Page 52 - 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report - City of Winston-Salem

General Obligation Bond Debt Service Figure 7

(dollars in thousands)
Percent of Interest and
Maturities Principal Total Principal
2019-2023 $ 54,340 31.13% $ 84,543
2024-2028 50,310 28.83 68,602
2029-2033 40,640 23.28 49,731
2034-2037 29,250 16.76 31,351
$ 174,540 100.00% $ 234,227

The City maintained triple “A” bond ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings. The bond
ratings are a clear indication of the sound nancial condition of the City of Winston-Salem, which is one of a few cities in
the country that maintains the highest nancial rating from all three of the major rating agencies.

North Carolina general statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt that a unit of government can issue to 8% of
the total assessed value of taxable property located within that government’s boundaries. The legal debt margin for the
City is $1,587,467,082.
Additional information regarding the City’s long-term debt can be found in Note 3G.

Budget Highlights for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019

Governmental Activities. The general fund accounts for municipal services that are covered primarily by property and
sales taxes. The adopted budget is $205.4 million, an increase of $2.6 million or 1.3% compared to scal year 2017-2018
adopted budget. The major drivers of the increase are related to ongoing public safety investments and the City’s
commitment to employee compensation.
The budget assumes the bulk container program will end e ective January 1, 2019. Ending the program in scal year
2018-2019 will result in annual savings of at least $300,000 to the general fund. An estimated additional savings of $200,000
will be realized in scal year 2019-2020 when the program is not in operation.
The scal year 2018-2019 general fund budget eliminates 15 vacant positions, freezes 7 vacant non-sworn public safety
positions, and defunds 10 vacant community oriented policing grant positions.
The scal year 2018-2019 budget is balanced with no proposed tax rate increase. The current rate remains at 59.74 cents
per $100 of assessed value.
Business-type Activities. The City/County Utility Commission approved volumetric rate increases of 3.5% for water service
and 5% for sewer service, as well as a $1.41/month increase for water and sewer base charges for residential customers.
These increases will generate su cient revenues to provide funding for all operating expenses and to meet debt coverage
requirements and to fund major investments in the water and sewer system in order to upgrade existing water and
wastewater treatment plant infrastructure and continue to replace the oldest water distribution and sewer collection
pipes in the system.

Requests for Information

This report is designed to provide an overview of the City of Winston-Salem’s nances for those with an interest in this
area. Questions concerning any of the information found in this report or requests for additional information should be
directed to the Chief Financial O cer, City of Winston-Salem, P. O. Box 2511, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27102, or by
visiting our website at www.cityofws.org.

46 2018 AN NUAL R E P O R T