| | N E W S F L A S H | |
J A N U A R Y 2 4 | 2 0 2 1
Around the Town: Meet Julie Niswonger

Long-time resident and Finance superstar

When you think of the Town's government, who do you think of? Your first thought may be the Mayor or Police Officers, but the Town of Cornelius is comprised of more than 150 employees who work diligently behind the scenes.

All Town departments keep their 'gears greased' with the goal of making day-to-day life as seamless as possible for our residents. For example, our Finance Department is known for going above and beyond for our citizens each day.

And at the heart of the Finance Department is Julie Niswonger.
Meet Your Neighbor and Town Finance Director, Julie.

She's been a Town employee since 2001 and a Cornelius resident since 2004. After graduating from Appalachian State University in 2001, Julie began working for the Town's Finance Department and has been here ever since. She started as an accountant and worked in that role until 2015, when she was appointed Accounting Operations Manager. In 2016, she took on her current role of Finance Director.
About Your Finance Department

If you're wondering what Julie and her team do for the Town, the simple answer is... a lot.

Their year is divided between two big deliverables - the Town's annual budget and bi-annual audits.

  • Budget: Each year, the Town must develop a new budget to determine how taxpayer dollars will be spent for the fiscal year, which runs July 1 - June 30. The Town budget is one of the most important documents the Town produces. This year, all residents are invited to get involved in the budget process. If you haven't done so already, please complete this short budget survey. This is your opportunity to provide us with your priorities. Be on the lookout for more information on the FY 2021-22 public budget process, including more opportunities for you to get involved.

  • Audits: Auditors come to Town Hall twice each year to review our finances. They look at several records, including bank reconciliations, accounts payable, or anything related to grants or payroll. It takes a considerable amount of work to prep for these audits. Julie and her team do a stellar job pulling the necessary documents together while balancing their day-to-day assignments.

And their hard work does not go unnoticed. In fact, our Finance Department has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for ten consecutive years. Learn more about our GFOA awards here. In addition to these awards, the Town is also recognized by Standard & Poor's with a AAA bond rating - the highest rating an entity can receive. This reflects the Town's strong finances and allows the Town to lower its financing costs. 

The highlight of it all? For Julie, it's saving money for the Town of Cornelius and working with a wonderful team.

On behalf of the Town Leadership Team and Board of Commissioners, we sincerely thank Julie for her hard work and dedication to our community!
"It's incredibly rewarding when we can find ways to save money for the Town and its residents. Recently, we found more than $20k in savings from debt refinancing. We love looking for opportunities to maximize taxpayer dollars."
- Julie Niswonger, Finance Director
SAVE THE DATE: FEBRUARY COFFEE CHAT
Monday, February 1 at 8:30 a.m.
At our next virtual Coffee Chat,
we're talking all things transportation!

Join us to hear the latest on Cornelius streets - from local projects to NC Department of Transporation updates.

As usual, we'll also provide a County and Town update to help keep you in the know.



Submit questions in advance here:

We hope you'll join us!
MAYORS' FITNESS CHALLENGE
A Healthy Competition is On!
The North Mecklenburg towns - Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville - along with Mooresville, are hosting the first-ever Mayors' Fitness Challenge.

Residents of each town are invited to join together as one team to win the title of 'Fittest Community'.

The challenge begins February 1 and will last 12 weeks; you can register now or at any point during the challenge.

Each week, participants will work to have the highest total of active minutes. Learn more and register here

Come on, Cornelius - let's win this thing!
PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE
A few things to keep in mind
Reminder: Construction on the intersection of Bailey Road and NC Highway 115 is gearing up.

In February, residents can expect lane closures during non-peak hours (9 am - 4 pm), potentially impacting school drop-off and pickup. One lane of traffic will remain open in each direction at all times.

Last call for leaves!

This is the last week for curbside leaf collection. Be sure to pile all remaining leaves on your curb before Sunday, January 31.

Remember, you can bag your leaves (up to 20 bags) to be collected by WastePro during your weekly collection.
COVID-19 UPDATES AND RESOURCES
What You Need to Know
Public Health Opens Appointments for Groups 1 and 2 beginning in February. Group 1 includes healthcare workers with current in-person patient contact and long-term care staff and residents. Group 2 includes anyone 65 years or older, regardless of health status or living situation.

Public Health Director Announces Three-Week Directive to Protect Residents from COVID-19. The Directive began January 12 and will remain in effect until February 2.

Public Health Partners with StarMed Healthcare to Provide Second COVID-19 Vaccine Doses. Appointments for the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are only for individuals who received their first dose of the vaccine with MCPH.

For the most up to date information on COVID-19, visit mecknc.gov/COVID-19.
Town of Cornelius Communications || Website || Email || 704.892.6031