Durham, N.C. - The Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met on Monday, March 10, 2025, in Regular Session. Meetings are held in person with a hybrid option, inside the BOCC Chambers, located at 200 E. Main Street on the second floor.

Chair Nida Allam called the meeting to order. Commissioner Burton read the Land Acknowledgement, and Vice Chair Lee led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda Adjustments: The Board made one adjustment to the agenda adding the reading of the Proclamation observing Ramadan 2025.

Announcements: Monica Wallace, Clerk to the Board, read the announcements.

Property Value Notices Have Arrived, Now What? - The Durham County Tax Administration mailed reappraisal notices to all property owners in Durham County in the week of Feb. 28. Property owners are encouraged to review the information and report any out of date/incorrect information to the tax office, compare your property value with the sale price of similar properties, and if you disagree with your assessed value, you can file an appeal with the Board of Equalization and Review. Property owners may schedule a Reappraisal Information Meeting with a tax staff representative from March 17 to April 12 at various locations in the County. See dates/times at www.dconc.gov/tax. It is preferred that appointments are scheduled to ensure property owners are allocated the proper amount of individual time with an appraiser. Find information on all of these subjects, as well as Tax Relief Programs available to eligible taxpayers, at the Tax Help webpage at www.dconc.gov/taxhelp.

Moving Forward Together - Join the Durham County Library, Sister Cities of Durham, and the Durham County Women's Commission for an evening of celebrating and connecting with women empowering women and strengthening Durham County as a place of local and global influence and commerce at "Moving Forward Together" at Main Library on March 24 at 5:30 p.m. Durham City Councilwoman Javiera Caballero will moderate a panel discussing how women can move forward together, remain connected, and empower future women leaders in our local and international communities within and beyond Durham County. Register here: https://durhamcountylibrary.libcal.com/event/14193625.

Planning Academy Application Open until March 14! - The Durham Planning Academy is a free interactive course that gives residents the chance to learn more about how the planning process works in our community, how to use available planning tools, and how to engage in planning work with your City-County Planning Department. The Spring Planning Academy runs on May 2-3. Registration is open until March 14! Apply here: https://www.durhamnc.gov/3173/Durham-Planning-Academy.

Design Budget Book Cover Illustration! - Calling all Durham County Youth! Our Durham County Budget and Management Services is holding a contest for you to draw art for the cover of the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Book! The contest is open to all DCo youth from Pre-K to 12th grade - homeschool, public school, private school. We encourage you to display your creative skills by showcasing "What is Your Favorite Part of Durham County?" One submission will be chosen by staff for the cover illustration. Other entries may be used throughout the Budget Book! Entries are due by April 15th! Download and submit entry forms online here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BX2YMCN. For more information on the contest or its rules, please contact Durham County Budget Analyst Shannon Wright at sjwright@dconc.gov.

Durham 4-H Summer Camp - Register for Durham 4-H Summer Camps today! The registration deadline is April 15. Space is limited for each camp. First, register your student at https://v2.4honline.com/ - select "Durham County Member at Large" if you are not currently enrolled. Next, pay for camp at Eventbrite links here - https://durham.ces.ncsu.edu/4hsummercamp/. If you'd like to be put on the waitlist, contact Durham's 4-H Program Assistant at rawilso9@ncsu.edu.

Office Hours with Planning Staff - The Durham City-County Planning Department is updating the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)! The UDO sets the rules for how land is developed in Durham, and we want your input! We will be hosting recurring office hours throughout the project. Drop in with your questions and feedback at the Durham County Main Library (300 N. Roxboro St.) on First Thursdays 3-6 p.m. and Third Thursdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. through August 2025. Website: www.engagedurham.com. Contact: NewUDO@DurhamNC.gov.

Cigna Healthcare has Selected Durham County Government as a Recipient of their 2024 Gold Level Healthy Workforce Designation - Durham County Government as a recipient of their 2024 gold level Healthy Workforce Designation by Cigna Healthcare for demonstrating a strong commitment to improving the health and vitality of its employees through a workplace well-being program. Vitality is defined as the capacity to pursue life with health, strength and energy. It is both a driver and an outcome of health and work/life engagement, and Cigna Healthcare believes it is not only essential to individuals, but also a catalyst for business and community growth. Research conducted as part of the Evernorth Vitality Index confirms that those with higher vitality experience better mental and physical health along with higher levels of job satisfaction and performance. An opportunity remains for employers as less than one in five U.S. adults report having high levels of vitality. A workplace well-being program that takes a comprehensive approach to employee health can be critical in boosting vitality and building a workforce that experiences better overall health and job productivity. The Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation evaluates organizations based on the core components of their well-being program, including leadership and culture, program foundations and execution, policies and accommodations, and additional areas. Organizations recognized with this designation set the standard of excellence for organizational health and vitality. Cigna Healthcare is proud to honor Durham County Government with the gold level designation for having made strong progress towards a healthy work culture by establishing and growing their employee well-being and engagement program. For more details, visit https://cignahwd.com/.

