![]() I recently attended a joint County Commission/City Council meeting. Whether something gets funding or not also depends how much the city has invested in a neighborhood previously. Durham having all at-large council members dilutes the voice and power of some parts of the city. This gives a more effective voice and better influence in making decisions. A ward system makes sure that different parts of a town have their person as an advocate for their needs. This ward system may have been more equitable than the current election system. The election system of at-large city council seats used to be a ward system in Durham. The election process plays a large role in this budgeting issue. In turn, businesses in those low income areas are denied resources to help grow their businesses. City Council does fund great things for high income communities and businesses in certain areas but allow low income communities to get worse. It is not effective for particular neighborhoods. While there are open meetings and a transparent process, it feels more like staff “checking the box” of doing things. I think we have more than enough community input, but what I think is the problem is that City Council and city staff don’t often value the citizen input and therefore the recommendations aren’t funded. There is also Council meetings with other groups, and finally we have two open public hearings in April and June. PACs are supposed to be the groups that represent the different neighborhoods. We have what is called Coffee with City Council with all five PACs ( Partners Against Crime) districts. ![]() I must explain the current budgeting process here in Durham. ![]() Well I have been thinking long and hard about what I wanted to talk to you about concerning community participating in the budgeting process. ![]()
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