News Flash

City Offers Options to Avoid Lengthy Mail Processing Times

The U.S. Postal Service has announced that its standard for prompt delivery has slowed. The new longer delivery standard has resulted in lengthy times-in-transit for utility bills and payments.

To prepare for slower delivery, the City of Sanford encourages...

Registration for Sanford 101 Now Open

Registration has opened for the Spring 2023 session of Sanford 101 – previously called Sanford Citizens’ Academy.

First conceived in 2014, Sanford 101’s mission is to educate city residents about how their municipal government functions. At the end of the ...

Annual Water Treatment Process Change Scheduled for March 2023

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable. Tradúzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.

The City of Sanford normally uses a combination of ammonia and chlorine to disinfect its drinking water. Howe...

Ting Internet Installing Fiber in Sanford

Residents in Sanford/Lee County will soon have another option for internet service, as Ting Internet is currently adding Sanford to its network of high-speed fiber service. 

What to expect: Ting crews use door hangers to alert residents that they ...

City Awarded $5.8 Million for Affordable Housing Initiatives

The City of Sanford has been awarded more than $5.8 million in Community Development Block Grant funds by the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division to support Brick Capital Community Development Corporation’...

City First Responders Host Christmas Toy Drives

The Sanford Fire Department and Sanford Police Department are hosting toy drives to provide Christmas gifts for families in need. 

The Sanford Fire Department has kicked off its annual 3-Alarm Toy Drive, which began in 1996 and benefits families a...

City Commits $4.2M for Affordable Housing, Downtown Transformation

Sanford City Council has committed to spending $4,268,444 for four transformative community initiatives, as defined by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Passed in 2021, ARPA Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds were designed to help local g...

City Joins Operation Green Light

The City of Sanford will light the Sanford Veterans Memorial green today through Sunday for Operation Green Light.

Operation Green Light is a national collaborative initiative of the National Association of Counties (NACo) to support military veterans, as ...

City of Sanford Celebrates Completion of 226 Linden Avenue

The City of Sanford welcomed members of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Greensboro Field Office, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Sanford Housing Authority (SHA), elected officials, and community leaders for a ribb...

Piedmont Blues Celebrates Sanford’s Musical Heritage

Sanford’s connection to the Piedmont Blues musical tradition will soon be on display in downtown, thanks to the City of Sanford Appearance Commission’s upcoming mural depicting local blues guitarist Floyd Council and regional blues musician Pink Anderson....

New Regular Meeting Time for Sanford City Council

Sanford City Council has changed its regular meeting time, effective immediately.

Council will now meet at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at the Sanford Municipal Center on the first and third Tuesday of each month. 

Public hearings will be held on ...

$3.4M Grant Awarded to S-Line Mobility Hub Planning Project

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has received a $3.4 million RAISE grant for mobility hub planning along the future S-Line.

The grant was announced Tuesday at a media event held in Depot Park and attended by officials from across the state. ...

Sanford Launches Revamped Municipal Website

The City of Sanford launched its newly revamped website this week, following a comprehensive redesign process by CivicPlus, a leading government website provider.

The revamped website has a powerful search tool, a fresh web design, and most importantly, a ...

City Council Approves System Development Fees

At its August 2, 2022, regular meeting, Sanford City Council approved system development fees for all newly connecting water and wastewater customers, effective September 1, 2022.

System development fees are one-time charges assessed to residential or comm...

Sanford Hires New Fire Chief

The City of Sanford has hired Matthew Arnold to serve as Sanford Fire Chief, filling the vacancy left by Chief Wayne Barber in January. 

Arnold has 23 years of leadership experience with 14 of those in fire and emergency services. Most recently, h...

Sanford Ag Marketplace Awarded Rural Transformation Grant

The City of Sanford has been awarded $900,000 by the Rural Transformation Grant Fund to develop the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace in downtown Sanford.

The Rural Transformation Grant Fund is a new source of support for rural economic development projects...

City Approves Utility Service Rate Increases

At its June 7, 2022 meeting, Sanford City Council approved the City of Sanford’s budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, which includes rate increases for water and wastewater users. 

The City’s water rate will increase by 10 percent...

Youth Council Donates 900+ Books to Local Schools

Members of the former Sanford/Lee County Youth Council donated more than 900 books to two local elementary schools this week.

Disbanded in 2018, the Youth Council hosted the Race to Read 5k annually from 2012 to 2017 to promote literacy and raise funds to ...

St Andrews Church Rd to Close Wednesday for 6 Months

The City of Sanford is sharing this information from NCDOT for the benefit of our residents. Note that the City of Sanford is not involved in this project.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has announced that a portion of St. Andrews ...

