2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report

organization. The FY 2022-23 budget includes a market adjustment of 2% for all employee base wages while providing a 3% average merit increase for all eligible employees. Additionally, public safety officers (sworn police, sworn fire, and eligible 911 staff) will receive a 3% market adjustment, increasing starting salaries while preventing additional compression, and an average 4% merit pay increase for eligible employees.

FACTORS AFFECTING FINANCIAL CONDITION A. Local Economy

Greensboro's diverse economy is attributed to its unique blend of trade, manufacturing and service businesses as well as its universities and colleges. Local industry is characterized by the production of a wide range of products, including aircraft, machinery, electronics equipment, textiles, apparel and tobacco, and expansion in the aircraft maintenance, transportation and financial services industries. Five of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list have operations in the Greensboro area; these include UnitedHealth Group, AT&T, UPS, FedEx and Procter & Gamble. Greensboro and North Carolina in general are transforming from the traditional manufacturing base noted in the late 80’s and early 90’s to a strong service sector and high-tech presence with significant business diversification in recent years. The Greensboro-High Point metropolitan area ranked in the top ten for the 10 years spanning 2012 through 2021 for regions of its size by Site Selection magazine for metro areas enriched by corporate capital investment. The ranking is based on the number of projects with capital investments of at least $1 million, related floor-space expansion, and the number of new jobs created. This area experiences an excellent market location that has access to all major domestic and international markets from Interstate Highways 40, and 85 and the PTIA. Construction is underway for a new interstate system (I-73) that will span North Carolina, joining Detroit and Charleston, including Greensboro en route. In northern Greensboro, U.S. 29, between Danville and Greensboro, has also been designated as Interstate 785. Located at the center of North Carolina and the midpoint of the East Coast, Greensboro is strategically positioned at the hub of a dynamic region for major transportation, logistics, manufacturing and service industries. In addition, half of the U.S. population is within 650 miles (1,046 km.), another major advantage. With the significant presence of Federal Express and Honda Aircraft, the region continues to build on the strengths of its geographic location positioning the Triad as a global “aerotropolis” and logistics center on the U.S. East Coast. The Greensboro Urban Loop , a 44-mile State-constructed beltway around Greensboro, is in progress at a cost of approximately $1 billion, funded by the N.C. Legislature. The Southern, Eastern and Western portions of the loop have been completed and are currently open. The Northern section, with just 3.3 miles remaining, will conclude the entire project with anticipated completion by spring 2023. The Urban Loop beltway is comprised of four major interstates; 73, 85, 785 and 840. This connectivity significantly contributes to the distribution and logistics hub in the region and will serve to embrace suppliers of existing and expanding businesses.

VII