[Durham INC] City of Durham FY13-14 Final Budget Approved

[Blalock, Amy]

[cid:image002.jpg at 01CBE556.A7538D50]


CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701


News Release


News Media Contact:
Beverly B. Thompson
Director
(919) 560-4123 x 11229
(919) 475-7735 (cell)
Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov>
http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC


For Immediate Release: June 17, 2013



City of Durham FY13-14 Final Budget Approved
Balanced Budget Includes No Property Tax Increase and a New $1.80 Monthly Solid Waste Fee

DURHAM, N.C. - Earlier tonight, the Durham City Council approved the fiscal year 2013-2014 budget, which includes no property tax increase, leaving the tax rate at 56.75 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The total budget for fiscal year 2013-14 is $376.5 million, about $3.4 million or a little less than 1 percent higher than last year's budget, including a 4 percent smaller general fund budget of $169.6 million as compared to last year's budget for the City's core services. This decrease represents the establishment of a special revenue fund for last year's penny tax increase for housing and moving other property tax revenue into dedicated funds primarily for debt service and transit.

The balanced budget also includes public safety needs by funding all sworn law enforcement positions as well as new technology for police and emergency response vehicles to maintain access to criminal information and to decrease emergency response time. The City will also continue sharing costs with the County for a gang reduction initiative and the warrant control office. Funding for three new positions is also included for the police department's forensics unit to improve crime analysis.

Other fees or increases include a monthly $1.80 monthly solid waste collection fee for capital needs; a $10 per month parking fee increase for parking lots and decks;  a $1 special event parking increase; and water and sewer as well as stormwater rate increases that were approved by Council at its May 6, 2013 meeting.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget contains nearly $53 million, including $26 million for water and sewer infrastructure, for new projects, and to complete existing projects. CIP funding is provided through impact fees, water and sewer revenues, revenue bonds, stormwater fees, and program income.

Other highlights of the FY 2013-2014 final budget include:
*         $500,000 for deferred maintenance
*         $750,000 for street repaving
*         $64,000 for street lighting
*         $141,000 for forensic accreditation
*         $75,000 for youth opportunity initiative
*         $6 million for solid waste, stormwater and water management fleet
*         $1.6 million for arts and culture including the Carolina Theatre, Durham Arts Council, St. Joseph's Historic Foundation, American Dance Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham Blues Festival, and other public art initiatives

A 2 percent increase for general pay plan employees meeting performance expectations as well as a 3-to-5 percent increase for police and fire pay plans is also included. The budget also maintains the City's fund balance reserves, or rainy day fund, at a little more than 12 percent with $394,455 of these funds to be used for one-time expenditures.

A copy of the approved budget will be available on the City's website by June 30 at http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/as/bms/Pages/Home.aspx.

About the Budget & Management Services Department
The Budget and Management Services Department is responsible for preparing, implementing, and monitoring the City's annual operating budget as well as the five-year revenue/expenditure projections for all City government services. The department also provides operational and organizational studies as identified by the City Council, City Manager's Office, and department staff. Guided by the City's Strategic Plan, which the department established and maintains, the department helps to ensure that the City of Durham is a well-managed city by working with City agencies to build and implement performance measurement monitoring and evaluation. The department is also responsible for preparing the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), coordinating the City's process for petition and City-initiated annexations, conducting resident satisfaction surveys, and evaluating departmental achievement of City goals and objectives. To learn more, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/as/bms/Pages/Home.aspx.

###
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20130617/ffe8150e/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2630 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20130617/ffe8150e/attachment.jpg>