What happened at City Hall
Dozens of Durham residents filled the second public hearing on City Manager Bo Ferguson's proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget Monday, pressing the council on spending priorities ranging from homelessness to surveillance technology. The proposed budget totals $766.1 million, up from $722.2 million last year. The council is scheduled to adopt the final budget June 15.
The fault line on public safety
Criminal justice was the session's sharpest edge. Residents came with competing demands. Some called for funding the nonprofit Violence Interrupters at $250,000, arguing that community-based intervention reduces shootings without expanding the police footprint. Others warned that overpolicing carries its own costs. Several speakers backed Legal Aid, describing how the program helped them navigate the criminal justice system.
The tension has deep roots. Durham shooting deaths doubled in Q1 2026, and the city has a violence summit scheduled for June. Residents aren't aligned on the remedy.
Homelessness vote and what's still open
Separate from the budget itself, the council unanimously approved a five-year plan aimed at making homelessness "rare and brief" in Durham. The vote was unanimous. But funding commitments tied to that goal remain part of the broader budget deliberations still underway.
The $766.1 million proposal pairs direct financial commitments to social problems with cost cuts elsewhere, a tradeoff structure Ferguson has described as central to his approach. Residents have two weeks to keep up the pressure before the June 15 adoption vote.