Durham City Council Work Session - September 8, 2023
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Durham City Council Work Session - September 8, 2023
The Durham City Council held a work session on September 8, 2023, beginning at 1:00 PM (14:15 UTC). The meeting featured extensive public comments from city employees demanding wage increases and bonuses, followed by council discussion and procedural actions. Later, the council received presentations on the Durham-Chapel Hill annexation boundary and the fourth-quarter financial report for FY2022-23.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Solid waste workers (Chris Benjamin, Herman Moore, Montreal Perry, Christopher Copeland, Antonio Smith) expressed that they are underpaid and overworked, unable to afford living in Durham. They demanded higher pay, annual raises, and recognition as essential workers. They noted that they were not compensated for COVID-era work and criticized the 2% cost-of-living adjustment plus 4% earned performance raise as insufficient.
- James Chavis, a citizen, criticized the council for not providing raises and questioned the role of the Office of Racial Equity.
- James Davis recounted working during COVID while management worked from home, and he critiqued a $300 bonus as inadequate.
- Meredith Carter (firefighter, IAFF Local 668) stated she makes $16.56/hour, nearly $2 below the Durham livable wage of $18.46/hour, and noted that 13 firefighters have quit since a June 20 vote that denied restore COVID-era merit raises.
- Charlita Burris and online speakers (Ms. Wagstaff, Gloria Johnson, Ms. Molini) expressed solidarity and urged the council to act, with some challenging elected officials to back their words with action.
Discussion Items
- Councilmember Freeman made a motion to suspend the rules and vote on a $5,000 bonus for essential workers. The City Attorney advised that work sessions cannot take votes and that compensation requires an ordinance. After procedural debate, the council agreed to place the item on the September 21 work session agenda for formal consideration. Councilmember Freeman requested staff provide cost estimates for a $5,000 bonus for all who had to physically work during COVID. Councilmember Williams emphasized fiscal responsibility and the need for a sustainable plan, noting that the city's revenue comes from taxes and that a one-time bonus would require careful planning. City Manager Wanda Page noted the difficulty of defining "essential workers" across 200+ job classifications and recommended that any compensation proposal be considered in regular order with a clear scope.
- Presentation on the Durham-Chapel Hill annexation boundary: Attorney Don O'Toole explained that the boundary was established by a 1986 consent judgment and amended in 1994. A property owner on Chapel Hill's side of the boundary has requested a boundary amendment to allow eventual annexation into Durham. Chapel Hill's council has already authorized its staff to work with Durham. Moving the boundary does not itself annex land; a separate consolidated annexation application would be needed. Council will provide direction to staff at a later meeting.
- Financial report by Mr. Floyd: FY2022-23 fourth quarter results showed general fund revenues of $258.9M ($10.9M over budget), expenditures of $267.4M ($11.5M under budget), and a net budget variance of $22.3M. Personnel services and operating expenses accounted for 83% of the underspend. The unassigned fund balance is $32.2M above the 16.7% target level. Enterprise funds (water, transit, solid waste, stormwater, parking, DPAC) all performed generally as expected, with the solid waste fund slightly over budget due to overtime and temporary worker costs. DPAC had a banner year with 565,000 guests and a net increase of $3.1M.
Key Outcomes
- The council did not take a vote on the $5,000 bonus but directed staff to prepare information for the September 21 work session regarding a potential bonus ordinance for essential workers. The scope of "essential workers" remains to be clarified.
- The annexation boundary presentation was informational; no vote taken. Council may provide future direction to staff to proceed with a formal boundary amendment proposal.
- The consent agenda (items 1-18 and public hearings 21-24) was approved unanimously.
- The meeting adjourned at 3:12 PM.
Meeting Transcript
We are now streaming 30 seconds to title sequence. Good afternoon. Happy Thursday, everybody. Uh I would like to call the Durham City Council work session to order for this the seventh day of September two thousand twenty-three at one PM. We certainly want to welcome all of you have who have joined us here in chambers today. And um those who are joining us uh remotely as well. I believe Mayor Pro Tim is on the way, but we do have two councilpersons who have excused absences. So if you will call the roll, madam clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Mayor O'Neill. I am present. Mayor Proto Middleton will be here shortly. Councilmember Caballero has an excused absence. Councilmember Freeman present. Councilmember Holsey Hyman. Present. And Councilmember Williams. Present. Thank you. Councilman Councilwoman Freeman. To my left. Any announcements over here. All righty. We will now recognize our city manager for any prior to items she may have. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I do have one priority item for you today. It is agenda item number 22. Zoning map change Lumley Road multifamily. The title has been changed from zoning map change Lumley Road multifamily to consolidated annexation. So it's just the title change, and that is all I have for you today. Second. The move by Councilwoman Freeman, seconded by Councilman Williams. Hearing none. Thank you, Madam Mayor. The City Clerk's office has no priority items today. Thank you so much. If you have any announcements you'd like to meet, you can do so. Items. Item number one is the Durham Affordable Housing Implementation Committee appointments. Number two. Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau Discover Durham Appointments. Three. Number four. Is the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission appointment? Number five. It's the Durham Workers' Rights Commission appointment. Item six. Number eight. Priority dispatch corporation extended service plan agreement. Item nine to interlocal memorandum of agreement for urban search and rescue task force eight.
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