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Durham County Manager Hager Presents Fiscal Year 2026-27 Recommended Budget

Proposed $1.04 billion budget focuses on education and public safety needs while maintaining core services, includes a 2.0 tax rate increase.
May 11, 2026

Durham, N.C. – Durham County Manager Claudia Hager presented the Durham County Fiscal Year 2026-27 Recommended Budget to the Durham Board of County Commissioners during its Regular Session held on Monday, May 11, 2026.

The proposed overall County budget for the upcoming fiscal year is $1,045,423,704, a 0.67 percent increase from the last fiscal year. The recommended budget includes a tax rate increase of 2.0 cents for the County’s General Fund. The total county-wide tax rate in the new fiscal year will be 57.42 cents per $100 valuation. 

Supporting education, enhancing public safety related to population growth, and maintaining the County’s core services were of great focus during Manager Hager’s Recommended Budget presentation.  

The proposed budget includes investing in Durham Public Schools (DPS) by supporting a $10.9 million increase in new funding, for a proposed total of $235,428,901. This marks the sixth consecutive year the County has increased local school funding by over $10 million. The local per pupil expenditure increases to $5,929, up $368 per pupil, keeping DPS as one of the top five locally funded school systems in the state.  

In preparation for this fiscal year, County departments expressed needs for expanded programming and new services. In light of the slowing overall revenue growth, the Manager recommends maintaining existing programs and ensuring a robust review of mandated services conducted in the coming fiscal year. To ensure certain programs were supported, departments were asked to reallocate wherever possible from existing budgeted amounts. In addition, County departments were asked to reduce their budgets by 2%, realizing a savings of $6.2 million.

The County is expanding its personnel authorized strength by 7.03. The General Fund has added 6.03 new positions. This new increase was kept lower than recent years, by reviewing existing vacancies and realigning those positions. The remainder of the proposed new positions reside in departments and services supported by Enterprise Funds.

County funding for Pre-K continues to grow with a $1.27 million increase to expand the number of available seats, bringing the total annual support amount to $10.16 million. It is the goal of the Board of County Commissioners to provide universal Pre-K to all Durham County families.

Other highlights covered in the Manager’s Recommended Budget include: 

  • New positions focused on community safety areas
  • 10 new Emergency Medical Services positions to provide an additional 24/7 ambulance united designed to enhance coverage for a growing population
  • 5 new law enforcement officers reallocated from vacant Detention Officers positions for increased coverage of County population, including RTP
  • Continued support for County employees
  • Salary increases of 2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
  • Additional $1.6 million in support of the employee health benefits plan

Copies of the FY 2026-27 Recommended Budget, Budget Summary Document, and Budget Presentation will be on the Durham County Budget Department webpage as viewable or downloadable PDF documents.  

Requests for an electronic copy of the budget proposal should be directed to publicinformationoffice@dconc.gov. Residents without access to an electronic device to view the proposed budget are invited to visit any Durham County Library location where Wi-Fi and computers are available. Hard copies of the FY 2026-2027 Manager’s Recommended Budget will be available at the Clerk to the Board’s office on the second floor of the Admin I Building, at 200 E. Main Street in downtown Durham. 

Budget Work Sessions are planned in May and June. The dates, subject to change, are as follows: 

  • Tuesday, May 19, 9 a.m.
  • Thursday, May 21, 1 p.m.
  • Thursday, May 28, 9 a.m.
  • Tuesday, June 2, 9 a.m.
  • Thursday, June 4, 1 p.m. (if necessary)

For questions about these session dates and times, contact the Durham Clerk to the Board at 919-560-0025 or clerk@dconc.gov.

A Public Hearing for the FY 2026-27 Budget is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, 2026, during the BOCC’s Regular Session in Chambers at 7 p.m. Residents may sign up to make comment in person or virtually by contacting the Clerk’s office. 

Residents are invited to make comments about the recommended budget by accessing the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Resident Budget Survey as well as participate in the Public Hearing on Tuesday, May 26. 

Questions about the proposed budget should be directed to the Durham County Manager’s Office by calling 919-560-0000 or emailing publicinformationoffice@dconc.gov. 

The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the approval of the 2026-2027 Budget Ordinance during its Regular Session on Monday, June 8, 2026. 

The public is welcome to attend all meetings of the BOCC in person or virtually. Information on how to join virtual meetings via the Zoom platform are released by the Clerk to the Board’s office.

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