After a loud backlash from residents and community groups, Durham officials say they will put about $770,576 back into the budgets of local nonprofit partners that had been on the chopping block. The about-face follows packed public comment at a June 1 City Council hearing and pleas from neighborhood organizations and the district attorney’s office. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the revised plan on June 15.
Restoration Details
As reported by INDY Week, City Manager Bo Ferguson’s May 18 proposed budget would have eliminated $927,323 in city grants to eight partner organizations, including ending a $191,400 lease for the Lyon Park community center. After the public outcry, officials now plan to restore full funding to seven of those groups and return half of the previously proposed cut to the Durham County District Attorney’s Office. According to the INDY, the city will pull $770,576 from its fund balance to cover the restorations, a move described as a one-time fix that will be revisited next year.
Why The Cuts Were Proposed
Ferguson told council members the budget was squeezed by an unusual surge of successful property tax appeals that cut into revenue and left the city with a multi-million-dollar gap. The city’s public update on the FY26-27 proposal lays out those revenue pressures and the timetable for hearings and adoption, according to the City of Durham. Officials say they were trying to avoid a tax-rate increase while still balancing service priorities in a difficult budget year.
Prosecutors Raise Alarms
Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry sent council members a letter warning that cuts to court-related funding would “dismantle almost three decades of cooperation” and could force roughly a 10 percent staffing reduction, as reported by The News & Observer. “For the city to hire more police while cutting prosecutors simply does not make sense,” Deberry wrote. The paper reported that the reduction would eliminate local assistant district attorney positions that staff high-volume dockets and support victim services.
DEAR Program Kept Intact
The city will maintain a $245,000 grant to DEAR, the Durham branch of Legal Aid’s Second Chance Project. Program leaders told officials that under the original proposal, local expunction work would have dropped by about 90 percent. According to INDY Week, DEAR staff warned that losing the grant would end driver-license restoration services and push Durham residents into a statewide clinic with far less local support. “If we are going to need to find extra funding or additional funding for a future period, at least we have a runway to do that now,” DEAR project director Emily Mistr told the INDY.
Lyon Park And Local Groups Push Back
The West End Community Foundation, which runs programming at the Community Family Life and Recreation Center at Lyon Park, urged neighbors to show up for the June 1 hearing and called the proposed lease termination an unacceptable blow, according to the foundation’s website. The group’s homepage messaging and calls to action helped pack council chambers that night, and Durham Parks & Recreation notes the center began as a Black school in 1922 and now serves West Central neighborhoods. Local leaders said the center’s programs and deep history were at the heart of why residents pressed the city to restore funding.
What Comes Next
The City Council is scheduled to take a formal vote on adopting the budget on June 15, and any restorations would be reflected in the final FY26-27 ordinance. The city’s FY27 proposed budget documents state that the restorations would be offset by drawing on the fund balance, a short-term measure staff say will require review during next year’s planning, per the City of Durham. Advocates say the June 15 vote will show whether public pressure truly shifted the city’s priorities.
