City Council Approves Budget Investing in Community Safety, Employees, Services, and Infrastructure

Budget invests in community safety, employees, services, and infrastructure

Durham City Council has approved the new budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The $772 million plan includes a property tax increase to help pay for community safety programs, fair employee pay, better services, and long-term projects like parks, roads, and water systems.

What's in the Budget

The total budget is about 8% higher than last year. That increase is mainly due to:

• Expanding community safety programs
• Keeping up with service needs as the city grows
• Continuing competitive pay for City employees
• Paying for voter-approved bond projects to improve parks, streets, and sidewalks

New Property Tax Rate

The new property tax rate is 43.71 cents for every $100 of assessed value. That's an increase of 5.48 cents over the revenue-neutral rate of 38.23 cents.

For a home valued at $415,000 - Durham's median home value - the new City property tax bill will be about $1,814 per year.

Community Safety

Employee Support

• Increases pay to stay competitive with the market
• Raises the minimum livable wage for City workers from $19.58 to $21.90 per hour

Service Delivery

• Keeps GoDurham buses fare-free through June 2026
• Invests $17 million in expanding bus service
• Sets aside $500,000 for Vision Zero safety work to reduce deadly crashes

Infrastructure

The City's Capital Improvement Plan includes $537.6 million for more than 70 projects. Key projects include:

• $25.7 million for stormwater improvements and flood reduction, including the South Ellerbe Restoration
• $315.7 million for water and sewer system upgrades, including work on the Jordan Lake Water Treatment Plant
• Modest increases in water and sewer bills, approved in May, will help pay for these improvements

Parks

• Adds $7 million for lead soil cleanup at five parks (East Durham, East End, Lyon, Northgate, Walltown), for a total of $12 million
• Adds six staff and nearly $400,000 for park maintenance
• Funds major Connect Durham bond projects, including:
  1. A new $43 million aquatic center at Merrick-Moore Park
  2. A new $42 million project to connect Long Meadow and East End parks

Streets and Sidewalks

Thanks to the $115 million Connect Durham bond approved by voters last fall, more funding is now available to improve streets and sidewalks. This budget includes:

• $25 million for street repaving (up from $15 million last year)
• $10 million for sidewalk repairs (up from $2 million last year)
• Additional investments:
  1. $1.2 million to complete the two-way conversion design for North Mangum and North Roxboro streets
  2. $1.5 million for new traffic signals
  3. $1.3 million for safer school zones and trail crossings
  4. $875,500 for pedestrian signal upgrades
  5. $348,000+ for neighborhood bike routes
  6. $200,000 for bike/pedestrian improvements on Carpenter-Fletcher Road

To learn more about the approved budget, visit the City's Budget and Management Services Department web page.