Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Business Economy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Durham County ABC Board projects $63.4M in sales, proposes flat nonprofit grants allocation for FY26
Summary
Durham County ABC Manager Lou Sordell presented a FY2026 revenue forecast of $63.4 million and said the board will keep nonprofit grant funding flat at $525,000, while continuing capital projects including a new store and a planned warehouse relocation.
The Durham County Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board presented its fiscal outlook for 2025–26, projecting roughly $63.4 million in alcoholic beverage sales and outlining store modernization and grant distributions.
Lou Sordell, general manager of the Durham County ABC Board, told the Board of County Commissioners the board is budgeting top-line sales of $63,490,418 and estimating a required tax distribution and operating costs that will leave a working capital cushion for next year. Sordell said the board expects to distribute $2,182,966 to Durham County and $242,551 to the City of Durham as required profit distributions under state law.
Sordell said the ABC board will maintain $525,000 in nonprofit grant awards and noted the board’s historic practice of site visits and vetting grantees. The board’s grants committee recommended the same total grant allocation as the prior year and listed recipients that included local organizations and county departments providing substance‑use, youth and community services.
The presentation reviewed store investments: a recently opened store on Leasburg (Lehi School Road), an upcoming finish of a store near T.W. Alexander (estimated completion late 2025), and plans to relocate the warehouse and administrative offices to Hoover Road to consolidate wholesale and mixed‑beverage services. Sordell said capital investments have reduced short‑term grants available for county distribution, but those investments should support stronger, longer‑term revenue.
Commissioners asked about grants, distribution formulas and the ABC board’s fund balance. The county manager and ABC staff said the ABC budget is included as a separate ordinance in the overall fiscal package and noted the board historically provides distributions above a conservative baseline; staff said the current recommended county budget assumes the ABC distribution at $2.75 million for FY2025–26.
Ending: The commissioners thanked the ABC board for its work and indicated they would review the separate ABC ordinance alongside the county budget process. No vote was taken during the presentation.
