Residents and groups press Raleigh council on fire benefits, pay study, trees and Vision Zero during budget hearing

Octavia Rainey, community resident, told the Raleigh City Council during a public hearing on the manager's proposed operating and capital budget that the city must treat fire and police pay equally and restore investment to historically displaced neighborhoods. “You relocated 1,000 people. You demolished 3 churches. You demolished over 500 businesses,” Rainey said, asking council to include $300,000 for Fourth Ward in the budget.

Ruffin Hall, president and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy, told the council the Conservancy supports the manager's recommended budget and thanked city staff for prior investments in Dix Park. “We support the manager's recommended budget,” Hall said, and invited the public to the opening of the Gibson Play Plaza on the weekend of June 6.

Speakers pressed elected officials on several recurring themes. Larry Helfant, speaking for supporters of the Raleigh Fire Department, asked council to add a separation allowance for firefighters that would provide benefits between retirement and age 62 similar to a benefit the Raleigh Police Department has had since 1987. Helfant said the program would cost “less than a half a penny or approximately $5,000,000 per year.”

Other public commentators pushed for changes to budget priorities: one speaker asked the council to remove a $750,000 advanced-planning line for Nash Square, citing concern about tree loss and prior redevelopment projects; Wake Audubon asked the council to add $25,000 to launch a public–private effort to plant 24,000 trees; and Ian Burnett urged a substantial staffing and budget increase for the Vision Zero traffic-safety initiative, saying, “Vision 0 should be elevated out of transportation to take on a leading role in the city with an expanded budget and staffing.”

Matthew Cooper, president of the Raleigh Police Protective Association, said the police have waited “essentially two years” for the detailed results of a comprehensive pay study and urged the council and manager not to rely on short notice around a potential budget vote. Lawrence Yelle offered a broader critique of the city's compensation work, saying the earlier study covered salary only and that benefits, which he estimated add about 50% to total compensation, had not been benchmarked.

Why it matters: Speakers tied personnel pay and benefits to recruitment, retention and public safety; others linked historic inequities and tree canopy loss to the budget. Council members did not vote on the budget during the hearing; the hearing provided public comment for the manager's recommended proposal.

Background and next steps: The city manager's recommended budget remained under council consideration after the hearing. City staff and council members referenced additional work sessions and follow-up analyses on compensation, separation allowance costs and Vision Zero staffing needs.

Ending: Members of the public who spoke asked council to use the pending budget vote to address pay transparency, firefighter benefits, urban canopy investments and traffic-safety staffing.