City of Durham, NC

05/16/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/16/2022 18:13

Durham’s Proposed Budget Funds Employee Compensation, Public Safety & Shared Prosperity Initiatives

Proposed Property Tax Rate Increase of 0.6 Cent

City Manager Wanda Page presented her proposed FY2022-2023 budgetat the May 16 City Council meeting, which contains a property tax rate increase to help support the restorationof merit-based employee compensation as well as public safety and shared prosperity initiatives.

Page's recommended total preliminary budget is $568.9 million, which is a 7.4% increase from last year's adopted budget, primarily due toincreases in the General Fund, Water and Sewer and Stormwater Fundsfor infrastructure improvements, and the Debt Service Fund to provide for capital infrastructure. 
  • Proposed Tax Rate Increase: Page recommended a proposed property tax rate of 55.77 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is a 0.6cent tax rate increase from the previous fiscal year's rate of 55.17 cents. If approved by the City Council next month, the proposed tax ratewillgenerate a City of Durham property tax bill of about $1,311 per year, or about $109 per month, on a house valued at the median house value of $235,133 according to the Durham County Office of Tax Administration.
  • City Employee Compensation: According to Page, the additional funds from the tax rate increase will be used to help provide City employeesclassified as general employees witha 3% market-rate salary increase as well as restorationof the City's pay-for-performance merit systemfor all employees, both general and sworn. Police and Fire sworn employees receivedmarket-rate salary increases of 15%and 14.7%, respectively, in January 2022. For the past two years, merit-based salary increases havebeensuspended for all employees due to thecontinuedfinancial uncertainty related to the globalCOVID-19 pandemic.

    "When I think about the past two yearsand everything we've been through as a community and a country, I feel such gratitude for our employees and their continuedpublicservice," Page said. "During a time, cited by many as the 'Great Resignation,' our employees continued to perform their duties and showed up each and every day for our cityeven though they had not received merit-based pay raises for two years.It's time we recognized their continued service and reward them for a job well done by restoringour merit-based pay system, which was designed to annually rewardemployees based on the quality of their job performance."

  • Public Safety: Page also recommended funding to begin implementation of new pilot programs in the Community Safety Department, specifically the Crisis Call Diversion, Co-Response, Care Navigation, andCommunity Response Team pilots. Funding is also included to continue the Durham Expunctionand Restoration (DEAR) Program as well as a one-year pilot of the ShotSpotter technology.

  • Affordable Housing: Page also shared more aboutthe results-to-date of 'Forever Home, Durham,'the City's $160 million program to create affordable opportunities for renters and homeowners. To date, this program has created 662 rental units, preserved 261 rental units, and provided nearly 1,300 households with assistance to stay in their homes. Page also noted that her proposed budget includes $500,000 to support the Durham County Long-Time Homeowner Grant Program for residents at or below 80% of the area median income. This program awardsgrants to qualifying recipients to help reduce the amount of their property taxes due.

  • Digital Inclusion: Page's proposed spending plan also includes funding for a new Digital Inclusion Program Manager to begin working with community partnerson programs to ensureall City residentshave access to the internet and understand how to usethistechnology in areas such as education, health care, and employmentopportunities.

  • Youth Career Exploration & Business Support Programs: Funding is also included to support paid summer youth career exploration, pathway discovery, and ready-to-work programs; local businesses through the Momentum 360 Financial Academy Training Program, which provides coaching, mentoring and training forbusinesses in recovery from the impact of COVID-10 shutdowns; and Hispanic Ecosystem and Outreach Program aimed at developing a marketing, outreach,and technical assistance program that specifically targets Hispanic entrepreneurs; and continuing the Durham Legacy BusinessProgram which helps to retain, expand,and transition Durham's long-standing small, women- and minority-owned businesseswithsuccession planning and targeted technical assistance.

  • COVID-19: Page also focused her attention on the organization's continued COVID-19 recovery efforts, citinghow federal funds will be allocated tocontinue providingfare-free service for all GoDurham ridersin the coming fiscal year.

  • Street Maintenance: Since street paving and maintenance continues to be a significant concern for residents responding to the 2021 Resident Satisfaction Survey, the proposed budget maintains funding for street paving at $10 million.

  • Water System Rehabilitation: The City will invest $102.2million for water system rehabilitation, upgrading and increasing the City's future water supplythroughJordan Lake andTeer Quarry projects as well as Lake Michie andLittle River constructionneeds. A modest increase of about 3.9% in water and sewer rates as well as a stormwater rate increase of 0.93cents per month are also included in the proposed budget.  


Next Steps in the Budget Approval Process

City Council and City staff will review the proposed budget details at budget work sessions on May 25and May 26. These in-person work sessions will begin at 9 a.m. in City Hall's Council Chambers and be livestreamed to the City's YouTube channelas well as Durham Television Networkto enable as many residentsas possible to watch thedepartmental budget presentations. A public hearingis scheduled for the proposed budget onMonday, June 6at 7 p.m. with final budget approval set for Tuesday, June 21at 7 p.m. 

To review the entire proposed budget, visit the City's Budget and Management Services Department webpage.