Durham City Council Work Session - May 22, 2025
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Durham City Council Work Session - May 22, 2025
The Durham City Council met on May 22, 2025, at 1:00 PM in the Second Floor Committee Room at 101 City Hall Plaza. The work session included announcements, consent agenda approval, public comments, discussion of multiple contracts and policies, a detailed crime report, and a third-quarter financial report. The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:40 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from four previous council meetings (April 7, 10, 21, and 24, 2025).
- Appointed residents to fill vacancies on the Workforce Development Board (4 positions), Environmental Affairs Board (2), Cultural Advisory Board (4), Mayor's Council for Women (3), Citizens Advisory Committee (3), Sports Commission (1), and others where majority nominations were received.
- Received the Video Inspections, Construction Drawings, and Driveway Permits Revenue Performance Audit (no findings).
- Approved the FY2024-25 Budget Amendment and Capital Project Ordinances (Item 17), including transfers from the dedicated housing fund and capital project fund to debt service to cover bond payments.
- Adopted a revised Code of Ethics for the City Council (Item 18).
- Authorized contracts for: HVAC preventative maintenance with Brady Trane Service, Inc. ($925,000); Audio/Visual support with Kontek Systems, Inc. ($76,240); 2025 Disparity Study with Miller3 Consulting (up to $400,000); Electronic equipment recycling with PowerHouse Recycling Inc. ($450,000); Telecommunications audit with SpyGlass Group ($250,000); Securance LLC amendment ($161,176.89); Tyler Technologies MUNIS software amendment ($582,541.36); Traffic signal construction at South Roxboro Street and Murray-Massenburg School ($480,123.60); GoDurham bus repower/refurbishment with CoachCrafters ($5,832,477); CAT methane engine blower maintenance with Gregory Poole ($250,282); PFAS consulting with HDR Engineering ($2,273,792); and others.
- Authorized contracts for police psychological testing (pre-employment with FMRT Group, $225,000; post-hire with Mindology, $104,500).
- Amended the Non-Discrimination Ordinance rules.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Robbie Howard: Spoke as a two-time innocent bystander shot in the same area; requested help with victim compensation and support for traumatized individuals.
- Jacqueline White: Thanked councilmembers for addressing her earlier complaint about box trucks parked on her street but reported continued issues with 18-wheelers; questioned enforcement of parking and chicken ordinances.
- DeWarren Langley (Charles Family Confucian Foundation): Called for workforce development investments for boys and young men of color, urging the budget to reflect moral imperatives and early career pathways.
- James Chavis (PACC District 1 co-facilitator): Requested a city proclamation for disaster preparedness; invited council to a peaceful standoff on May 28 to raise awareness.
- Italo Medilius (Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment, Durham Workers' Rights Commission): Expressed full support for a resolution backing Durham Amazon workers right to organize; noted a recent union election loss but vowed future victory.
- Gwyn Silver: Also spoke about commercial truck parking in her community; submitted documentation of non-response from city officials and asked for street sweeping fees to be waived.
- Regina Mays: Described the traumatic impact of a May 4th fatal shooting near her home; urged the council to adopt a collaborative, preventative approach to gun violence.
Discussion Items
- Item 17 – Budget Amendment: Councilmember asked about large transfers to the dedicated housing fund and debt service fund; staff explained that interest income from capital projects was being shifted, and that first debt service payment for the 2019 housing bond was now due.
- Items 18 & 19 – Code of Ethics and Rules of Procedure: Councilmember raised two concerns: (1) the new rule requiring council-initiated items to go through the mayor before the full body, and (2) the removal of a provision allowing same-day introduction of an item with five votes. The latter was questioned as potentially useful; staff deferred to the procedures committee.
- Item 22 – HVAC Preventative Maintenance Contract: Councilmember noted the memo described an annually recurring cost despite being a new contract; staff emphasized the contractor's superior experience. The cost difference among bidders was large, but the chosen vendor (Brady Trane) scored highest on technical criteria.
- Items 25 & 26 – Police Psychological Testing Contracts: Councilmember asked about the cost of hiring internal psychologists vs. contracts; police finance manager estimated internal hire(s) would cost at least $150k–$200k per year vs. $110k combined for both contracts.
- Item 24 – 2025 First Quarter Crime Report (presented by Chief Andrews):
- Part I violent crime: overall down, but homicides increased from 6 to 9 (50% rise). Forcible rape and robberies decreased.
- Shooting incidents down 11.6% compared to same period in 2023/2024; fatal shootings unchanged.
- Gun seizures down 30.7% (183 guns seized). Guns stolen from vehicles up sharply, with 73% of stolen guns taken from cars (68% by window break).
- Clearance rates: homicide 155.6% (8 of 9 cleared plus 6 cold cases); overall violent/property clearances above FBI average.
- Staffing at 78% sworn (388 of 533 positions filled); recruiting efforts include 30x30 initiative for women and Spanish-language radio campaign.