Citizen Comments: The Board provided a 30-minute comment period for any citizen of Durham County wishing to speak to have the opportunity to do so. Three citizens spoke on ARPA funding and Tax Reappraisal.

Minutes: Commissioners approved the minutes the February 25, 2025, Regular Session minutes.

Ceremonial Items:

Chair Nida Allam read the Proclamation observing Ramadan 2025.

Proclamation - National Social Work Month - The Board issued a proclamation recognizing March as National Social Work Month, recognizing Social Workers dedication to improving human health & well-being, living conditions, and enhancing the basic needs of all people, especially the most vulnerable through their "Compassion & Action". The proclamation was read by Commissioner Valentine. Read the proclamation here.

Resolution - Women's History Month 2025 - The Board issued a resolution celebrating Women's History Month in Durham County. Its purpose is to acknowledge and honor Women's History Month in Durham County, bringing awareness and celebration to the experiences and contributions of women in Durham County. Women's History Month, a celebration of women and their contributions to history, culture and society has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987. Cassandra Kiger, Manager, Equitable Well-Being received the resolution. Read the resolution here.

Consent Agenda: Commissioners considered the following items. See full agenda for complete details:

Commissioners approved a Three-Year Contract with SHI International Corp. in the amount of $836,419.44 for Licenses, Services and the Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft for the Durham County Sheriff's Office.

Board passed Budget Ordinance Amendment No.25BCC075 Public Health to approve a $7,000 award from the Community Engagement Research Institute subcommittee of the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to implement the Advancing Health Equity Together Through Education and Outreach Grant Program

Commissioners approved a Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 25BCC077 to Recognize $26,250 from the Communicable Disease Branch of the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services

Commissioners passed Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 25BCC076 Public Health to Recognize $12,891 from the North Carolina Association of Public Health Agencies for Community Co-Leadership in the Healing-Centered Engagement program of Thriving Hearts

Approval given to a Multi-Year Interlocal Agreement Between the Department of Public Health and Durham Parks & Recreation

Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 25BCC079 Public Health approved to Recognize $14,475 from NC DHHS Division of Public Health's Local and Community Support Section/Local Infrastructure and Workforce Support Unit.

Approval given to a Contract Amendment between the County of Durham and Diana Phillips Consulting in the amount of $10,000.00, increasing the total amount to $40.000

Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 25BCC081 Cooperative Extension approved to recognize $3,423 from the Briggs Avenue Fall Festival plant sale for Briggs Avenue Community Garden Program Expenses

Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 25BCC080 Cooperative Extension passed to recognize $1,000 from the Extension Master Food Volunteer Training for Family and Consumer Sciences for Program Expenses

Approval of Capital Project Amendment No. 25CPA0039 given Appropriating $186,649,809.10 of 2022 General Obligation Bond Funding to the New Durham School of Arts Project (SH299) Bringing the Total Project Budget to $241,070,536

Other Business:

Review of 2024 City-County Resident Survey Results - The Board received a presentation on 2024 Resident Survey results from Jason Morado, Director of Community Research (ETC Institute). Durham County has partnered with the City of Durham to conduct a resident survey for the eighth consecutive year. The survey, which was conducted in late Fall 2024, presents information about service quality and resident prioritization of services. This data, which includes trends from the past several years, will be used to help Durham County make service improvements in the spirit of the County's continuous improvement model, Managing for Results. Read the report and presentation here.

Items Pulled from the Consent Agenda:

Adjournment: The Board adjourned the meeting at 8:46pm.

Board meetings are cablecast live and rebroadcast on Durham Television Network (DTN) on Spectrum channel 8 and 1302, Frontier channel 70 and AT&T U-verse channel 99. Meetings can also be viewed on the County's YouTube channel. To view the agendas and recordings of the BOCC's Regular Session meetings, visit the BOCC's Website.

The next hybrid Regular Session is scheduled for Monday, March 24, 2025, inside the Commissioners' Chambers on the second floor at 200 E. Main Street.

For more information about BOCC meetings, contact the Clerk to the Board's Office at (919) 560-0025 or email clerk@dconc.gov.