Comprehensive Annual Financial Report FY 2016

PROFILE OF THE GOVERNMENT The City of Greensboro is located in central piedmont North Carolina, midway between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. The Town was incorporated in 1808 and is the county seat of Guilford County. Greensboro has a population of 285,344 and presently covers a land area of approximately 135 square miles. In the past 10 years population growth has averaged 1 to 2 percent per year with the most notable increase of 5.7 percent occurring between 2007 and 2008, due primarily to significant City-initiated annexations in the northwest region. Since 2000, 15,905 acres were added or 19.6 square miles, an increase of 23 percent. The City is empowered to levy a property tax on the appraised value of all real and certain categories of tangible personal property located in the City. The County is the only other unit levying such taxes within the City's corporate limits. The City is also empowered by state statute to extend its corporate limits by annexation, which occurs periodically when deemed appropriate by the governing council. Approximately 64 acres were annexed during the fiscal year 2015-16. The City operates as a Council-Manager form of government. The Council is the policy-making and legislative body of City government and includes a Mayor and eight Council members who serve two-year concurrent terms. The Mayor and three Council members are elected at-large and the remaining five Council members are elected from districts within the City. The Mayor is a voting member and the presiding officer of the Council. A Mayor Pro Tempore is selected by the Council from its members. The City Manager is appointed by the Council as Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for carrying out the policies and ordinances of the Council and administering the daily operations and programs of the City through appointed department directors and staff members. The City provides services to its citizens in the following areas: police, fire, transportation, waste collection and disposal, water resources, parks and recreation, libraries, neighborhood development, public improvements and general administration. The City also operates an arena, exhibition building complex, aquatic center, golf course facilities, downtown parking facilities and government access cable television.

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