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leading residential cabinetmakers,announced plans to establish its North A merican Headquarters at The Grounds creating 257 jobs over five years with a capital investment of $86 million.E ven wit h these two projects,The Grounds has signif icant acreage available for future development. Investment cont inued at the North Carolina Research Campus in K annapolis,which is a unique public/private partnership involving eight North Carolina universit ies,numerous companies,and community partners with a focus on researching and developing safer,more nutritious crops,healthier foods,and precision nutrit ion.In November 2019,the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL)opened its 16,000 square foot plant-based food processing and product development facility. Outside of the Research Campus,K annapolis also received a commitment from P rime B everage Group,a beverage co-packing company that mixes and packages canned drinks,to create 231 jobs over five years with a capital investment of $68 million to operate a 300,000 square foot facility.The revitalization of downtown K annapolis,approximately 50 acres and eight blocks of buildings,also continued over the past year.In October 2020,the city opened their new streetscape and construction concluded in A pril 2020 for the new home for the K annapolis Cannon B allers Minor League B aseball team. In addit ion to new businesses,several existing businesses also committed to new investments over the past year.Reynolds Group Holdings,a consumer products and packaging company,leased a 360,000 square foot flex building in K annapolis.In January 2020,General Motors announced plans to open a new technical center focused on performance and racing capabilities in Concord.A nother industrial speculative development was announced in May of this year.The S prings B usiness P ark will be a total of four small bay industrial spec buildings on P itts S chool Road in Concord.The professional park will be designed to meet the needs of small to medium sized businesses and will be a business incubator for growing companies.The projected investment for all four buildings is $13,000,000 and the total square footage is 119,400 S F. The unemployment rate for Cabarrus County in June 2021 was 4.4%compared to 7.6%a year ago in June of 2020.The County has looked to support resiliency through innovation and ent repreneurship.The Cabarrus E conomic Development Corporation (E DC)announced a partnership with Flywheel Co- working to open an innovation center in downtown Concord last year.The Cabarrus Center supports the creation of new businesses and growth of existing small businesses through ment or networks,education,capital access and programming.The E DC received 150 new requests for information related to potent ial economic development projects in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Long-term financial planning A s part of the annual budget development process,the county develops a Five-Y ear Financial P lan -a forecast of revenues and expenditures for a five-year period beginning with the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.The purpose of the Five-Y ear Financial P lan is to ensure the County can meet commitments,obligat ions,and anticipated needs in a fiscally sound manner.The basis for the forecast is the then-current fiscal year.Forecasts for subsequent years rely on previous year expenditures and revenues as a starting point.Increases and decreases are itemized. In addit ion,the County re-examines and adopts a Capital Improvement P lan (CIP )each year.The CIP is a five-year plan for capital projects that details estimated costs,project descriptions and funding sources.The CIP generally addresses capital projects with a value greater than $100,000 (and greater than $500,000 for Cabarrus County S chools)and a useful life longer than one year.The County acknowledges pay-as-you-go financing as a significant capital- financing source but recognizes that debt issuance is sometimes the most appropriate financing structure for a capital project.Current and planned debt obligations factor int o the County's long term financial planning. The County has ident ified economic development ,future capital needs of the County,our public schools,and our community college as significant issues to address as we strive to enhance the viability of our county and its residents. 3