Raleigh public speakers urge protection for affordable housing, a 24,000-tree campaign and a stronger Vision Zero program in FY27 budget hearing

Residents, nonprofit leaders and public-safety advocates told the Raleigh City Council during a June 2 public hearing that the proposed fiscal 2027 budget should protect affordable-housing investments, accelerate a proposed 24,000-tree planting campaign and elevate work on safe streets.

Octavia Rainey, who identified herself as a fair-housing advocate, urged the council to examine the city’s redevelopment history and asked the council to pause certain infill development, saying, “You have moved and relocated millions of black people out of the redevelopment area.” Her comments framed broader concerns about displacement raised during the hearing.

Kate Dixon, who said she chairs the sustainability, wildlife and urban trees committee, asked the council to fund a nonprofit-led 24,000-tree campaign and to support a community forester position. She told councilors the nonprofit partners’ draft implementation budget called for roughly $280,000 to launch outreach and planting and recommended the city fund about $224,000 to cover roughly 80% of first-year costs while requiring the nonprofits to raise the remainder.

Grady McCauley, policy director at the North Carolina Conservation Network, argued that urban trees provide infrastructure benefits — including reduced stormwater runoff and lower extreme-heat impacts — and supported the tree-planting goal as a public-health and resilience investment.

Speakers also stressed housing priorities. Jordan Chester and multiple community speakers highlighted budget line items including approximately $11.6 million for affordable housing, an 11% increase in transportation services, a $3 million increase in stormwater management and $150,000 for citizens advisory councils as central investments in the FY27 proposal. Several speakers — including Patricia Birch, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Raleigh — thanked the council for the recommended “penny for housing” allocation and voiced support for an affordable-housing bond; the specific bond amount was not specified in the public comments.

Britney Jackson, a social-services professional, described how the city’s existing affordable-housing programs help people attain stable housing and noted that a client scheduled to sign a lease the following morning would benefit from the budgeted programs. She urged councilors to maintain the funding level in the proposed FY27 budget.

Public-safety and workforce issues also surfaced. Matthew Cooper, president of the Raleigh Police Protective Association, said the budget’s proposed 3% pay raise was “reasonable and prudent” and urged the council to implement raises at the start of the fiscal year rather than later in the year to help recruit and retain officers.

A public commenter identified as Brian Scott raised allegations of recent civil-rights violations involving municipal and Wake County employees and said he would pursue those concerns if the city did not respond; no formal response was recorded during the hearing.

Another speaker urged the council to reorganize existing staff resources into a department-level Office of Safe Streets to manage Vision Zero work and neighborhood traffic management, saying “safe streets is not simply a transportation or simply a police issue” and arguing a department-level office would give the work more visibility and cross-departmental coordination.

The council closed the public hearing after hearing the speakers and then proceeded to the evening’s remaining agenda items.

Provenance: The budget public hearing and public comments appear throughout the transcript between SEG 010 (staff announcing the public hearing) and SEG 629 (closing of the budget public hearing).