Forsyth County Pivots In The Face Of Recent Job Losses

Forsyth County is pivoting in the face of job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the expected loss of roughly $10 million in sales taxes this year.

As recently as February, Forsyth County was on solid fiscal ground. Sales tax was continuing to roll in, and rosy plans were still in the works for lots of community development.

County Manager Dudley Watts oversees the county's budget and advises the board of commissioners on financial matters. He says while there are adequate reserves in place to respond to a disaster like the coronavirus, plans have changed.

"So, we'll have a tough year," says Watts. "We're doing the things that businesses and households and everybody else does when you know you're going into that. And so we're going to defer a lot of things and [are] pushing things off and we've got a soft hiring freeze on for the non-emergency kinds of things. And so, we're in just a really cautious mode right now."

Watts estimates this year's sales tax loss is roughly 2 percent of the county's $458 million budget, and other financial challenges are expected. Watts will present his recommendations to the board at the end of May. 

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