Page 23 - 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report - City of Winston-Salem

“ pen and progressive meets classic southern, and the result is arts, smarts and superb
livability,” according to Bestcities.org, which ranks Winston-Salem 32nd out of the top

O50 of America’s Best Small Cities. The ranking is based on factors such as quality of life,
infrastructure, prosperity, educational institutions and arts and entertainment o erings.

COMMUNITY PROFILE 2017•2018

National surveys continue to praise Winston-Salem for its inspections, facilities maintenance, building inspections
amenities and a ordability. Both CNN Money and Forbes and housing code enforcement. The result is improved
have rated the City one of the Top 10 Places to Retire. responsiveness and work ow.
Lending Tree ranks Winston-Salem the fth best place in Through www.cityofws.org, residents are able to request
the U.S. for rst-time home buyers, based on a ordability services, pay bills, register for recreation programs, conduct
and the size of down payments. Right Click, an online business with the Inspections Department, watch archive
technology newsletter for Verizon, recently ranked Winston- video tape of City Council meetings, and more. CityLink,
Salem third in the nation on its list of Best Cities in the U.S. the City’s call center, gives residents a single number (311)
For Young IT Professionals. WalletHub, a personal nance to call to request City services, report problems, pay bills,
website, has ranked Winston-Salem in the top 20 of its Best and make suggestions. Citizens may also call CityLink after
Large Cities to Start a Business.
hours to report emergencies such as water main breaks and
As the City of Arts and Innovation, Winston-Salem continues downed trees in roadways. Winston-Salem has also been
to diversify its entertainment and cultural o erings. Its recognized for its continued support of WinstonNet, a
reputation as a good city for “foodies” is growing, with new community program that provides free access to the
restaurants o ering a wide range of local and international Internet and computers in various locations around the City.
cuisine continuing to open in the downtown area. Winston- Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, an a liate of Keep America
Salem is now home to seven craft breweries, including Beautiful, has received national recognition for the many
Foothills Brewing, the oldest, founded in 2005 and now innovative programs it has developed. The group holds
one of the largest regional brewers in the Southeast. The annual events including Community Roots Day, during
newest, Incendiary Brewing, opened in 2018 in the former which trees and shrubs are planted in parks, greenways, and
coal pit of Bailey Power Plant in Wake Forest Innovation rights-of-way throughout the City. Other annual events are
Quarter. On the cultural front, the nationally respected the Great American Clean-up in the spring, in which
River Run International Film Festival and the biennial volunteers clean up streets, parks, and school grounds; the
National Black Theater Festival draw tens of thousands of Big Sweep in the fall, which focuses on cleaning up local
visitors to the City.
waterways; and the annual Flower Bulb Distribution of
The City is also rapidly gaining national recognition for donated surplus ower bulbs to gardening clubs and other
bicycling. Now in its sixth year of existence, the Winston- organizations that plant them in areas visible to the public.
Salem Cycling Classic continues to grow in prestige among
cycling professionals nationwide, with more of the country’s
top riders spending their Memorial Day weekends
competing in the City. Renovations are also underway to
transform a 1918 downtown building into a National
Cycling Center, which will include cycling training
equipment and double-occupancy rooms that can be used
for housing cycling teams coming here to train.
Winston-Salem has also been named one of America’s Top
10 Digital Cities for 15 years in a row by the Center for
Digital Government. In 2017, the Center rated Winston-
Salem second among cities with a population of 125,000 to
249,999. The Center’s judges continue to be impressed with
Winston-Salem’s commitment to using digital media for city
services. The City has provided mobile devices to employees
of departments as diverse as engineering and zoning

W I N S T O N S AL E M , N O R T H C AR O L I N A 17