Durham County’s manager has a $1B budget. What’s in store for taxes and schools?
Many Durham County homeowners have already seen their property values go up this year. Now, higher tax bills could soon follow.
County Manager Claudia Hager gave the county commissioners a first look at her recommended $1 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 on Monday night.
The budget is $71.55 million, or 7.41%, more than the current year’s budget and has a tax-rate increase of 3.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
“Durham County has been fortunate to have a strong economy, but the past is no guarantee of the future,” Hager said. “The current fiscal environment has its uncertainties. As a result, the key priorities built into this recommended budget are focused on providing the best outcomes.”
Hager’s spending plan prioritizes education, public safety and workforce development while the county, home to over 336,000 residents, deals with slowed economic growth.
What are the highlights of the budget?
▪ Hager proposes a 3% to 4% merit pay increase for all county employees and increased health care benefits.
▪ The proposal recommends $285.5 million for Durham Public Schools to repair and improve aging buildings, to help build the new Durham School of the Arts, and for other needs.
Hager’s budget increases DPS funding by $10.4 million, less than the district’s requested $16 million increase. County funding for DPS has increased by $65.8 million over five years, Hager noted.
▪ Hager recommends $23 million for Durham Tech, as the college plays a “crucial role” in workforce development, she said.
▪ A portion of the tax rate, 7.57 cents, helps pay for the 2022 bond that voters approved to support new school construction and projects at Durham Tech and the Museum of Life and Science.
▪ Hager recommends 44.5 new positions, partially offset by 24 vacant positions that are being reallocated and nine that were eliminated this year. The new positions include
- 12 to the Office of Emergency Services
- 5 to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office (reallocated from vacant detention officer positions)
- 5 to Information Services and Technology
- 8.5 to the Durham County Youth Home
▪ A few departments, like the Sheriff’s Office and the Office of Emergency Services, will be getting new vehicles to replace older ones and for the new positions, Hager said.
▪ Tax increases are recommended for several unincorporated fire districts. The proposed rates include 7.4 cents for the Redwood Fire Tax District, an increase of 1.05 cents for the Bahama District, 1.5 cents for the Lebanon District, and 1.5 cents for the New Hope District.
What would the typical homeowner pay in county taxes?
Hager’s recommended 3.5-cent tax-rate increase would bring the county rate to 55.42 cents per $100 in property value.
The proposed new tax rate is lower than the current rate because of the county’s revaluation this year. It is above the revenue-neutral rate of 51.92 cents per $100, however, which is the rate needed to generate the same amount of property tax revenue with new, higher tax values.
Here’s an example of how a typical homeowner would be affected:
▪ Before the revaluation, a home with a tax value of $400,000 had a Durham County property tax bill of $3,194, based on the current tax rate of 79.87 cents per $100 in property value.
▪ Now, if that same house increased 60% in value to $640,000, the owner would have a Durham County property tax bill of $3,546 based on the proposed tax rate.
▪ That’s a roughly $352 increase and does not include the city tax that homeowners within the city limits also pay. City Manager Bo Ferguson will present his recommended budget May 19.
“I have tried to limit property tax rate increases and their impact on residents,” Hager said. “We do this by maximizing efficiencies and limiting the expansion of services. ... But when slowing growth in other revenue sources compete with higher service demand or higher cost, the options to fill those gaps are limited to property tax increased with those realities.”
When are public hearings?
The Durham County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the budget on June 9.
The county will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. May 27. Residents can also comment during budget work sessions on
- May 20
- May 22
- May 29
- June 3
- June 5 (if needed)
On the Durham County website, residents can also give feedback through the 2025-26 Resident Budget Portal.
Find more information about the recommended budget and meeting details go to www.dconc.gov.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Durham County’s manager has a $1B budget. What’s in store for taxes and schools?."