Ever wonder how many miles of streets and roads the town owns? Ever argued with a friend or a relative about how the town of Wake Forest spends its money? Can you remember when we had the last bond vote and what was in it?
There is now a source where you can find all the answers, the Citizen’s Financial Report – also referred to as the Popular Annual Financial Report – which you can find on the town’s website at www.wakeforestnc.gov/popular-annual-financial-report.aspx. A digital version will also be provided on the town’s new Open Data Portal and hard copies will be available by mid-February at the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 Brooks Street.
The 12-page booklet has summarized financial and operational information in a easy to read and understand format. It also includes a few statistics such as the population – which was updated after the booklet was prepared and is now 41,197 –number of sworn police officers, the dollar amount in 2016, just a few dollars shy of $5 million, for the 11 cents of the tax base allocated to the independent Wake Forest Fire Department, and short overviews of current and future town projects.
“We are very excited to present the town’s first Citizen’s Financial Report,” Finance Director Aileen Staples said. “This publication directly aligns with our strategic plan objective to maintain public trust in the sustainability of the town’s financial system. We also want to be transparent in providing the citizens with complete information on the financing of town programs and services.”
Together with the town’s new Open Data Portal, town residents should be able to have many of their questions and concerns about the town answered.
To get to the Open Data Portal, go to the town website, www.wakeforestnc.gov, and click on Open Government under the Government heading. Once there you can search by category such as police or communications or search town data by topic.
