turn it over to Ben. We're gonna have have a little bit of a information on our pool program. Good evening. Mayor joins Mayor Pro Tempori Adams, members of council. Yes, I'd like to introduce Heather Candy Laura, who is our aquatic supervisor who's going to uh give you an update on our preparations for the high heat days uh good at the pools this coming summer. Heather. Please. Good evening. Uh Mayor, Mayor Pro Temp Adams, uh, Council members. I'm Heather Candelora with the Recreation and Parks Bryce Stewart. Um the aquatics division is committed to the safety of all pool patrons and staff with a strong focus on protecting aquatics employees doing extreme heat. To support staff during outdoor conditions, enhanced guidelines, and the following preconditions are in place at all facilities. Enhanced heat safety measures are implemented based on temperature and heat index conditions.
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