The Durham City Council put their final stamp of approval on the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, garnering a round of applause from the packed audience inside city hall during Monday’s meeting.
The total budget remains at the city manager’s proposed $722 million. The city council also approved an additional $2.48 billion for its five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Major highlights include the expansion of HEART program services during the day, investments in transportation for fare-free buses and Vision Zero, employee pay, and a slate of infrastructure projects funded through the CIP including a water treatment plant at Jordan Lake. (INDY reported on these initiatives in more detail earlier in the budget season.)
“While you are seeing your state and federal government failing you on the regular, please know that your local government is trying really hard to meet the needs of this community with a much more constrained pool of resources,” said council member Javiera Caballero.
City council members praised City Manager Bo Ferguson and his staff for balancing the many hopes and desires from the community and city council in his first budget since being promoted in December.
“Everyone up here always wants more out of the budget,” said council member Chelsea Cook, “and also, money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Fact: the city’s main revenue source is not a forest of pines or elms, but property taxes, which have been raised by the city and county in recent years. Councilor Nate Baker said property and sales taxes are not the ideal method for a municipality like the City of Durham to raise revenue because of their particular burden on low-income and working class residents, but options are limited. He encouraged residents to take advantage of the city-county Low Income Homeowner’s Relief program.
Still, most residents are bracing for a slightly higher tax bill this year. The budget sets the city’s property tax rate at 43.71¢ per $100 of assessed value, a 15.91¢ decrease from the current rate of 59.62¢ but a 5.48¢ increase above the revenue-neutral rate, which was set following this year’s property revaluation, which resulted in increased property values across the city.
Caballero reminded residents part of the tax increase is self-inflicted. In November, Durham voters passed two bonds totaling $200 million for streets, sidewalks, and park improvements, costing the average taxpayer about $10 a month.
This is Caballero’s eighth budget vote since taking office in 2018. She said Durham has evolved in complex ways during her tenure, making the budget increasingly more difficult to build with each passing year. But Caballero said the city continues to “punch above its weight.”
“We are the envy of many cities with infinitely larger resources than us because [city council and staff] do a really good job of being laser-focused on delivery to the best of our ability for city residents,” Caballero said.
City staff seemed to have found a way to thread the needle this year, creating a budget that doesn’t rock the boat. At the June 2 budget public hearing, which only lasted about 27 minutes compared to an hour the year before, a handful of residents spoke with tepid to moderate enthusiasm for the city manager’s budget proposal. Community support is certainly not a given, as evidenced by the ruckus crowds in recent years. Council member DeDreana Freeman said the process this time around allowed for better discussion, and ultimately, a better outcome.
“You had a great process around it that made it less contentious and more effective and I really appreciate the chance to create a budget ordinance that I could support fully before we got here tonight,” said council member DeDreana Freeman.
The budget goes into effect on July 1. The city council will reconvene on August 4 after a summer break.
Half of the sitting council members may not preside over the budget they just voted on for very long. Believe it or not, four seats—Wards 1 through 3 plus the mayor—are up for re-election this year. More candidates are starting to soft launch their campaigns as the filing deadline nears. The official filing period is July 7 through July 18.
Follow Reporter Justin Laidlaw on X or send an email to [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].