Newsroom

The City of Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department has cancelled its Trick or Treat on Main St. Drive-Thru event scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, in downtown Salisbury.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Census response deadline has been extended to late October. Salisbury residents are still asked to respond as soon as possible via the Census website at 2020Census.gov.

Data received from the Census affects communities for 10 years. With $675 billion federal dollars at stake for things like schools, road construction, hospitals, workforce initiatives and substance abuse programs, Rowan County still has a long way to go to ensure it secures its fair share.

What started as a general discussion about cancelling the annual downtown Cheerwine Festival, grew into an idea of a full-fledged, virtual event complete with shopping, games and music.

Streamed on social media as a live premiere, the fourth annual Cheerwine Festival was created with pre-recorded videos from Mayor Karen Alexander; event emcee, Katie Garner; five musical acts; and Cheerwine, Food Lion and Hotwire commercials interspersed. 

The $46,003,307 balanced General Fund budget reflects a 3.17% decrease in spending from the FY20 adopted budget due to expected shortages related to COVID-19. In addition to the General Fund, the Water/Sewer Fund, Transit Fund, Broadband Fund, and Stormwater Fund comprise the overall City budget totaling $82,528,220. This total sum also includes Special Revenue Funds (CDBG & HOME) and Capital Reserve Funds. Bailey proposes maintaining the current tax rate of $0.7196 for the fiscal year as to not burden the Salisbury community in the midst of economic challenges.