From the desk of the County Manager, 

On Monday night, the Board of County Commissioners passed the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Ordinance of $1,038,472,275. 

Right now, Durham County Government is facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainty that I have never witnessed in my career. I want to thank all of the County staff, especially those in our Budget and Management Services Department, along with our five BOCC members who have worked together and risen above the stressors of our current environment and put together a budget that I believe addresses the needs of our nearly 350,000 residents. 

This for me was the toughest budget season I’ve experienced in my life – which includes over 30 years in budget, finance, and public policy. Over my decades of public service, there have been recessions, there has been a pandemic, and there has been changing public sentiment. But this year, there have been so many shifts and so many huge unknowns impacting so many individuals in very vulnerable spaces. 

And that is tough. You wonder if people may or may not have housing or food. Will there be dollars to support education and public safety? But it has been quite a sight to see our Commissioners, staff, stakeholders and partners, and the residents of our wonderful Durham County work together. We’ve talked, we’ve strategized, and we’ve come up with a Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 that will allow us to continue to provide world-class services to all of our residents. 

This budget also comes after the 2025 Durham County Tax Reappraisal. I give kudos to the tireless efforts of Tax Administrator Keyar Doyle, who has been in the trenches communicating what it means to taxpayers, what the values are, and how to appeal. 

That reappraisal, which saw the average property in Durham County go up 74 percent, was also a reason we did not want to increase taxes too much. This meant re-imagining funding decisions in our organization, finding efficiencies, and potentially shuffling resources. In their unanimous approval of this budget, the Commissioners were able to do just that, keeping my recommended 3.5-cent per $100 valuation tax increase over the revenue neutral rate of 51.92 cents to make the tax rate 55.42 cents per $100 valuation. 

“I'm grateful for the successful passage of Durham County Government's fiscal year 2025-2026 budget. My deep appreciation goes to County Manager Claudia Hager, the Budget and Management Services team, and all the departments who contributed to this essential annual process,” said Board Chair Nida Allam. “Budgets are not just numbers on a page; they are moral documents. They are declarations of what we value, what we stand for, and who we care for. At their best, they are also documents of love, expressions of a deep commitment to our community.” 

This budget focuses on supporting education, funding public safety needs related to population growth, and maintaining the County’s core services. County departments expressed needs for expanded programming and new services. In light of slowing overall revenue growth, we identified the need to focus on maintaining existing programs and ensuring a robust review of mandated services is conducted in the coming fiscal year. 

The FY 2025-2026 adopted budget is 7.48% more than the previous year’s budget. As a part of the budget process, the Board increased my Recommended Budget by $1.05 million. The largest amount of the Board’s increase will provide additional funding for Durham Public Schools (DPS). The General Fund budget, providing the necessary financial resources for most of Durham County’s activities and services, is $689,707,784. 

The adopted budget provides $224,528,912 in funding for Durham Public Schools (DPS), increasing by $15,927,580 million to support a local per pupil amount of $5,561 in direct funding. Additional DPS funding includes $6.35 million for “continuation” increases, with the remaining $6.5 million allocated for priority current expense obligations. Beyond this increase, the budget designates $3 million to offset expiring one-time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that previously supported DPS infrastructure projects. Supplementary assistance for DPS will draw from remaining ARPA resources, including $723,376 earmarked for Pre-K programming at the newly constructed Murray-Massenburg Elementary School. 

The County is also providing contracted Pre-K support with annual funding of $8.89 million. The FY 2025-2026 budget also provides $12,618,661 for Durham Technical Community College (DTCC), an increase of $186,578 or 1.5% from the previous year. 

I extend my gratitude to both DPS Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis and Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton for their phenomenal jobs in leading our local education efforts. 

“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Durham County Commissioners for their commitment and support of Durham Public Schools,” Lewis said via the DPS Facebook page. “This investment demonstrates a shared vision for excellence in public education, DPS, and the future of our community. This ongoing critical support will ensure that every child in our district has access to the high-quality education they deserve, complete with programs and resources that enhance that learning, and the talented educators and staff who bring learning to life each day.” 

In order to ensure certain programs were supported, DCo departments were asked to reallocate wherever possible from existing budgeted amounts. The County is expanding its personnel authorized strength by 44.5 positions, with a net total of 11.2 positions. Keeping this net increase lower than recent years was accomplished by a review of existing vacancies and realigning those positions.  

Other highlights from the FY 2025-2026 adopted budget include:  

• 3%-4% merit increases in employee salaries 
• $6.3 million increase in County health insurance costs without an increase in employee paid support. 
• 12 new FTEs in EMS to support increased call volume and supplement peak staffing 
• 5.0 new FTEs in Sheriff’s Office to support increased coverage in the Research Triangle Park area. 
• $500,000 in continued funding for Hayti Reborn Justice Movement 
• Durham City-County Fire Rescue Services Tax District decrease 0.5 cents 
• Redwood Fire Tax District increase of 0.74 cents 
• Bahama Fire Tax District increase of 1.05 cents 
• Lebanon Fire Tax District increase of 1.50 cents 
• New Hope Fire Tax District increase of 1.5 cents 
• RTP Service Tax District 
• RTP General Fund increase of 1.49 cents 
• RTP Transportation Fund increase of 0.71 cents 

The full FY 2025-2026 adopted budget document will be online in the coming weeks. Currently, the FY 2025-2026 Manager Recommended Budget Highlights are available to review on the County’s Budget and Management Services webpage at dconc.gov/budget. Budget information on adopted budgets dating back 10 years prior is also available to view and download. 

In county government, we are charged with the difficult responsibility of funding essential services with limited resources. The job for us is crafting a budget to meet our community’s needs without putting an undue burden on residents. I believe we’ve done that as best as we can. This budget will allow us as a community to continue to thrive. And going forward, we are willing to put in the necessary work to meet the shared goals and priorities of Durham County – no matter what obstacles we may face. 

I thank you, Durham County, for putting your trust in us. 

Clauda Hager | County Manager