Applications Available for City of Winston-Salem University

The city is accepting applications for the next class of “City of Winston-Salem University,” to begin Jan. 28.

City of Winston-Salem University gives citizens a better understanding of city government, including the responsibilities of various city departments and the city’s role in the community.

Classes will meet every Thursday evening for three hours through April 15, except for Easter week. Topics will include city governance and finance, sanitation, utilities operations, streets and transportation, public safety, planning and economic development, housing, recreation, public facilities, and internal city operations.

Participation is limited to 20 residents from Winston-Salem and Forsyth County who will be selected through an application process.

Applications must be received by 5 p.m. Dec. 31. Applications are available at the Marketing & Communications Department in City Hall, 101 N. Main St. Suite 336. The application is also posted online and can be printed and mailed in, or filled out and submitted online. For more information, call City Link at 727-8000.

CWSU information and application

Dell Confirms It Will Repay Local Incentives

Dell Inc. has confirmed in writing that it will repay $26.5 million in incentives from the city, Forsyth County, the Millennium Fund and the Forsyth County Development Corp. following its decision to close its computer assembly plant in Forsyth County.

A letter from Dell to Mayor Allen Joines, dated Oct. 20, states, “Dell agrees and acknowledges that the amounts listed in your letter are the amounts to be repaid …within 30 days from receipt of a formal letter sent by the community at the time the Dell facility in Winston-Salem ceases operations.” The letter is signed by Kip Thompson, Dell’s vice president for global facilities and strategic growth.

Thompson sent his letter in response to a letter Joines sent on Monday, Oct. 19, outlining the amounts to be reimbursed by Dell. They are: $15,556,071 to the city; $7,916,328 to the county, $2,774,228 to the Millennium Fund; and $308,622 to the Forsyth County Development Corp.

“No one in government likes having to pay incentives to bring employers to a community,” Joines said, “but it is necessary in order to be competitive. However, incentives must include the protection of strong performance requirements. Dell’s agreement to repay all local incentives validates the strength of our contract with Dell and shows that incentives are not inherently risky if properly structured.”

The city’s incentive agreement with Dell required that the company create 1,700 jobs within five years of the plant opening on September 19, 2005, and invest at least $100 million. Failure to meet these conditions would result in a return of all upfront expenditures, incentive payments and title to the land Dell purchased with city money.

Of the $15,556,071 paid by the city, $8.5 million was for land acquisition, site preparation, and other upfront costs. Annual incentive payments were based on Dell’s property-tax payments.

Census Bureau Revises City Population Estimate

U.S. Census Bureau has revised its 2008 population estimate for Winston-Salem and now puts the city population at 227,834. This is an increase of more than 10,000 from the previous 2008 estimate, which the city challenged.

Paul Norby, the city-county planning director, said that the new estimate is just 528 less than the N.C. demographer’s estimate of 228,362. The revised estimate is important because it is used in determining federal distributions and grants based on population, Norby said.

With the revised estimate, Winston-Salem ranks as the 84th largest city in the United States, ahead of Baton Rouge, La., and just behind Birmingham, Ala.

The Census Bureau originally estimated the city’s 2008 population at 217,600, which was almost 6,000 less than its revised 2007 estimate of 223,532. 

City-County Planning Board web site