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Durham budget hearing draws hundreds: residents urge funding for eviction diversion, immigrant legal services, parks and youth programs
Summary
At a second public hearing on the proposed FY2026–27 budget, dozens of residents and nonprofit leaders urged maintaining or restoring funding for eviction diversion, immigrant legal representation, DEER expunctions and community partners (notably the West End/Lion Park center). Speakers also pressed for Vision Zero investments and remediation for contaminated parks.
Durham's second public hearing on the proposed fiscal-year 2026–27 budget drew more than 100 speakers, many of them pleading with council to preserve funding for eviction diversion, immigrant legal services, the Durham Expunction & Restoration (DEER) program and community partners serving historically underinvested neighborhoods.
What residents said: Dozens of nonprofit leaders, attorneys and affected residents described how brief contract cuts and the removal of modest line items would translate into people losing homes, legal representation and long-standing community services. Legal-aid representatives and DEER staff emphasized the program's low per-case cost and argued expunctions and driver's-license restoration directly improve employment, housing access and public safety. Speakers asked council to maintain the manager's proposed $750,000 for eviction diversion and to include sustained funding for immigrant legal defense, noting shrinking federal and private support.
Lion Park and West End: Multiple speakers, including West End Community Foundation leaders and longtime residents, urged council not to withdraw Durham Parks & Recreation operations from the historic Lion Park community life and recreation center. They said the center (built in 1922) houses Head Start, a community clinic and other services; staff said an abrupt withdrawal would create program disruption and staff instability.
Parks contamination and Vision Zero: Residents urged immediate remediation funds for parks with known lead contamination and asked the council to align Vision Zero goals with budget priorities. Speakers said pedestrian deaths are concentrated in historically Black neighborhoods and called for funding for sidewalks and Route 4/9 transit improvements.
Employee raises and public-safety tradeoffs: City employees and union representatives urged the council to restore merit raises and step-plan increases for firefighters and other city staff, warning recruitment and retention impacts. Other speakers pressed the council to prioritize community-based violence interruption, youth programming and homelessness prevention over expanded surveillance or expensive one-off projects.
Why it matters: Council is facing a significant shortfall driven in part by large commercial property tax appeals; speakers repeatedly linked decisions on tax policy and refunds to the availability of local services. Many residents framed the budget as a moral document and asked for continued or expanded investments in prevention, legal help and basic services.
Next steps: Staff reiterated the budget adoption schedule (final adoption planned for June 15). Council members signaled they may explore additional sources and policy changes, and several asked staff to provide details on which community partners would be affected by proposed reductions so the council could weigh equity impacts before final adoption.
