[Durham INC] Durham Citizens' Newsletter - July-August Edition

[Blalock, Amy]

New Budget Maintains City's Highest Priorities

The Durham City Council adopted a $345.6 million budget for FY 2009-2010
at its June 15 meeting. While the property tax rate will remain the
same, at 54 cents per $100 of assessed value, the 2009 - 2010 plan
reflects a 3.1 percent decrease from last year's adopted budget. The
budget went into effect July 1. 

City Manager Thomas Bonfield called this year's budget preparation
"extraordinarily difficult" given the current national recession and its
impact on the City's two largest sources of revenue : property taxes and
sales taxes.  "We have been closely watching current economic trends,
and it appears that residential real estate and personal property tax
growth will remain mostly stagnant, sales tax revenue will decline, and
that overall City revenue growth will also decline for the next fiscal
year," Bonfield said.  "Under these tough circumstances, we were charged
with developing a budget that continues to deliver vital public services
without raising the property tax rate. We began this process facing a
projected $24 million to $40 million deficit, and we had to make some
tough decisions in order to deliver a balanced budget to the Council -
and ultimately to the community."

Citing the feedback received from Durham citizens through the course of
the budget development process, Bonfield stated that this budget
continues the City's focus on public safety; the delivery of quality
core services; support of youth program and activities; improved City
infrastructure, including further reduction in the City's backlog of
deferred maintenance; continued neighborhood engagement and
revitalization; continued neighborhood-based economic development; and
the timely delivery of capital projects.

With the property tax remaining at $0.54 for $100 of assessed value, the
proposed budget will establish a $750,000 neighborhood revitalization
fund; a $500,000 deferred maintenance fund; and will include an average
water and sewer rate increase of 9.25 percent for a typical residential
customer, which is less than the 9.5 percent projected earlier this
year.

Bonfield stressed that the impact on services to citizens was
top-of-mind in developing this budget, which is why no programs have
been eliminated, but some services affected, including the suspension of
new street light requests; the suspension of new traffic calming
requests; and adjusted operating hours at some City recreation centers
based on utilization. 

Bonfield also noted that non-city agency contributions will be reduced
to $480,155, which will fund 36 non-city agencies to provide arts,
public safety, youth, community development programs and other
activities for Durham citizens. 

The FY 2010-2015 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was also presented to
the City Council in a companion document to the proposed budget. The
capital improvement budget includes $71 million for both new projects
and to complete  existing projects. 

Copies of the budget are available at the Durham County Library, the
Durham City Clerk's Office, the City's Department of Budget and
Management Services, and on the City's Web site at 
www.durhamnc.gov/citybudget.

Updated Water Rates Take Effect In August

In June, the Durham City Council approved new water consumption (usage)
charges for the existing Tiered Rate structure. Rate increases were made
only to the water consumption charge for Tiers 2 through 5. There will
be NO increase to the Tier 1 water consumption charge. There will be NO
increase to the sewer consumption charge nor to existing water and sewer
service charges.  

For bills generated after August 1, 2009, the monthly residential rates
will be:

Tier 1 (0 - 200 cubic feet): $1.72 per 100 cubic feet

Tier 2 (>200 - 500 cubic feet): $2.59 per 100 cubic feet

Tier 3 (>500 - 800 cubic feet): $2.84 per 100 cubic feet

Tier 4 (>800 - 1500 cubic feet): $3.71 per 100 cubic feet

Tier 5 (>1500 cubic feet): $5.56 per 100 cubic feet

The rates above apply to single-family residential customers only.  All
non-residential and multi-family residential customers pay a set usage
charge equivalent to the Tier 3 rate for all consumption.  Also, all
dedicated irrigation accounts pay a usage rate equivalent to the Tier 5
rate for all usage.

The monthly sewer usage charge will remain at $3.28 per 100 cubic feet.
The water and sewer service charges, as based on meters size, will
remain the same for all customers  (for example 5/8 inch meter charges
will remain at $5.12 per month for water and $5.71 per month for sewer).

Based on usage, different customers will see different percentage
increases in actual bills.  For example, a residential customer using
652 cubic feet (Tier 3) would pay $3.64 more per month.  A residential
customer using 369 cubic feet (Tier 2) would pay only $1.32 more per
month.  Residential customers that stay within Tier 1 (less than 200
cubic feet per month) will not see any increase at all.  

For more information about Durham's Tiered Rates Structure and for tips
and ideas on ways to get the lowest rates, please visit 
www.DurhamSavesWater.org <http://www.durhamsaveswater.org/> .

Stormwater Residential Bills To Be Sent Annually

Effective July 1, residential stormwater fees will be billed once a
year. Residential customers that formerly received a water and sewer
bill with stormwater charges added also will now receive a bi-monthly
water and sewer bill and an annual stormwater bill.

Also beginning July 1, residential properties with more than 4,000
square feet of hard surfaces, such as roofs and driveways, will be
charged a new rate of $9 per month for an annual rate of $108. 

Per City ordinance, the stormwater fee is the responsibility of the
residential property owner. Tenants currently paying stormwater fees for
residential properties are encouraged to contact the Stormwater Services
Billing Unit at (919) 560-1258 or by e-mail at swbu at durhamnc.gov to move
the stormwater fee into the owner's name, unless an owner/tenant
agreement is in place with the City.

For information, visit www.durhamnc.gov/stormwater.

National Night Out 2009

The Durham Police Department is looking forward to another award-winning
National Night Out program with great community participation. NNO will
be celebrated on Tuesday, August 4. Neighborhood registrations can be
completed and submitted online at www.durhampolice.com/nno. For
information, call 560-4322, ext. 29194.

Subscribe to the City Manager's Report

Receive the latest information and important City news via e-mail with
the City Manager's Report. The report from City Manager Thomas J.
Bonfield highlights the latest happenings in Durham City Government. To
subscribe, visit www.durhamnc.gov/managersreport.

Your City - Your Channel

DTV8 provides programming to keep Durham informed on the important
issues and services involving citizens every day. City government
produced programs include scheduled meetings of the Durham City Council
and the Durham Planning Commission. The City also produces "City Hall
This Week," a program dedicated to informing citizens on what is going
on inside Durham's city hall, and "CityLife," a show featuring
information on current City issues and upcoming events. For a
programming schedule, or to watch DTV8 live on the Web, visit 
www.durhamnc.gov/dtv8.

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

The City of Durham will not discriminate against qualified individuals
with disabilities on the basis of disability. Anyone requiring an
auxiliary aid or service for effective communications, or assistance to
participate in a City program, service, or activity, should contact the
office of Stacey Poston, acting ADA coordinator, voice: (919) 560-4197,
ext. 21254, TTY: (919) 560-4809; Stacey.Poston at durhamnc.gov, as soon as
possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

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