The city manager for Durham presented his budget proposal on Monday for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
According to City Manager Bowman Ferguson, the budget proposal focuses on four key areas:
- Community safety.
- Employee pay.
- Service delivery.
- Infrastructure.
“Durham is changing rapidly,” Ferguson said. “Following a countywide property revaluation that increased real property values by more than 71%, we face an inflection point—an opportunity to reevaluate, not only how we invest public dollars, but how we organize the government that spends them.”
The proposal totals $722 million, an 8% increase from the previous fiscal year, including a $326.5 million for the General Fund and a property tax rate of 43.71 cents per $100 assessed value, which is a reduction of 15.91 cents from the current rate.
Despite the reduction in property tax rate, many Durham residents would likely see a property tax increase, as the city is also proposing a city tax 5.48 cents above the revenue-neutral rate. If approved, a median-valued home of $415,000 would have a property tax bill of $1,814, based on data from the Durham County Office of Tax Administration.
Under the revenue-neutral rate, the average property tax bill of a median-valued home of $415,000 would have been $1,586.
According to Ferguson, nearly two cents of the proposed tax rate increase is needed to support the debt service from the voter-approved $200 million bond that passed in November 2024.
“We’ve heard clearly from our residents,” Ferguson said. “You want continued investment in public safety and additional equitable infrastructure that supports our quality of life. This budget responds to that, even as we face rising costs, inflation, and pressure on revenue sources like sales and occupancy taxes.”
Included in the budget is expanded funding for Durham’s HEART program, which would add 17 new full-time positions to the program if the budget is approved. The budget would also increase the minimum wage for city employees from $19.58 per hour to $21.90 per hour.
The budget would also set aside $7 million this year for lead soil cleanup at five city parks: East Durham, East End, Lyon, Northgate and Walltown.
Portions of the parks were closed off in 2023 after dangerous levels of lead were discovered in the soil. Many of the sections remain closed as the city assesses the ongoing efforts to clean the parks.
The City Council will hold special work sessions to review the proposed budget on Wednesday, May 28, and Thursday, May 29, at 9 a.m. in the City Hall Committee Room. A final public hearing will be on Monday, June 2 at 7 p.m. before City Council votes on adopting the budget on June 16.
You can read the full budget proposal here.
