GREENSBORO, N.C. – Cities across North Carolina are preparing budgets for the next fiscal year, but they're doing so under different circumstances.

“I’d say it’s different in the sense that we are, we know a lot less than we typically would know or would want to know at this point about some of our major revenues," Larry Davis with the City of Greensboro says.

Different aspects of COVID-19 have impacted the money cities have available. As people stay home, don't visit hotels, and stores stay closed, that's less they have.

“Our revenue projections, especially for sales tax really reflect a deep drop in those revenues and also a slow recovery in those revenues going into next year,” Ben Rowe with the City of Winston-Salem says.

Sales tax revenue is an important revenue stream for cities. Without that and other outlets, they're looking at ways to cut costs without cutting services.

The gap, however, depends on a city's location. Greensboro is looking at around a $7 million difference.

“This has not been a manufacturing driven downturn. So that helps us, helps Asheboro and Randolph County. It clobbers the coast but we’re not as bad this time," Asheboro City Manager John Ogburn said.