Proposed Budget for FY 2022-2023 Now Available

City staff presented the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year at the May 24, 2022 meeting of the Sanford City Council.

The proposed budget focuses on two major themes.  The first is delivering superior services, especially in the realm of ...

Sanford's Vision Leads to Historic Economic Development Deal

Sanford City Council’s vision to partner with Chatham County to develop a megasite in Moncure is paying off to the tune of thousands of new jobs and billions in investment.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced today that Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFa...

Service Offsite Solutions selects Sanford for New Facility

Service Offsite Solutions (SOS), a building products company headquartered in Raleigh, NC, will open a new facility in Lee County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company plans to occupy a newly constructed state-of-the art, 240,000 square foot m...

Public Works Department Recognized as Main Street Champion

The City of Sanford's Public Works Department was one of 33 North Carolina Main Street Champions recognized by the N.C. Department of Commerce at a virtual Recognition Ceremony today. 

Downtown Sanford, Inc. nominated the department for the Main S...

Housing-Related Assistance Available for NC Homeowners

The NC Homeowner Assistance Fund is now accepting applications from North Carolina homeowners whose finances were impacted by the pandemic and who need assistance with housing-related expenses. 

Established through the 2021 American Rescue Plan to...

City of Sanford Receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

The Government Finance Officers Association has announced that City of Sanford, North Carolina, has received GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. View the City of Sanford budget here.

The award represents a significant achievement...

City Releases Popular Annual Financial Report for FY 2020-21

The City of Sanford has published its Popular Annual Financial Report, which summarizes the City’s financial activities for the last fiscal year.

The purpose of the report is to provide a user-friendly and easy-to-understand the financial informa...

Appearance Commission Requests Proposals for Two Murals

The City of Sanford Appearance Commission is currently accepting proposals from artists interested in creating commissioned public art murals.

There are two murals in the works. One will commemorate local racing legend J.D. McDuffie with his pit crew as th...

Customer Service Department Gives Gifts to Nursing Center

The City of Sanford's customer service department partnered with a local nursing and rehabilitation center to provide Christmas gifts to residents who may not otherwise receive gifts this year.

Center staff selected three residents and provided wish lists ...

Emergency Assistance Available for Water Bills

Low-income households affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can apply for assistance paying water bills thanks to a new program administered by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

This program, called the Low-Income Household Water Assist...

City Projects Recognized for Excellence in Engineering

Two City of Sanford projects have received an Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC).

Each year, ACEC/NC recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achiev...

City of Sanford Fire Chief Recognized as Hometown Hero

Chief Wayne Barber of the Sanford Fire Department was honored on Tuesday, Nov. 16 for being a Hometown Hero by the NC Automobile Dealers Association.

Barber was nominated by John Hiester Automotive. The award ceremony was held at the dealer’s Fuquay-Varina...

Three Benches Donated to the City of Sanford

Shook Construction has donated three benches to the City of Sanford for use at Kiwanis Family Park.

The donation is part of the company’s initiative to give back to communities in which they work, notes Matthew Gilroy, project manager for the company. Shoo...

Street Pianos Coming to Downtown Sanford

The City of Sanford Appearance Commission is making music interactive for residents and visitors in downtown Sanford by adding two street pianos to the Public Art Program.

Works of art themselves, the pianos have been hand painted by local artists. Reggie ...

Free Wi-Fi Now Available in Downtown Sanford

Lee County Government, the City of Sanford, and Downtown Sanford, Inc. have partnered to provide free Wi-Fi access to a section of the downtown area.

Called “Open Sanford,” the Wi-Fi network is powered by Open Broadband, a hybrid fiber and fixed wireless I...

Pilgrim’s to Build Sanford Agricultural Marketplace with Hometown Strong Funds

In October, Pilgrim’s announced a $515,000 investment in Sanford, NC, to support the community’s future through the company’s Hometown Strong program. Pilgrim’s has been working with local leaders to determine where the funds can best help meet immediate ...

NCDOT Awarded Grant for Passenger Rail in Sanford

The N.C. Department of Transportation has been awarded a grant to help bring passenger rail to Sanford and other North Carolina communities between Virginia and South Carolina.

The Federal Transit Authority granted NCDOT’s Integrated Mobility Division $900...

SHA, City Collaborate to Offer Housing for Homeless Families

The City of Sanford and the Sanford Housing Authority have been granted funds to develop five units to house homeless families.

The NC Housing Finance Agency has provided the Sanford Housing Authority with a forgivable loan for $440,000 from the Supportive...