$25 an hour, safer streets, an Office of Survivor Care: What Durhamites want in budget

Durham City Hall overflowed Monday night with residents pushing the city to spend their tax dollars a dozen different ways.

The City Council heard comments from 66 residents during a five-hour meeting that stretched past midnight.

Here’s what they want to see in the city budget.

Higher pay

Last summer, solid-waste workers went on strike and won bonuses for all city employees. But that wasn’t their end game.

They were back Monday, organized by the Durham city workers chapter of UE Local 150, to push for better pay and structural changes.

• “How can our job be so important but get paid so little?” said George Bacote, who asked for equitable raises. “Four percent of $40,000 is not the same as 4% of $90,000.”

• Employees from the police and fire departments also requested higher salaries.

The city calculates its minimum livable wage this year at $19.58 an hour, or $40,726 annually.

Workers want $25 an hour, or $52,000 annually.

A compensation study found city pay is too low to compete in the marketplace and that raises are not doled out equitably.

• A consultant compared pay for benchmark jobs in competing cities, counties and towns in North Carolina and Virginia.

• Durham employees on step plans were paid 9.6% below target. The police department fell 17.6% below target and the fire department, 7.8% below target.

• It would cost $23.9 million to bring pay up to market rate, the city estimated in February.

Local minister Kevin Georgas said it was also a racial-justice issue, since most sanitation workers are Black.

“If you all pass a budget that doesn’t pay general step workers — and especially our sanitation workers — enough to rent a home and buy groceries and have fun and enjoy themselves in this city … you want them to serve this community without being members of this community,” Georgas said.

An Office of Survivor Care

Many also spoke Monday night in favor of an Office of Survivor Care for victims of gun violence and their loved ones.

• The office would support victims of violent crime and their families as they navigate grief and the criminal justice system.

• The city has already greenlighted the request. Staffing the office will cost around $220,000.

Some 210 people were shot in Durham in 2023, 42 of them fatally, according to police statistics. That was down nearly 14% from the 243 people who were reported shot in the city during 2022, 40 of them fatally, The News & Observer has previously reported.

The recommendation for an Office of Survivor Care emerged from the work of the Durham Community Safety and Wellness Task Force, commissioned in 2021. Durham CAN organized many of the speakers.

• Annette Love, of the Religious Coalition for Nonviolent Durham: “We’ve got to have people in place that can follow our families from start to finish.”

• Frank Stasio, who participated in listening sessions: “This really completes the circle for law enforcement and public safety,” he said. “Hurt people hurt people. Healed people heal people.”

Safer streets, parks

Another primary ask was for money to build safer streets and keep buses fare-free. Many speakers were organized by Bike Durham.

• Chris Perelstein, who installed a traffic camera outside his home on North Roxboro Street and started the RecklessRoxboro social media account to highlight dangerous driving: “Two-thirds of drivers are generally speeding. We actually have a top speed of 92 mph. It’s a 35 mph zone there.”

• Allison Simpson, whose husband was killed while biking on a trail crossing Guess Road two years ago: “The intersection remains the same since Matt was hit. Providing funding and ensuring completion is accelerated is imperative so nobody else gets severely hurt or killed.”

Other speakers called for more money to be put toward remediating lead discovered in some city parks last year. The parks department requested $5 million to start cleanup.

• Danielle Doughman, who lives in Walltown: “We have to commit to a multi-year funding plan that includes a lot more.”

What’s next?

A tax increase may be needed to pay for the higher salaries and other budget priorities.

• Inflation has slowed consumer spending, bringing sales-tax revenue in well below projections.

• The city’s budget director estimated in February there was a $9.6 million budget gap, the difference between projected spending and projected revenues.

• Meanwhile, departments requested an additional $26.7 million and the City Council, $116.8 million to cover their priorities.

Last year’s city budget totaled $610 million and did not raise property taxes.

County leaders raised taxes last year and are considering doing so again this year to give the Durham Public Schools more money. School employees went on strike earlier this year.

City leaders are also considering taking some matters directly to voters in November. They have discussed bond referendums for sidewalks, parks, a new convention center and environmental sustainability measures.

Here’s what lies ahead:

• May 20: City Manager Wanda Page presents her recommended budget.

• June 3: Residents can weigh in during a second public hearing. Also a deadline for starting a bond referendum process.

• June 17: The City Council hopes to adopt the final budget.

• July 1: A new fiscal year begins.