- Discussion focused on the high rate of gun thefts from vehicles, targeting of Hispanic/Latino victims in robberies (32% of robberies), and the challenge of hospital-only gunshot reports. Councilmembers stressed the need for preventative measures, affordable housing, and community programs over reactive tools like ShotSpotter. The mayor noted a $50,000 grant program for youth violence prevention organizations.
- Item 34 – PFAS Consulting Contract: Water Management staff explained that Durham must build additional treatment (powdered activated carbon) to meet EPA regulations; the EPA recently extended the compliance deadline to 2031, but the city aims to complete construction by 2028. A public outreach event is planned for July 15, 2025. Councilmember emphasized collective responsibility for reducing PFAS use.
- Item 35 – FY2024-25 Third Quarter Financial Report (presented by CFO):
- Triple-A credit rating affirmed by all three agencies; bond sale for Connect Durham program closed at 3.813% true interest cost, saving $18 million over the 20-year life compared to the 5.34% rate used in the referendum estimate.
- General fund projected to end the year with a positive variance of $6.2 million, but will use $15.6 million of appropriated fund balance (reserves) as planned; sales tax revenues are $2.7 million below budget due to softening.
- Enterprise funds: water/sewer, transit, solid waste, stormwater, and parking all using reserves; stormwater fund is transitioning to consider debt financing for capital projects because current pay-go is depleting reserves.
- ARPA funds: $23.4 million of $51.8 million expended; 25 projects still in process; funds must be obligated by December 2026.
Key Outcomes
- The consent agenda items were approved as presented, with the exception of items placed on the General Business Agenda (GBA) or referred back to staff. Specifically, items 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 19, and 38 were moved to GBA for further discussion. Item 14 (Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities appointments) was referred back to the department for recommendations.
- The City Manager noted that the June 23 work session will include several critical items due to the upcoming July break.
- Council consensus was given to allow staff to research a potential wildlife feeding ordinance, as requested by Councilmember Freeman.
- The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Hello everyone. Welcome to that and start that one of people's work collaborating or order at one o'clock. Mayor Williams. Mayor. Mayor Middle Mayor Pete Middleton is requesting an excuse absence for today. Councilmember Baker. Councilmember Caviero is also requesting an excuse absence for today. Councilmember Cook. Councilmember Freeman. And Councilmember is we are excuse absence for country already, but we do need to have to tell us too many two. So moved. Good afternoon, everyone. It's it's great to see everybody in the room. Thank you for being here. Um to help pay for infrastructure investments as a value capture tool. Uh it was something that I was thinking about specifically for Roxboro Mangum. It's that funding has already found its way into the current proposed budget. And so I spoke with a few of you and and um heard heard back from you that you're comfortable with where that is. But I just want to raise it now because um I do think it's a good value capture tool and something that we should be thinking about uh moving forward when we think about uh Duke Regson or other major infrastructure investments is uh this idea of the municipal service district. So something to keep in mind there. Um and uh last thing here, and I'm sure we'll have much more about it, but uh Riley Thompson uh just received uh word about uh you leaving the city. Um and again I think we'll have a lot more time to to uh pay tribute to all of the amazing work that you've done. Um but you know we could do it multiple times, so I'll just say it's been wonderful having you uh at the city working with you. Um I don't know the ins and outs of everything you do on a day-to-day basis, but I know that uh everyone enjoys uh communicating and working with you, and then I also say we all see the outcome of your work, which is I mean truly amazing work. Um I think communicate this communication is is something to be very proud of. And so um it will be a major loss to to have you leave. So wanted to appreciate that. That's it for me. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. Thank you. Uh good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here. Um thank you tonight, Councilmember Baker for those announcements, and also want to express my gratitude. Um I, as a person who is extremely inept at online everything, and always so impressed with your videos and the quality of um just all of the things that go out. It's it's always like approachable, it's always very clear. Um, and it is I think that the communications piece of the city is so important as folks come so often for information, and you've just done such an amazing job making that accessible, making that um clear and also beautiful, like nice interact with, which is great. So thank you so much for your service. Um I have quick announcements. One is that I had the real pleasure of doing a ride-along yesterday. So I got to spend the afternoon in a garbage truck uh on the streets in the city of Durham with Anthony, who has been with the city for 10 years. Um and it was just incredible. I had an amazing experience there. Uh I also thought for one second that he was my person that did my route. He was explaining his Thursday, and he ends one street tag of mine, so I might plans to put on a hello Anthony sign or dash, but um, yeah, it's just it's incredible the amount of things that you have to be aware of in driving this truck. It's just one person doing an automated um arm, and it's like you have to be perfectly parked in order for the arm to pick up the trash bin. You have to be watching your little camera to make sure that the trash is getting compacted in all the right ways. You also have to be driving, and we know how these roads be sometimes, and like people are out there walking their dogs that are barking at the truck, and then they're pulling around trying to move, and then there's the one person who like didn't put her trash out on time and she's running out trying to catch it, and it's just like chaos trying to I was just trying to watch, and he let me have all of his stuff he doesn't even need his map or anything. He knows exactly where to go. He's just does this route every week.
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