The following highlights are based on the City-produced transcript from the Retreat.
Full recordings are available at the following links:
The presentation slides are also available via the Agendas and Minutes webpage.
10 Things You Should Know from Day 1
A quick look at what caught our attention at Raleigh City Council’s retreat.
1. FY28 could be complicated.
Revaluation, property-tax changes, and other uncertainties are converging in the same budget year.
2. SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) changes could cost Raleigh about $5 million.
Staff estimates the city’s sales-tax revenue could take a roughly $5 million hit. This is because the Federal government plans to financially penalize individual states for any errors in SNAP benefits, and the state plans to pass those costs down to counties and municipalities.
3. The city doesn’t yet know the full FY28 picture.
Some major answers may not arrive until well into the budget process, meaning difficult choices could come later. Some combination of controlling costs and reducing expenditures may be necessary.
4. Raleigh is rethinking nonprofit grants.
Staff is considering a more competitive system, potentially organized around specific funding priorities, such as Youth, Health and Human Services, and Housing and homelessness.
The big question is whether organizations that have received city funding year after year should continue receiving it or whether those dollars should periodically be opened to competition.
Staff indicated that major changes are more likely to affect FY29 than FY28.
5. Council’s discretionary grants are under the microscope.
Council currently has $198,000 a year to distribute, but staff raised concerns about the risks of discretionary funding.
6. “Legacy” nonprofit funding could change.
One idea is to gradually reduce recurring grants so that more money becomes available through competitive grants.
7. The City of Raleigh has 668 procurement-card holders, representing about 16% of full-time employees.
Those cards accounted for $16.8 million in FY26 spending, prompting questions about oversight and vendor tracking. This is of particular interest because of concerns raised with the Town of Cary’s use of procurement cards by staff.
Raleigh’s procurement cards accounted for approximately $16.8 million in spending in FY26.
Staff emphasized that this represented less than 6% of the city’s operating budgets and said the 16% cardholder rate was consistent with an average reported by the State Auditor for nine large entities.
8. The City of Raleigh is already using AI internally.
The city has implemented a generative-AI chatbot called “Raleigh” to help employees navigate IT problems. Its “Raleigh” chatbot reportedly handles IT requests with about 98% accuracy.
9. AI and cameras raise privacy questions.
The city is using video and AI to analyze pedestrian movements and city infrastructure.
Staff said the city enters into data-sharing agreements with companies involved in these projects, including Nvidia, Dell and Aerys. Those agreements are intended to protect and anonymize data and require companies to dispose of the data when the partnership ends.
Staff also distinguished between identifying a person and simply counting or detecting a pedestrian, e.g., determining that someone crossed an intersection.
10. AI is already finding mistakes humans missed.
One city AI tool identified conflicting information in two city knowledge articles, a reminder that AI may become both a tool and an auditor. AI isn’t just something Raleigh is thinking about for the future. It’s already becoming part of how the city operates.
What we’ll be watching
- The FY28 budget
- The nonprofit grant overhaul
- Council’s discretionary funds
- And the city’s expanding use of AI and video
Day 1 didn’t produce many decisions. But it gave us a pretty good preview of the issues that could matter most in the months ahead.
10 Things You Should Know from Day 2
Housing, zoning, growth and downtown dominated Day 2 of Raleigh City Council’s retreat. Here are the highlights.
1. Raleigh has created or preserved more than 5,800 affordable housing units in 10 years.
The city’s new housing dashboard puts the numbers, locations and types of housing in one place, and will be updated quarterly.
2. The city is trying to get ahead of displacement.
Raleigh is using city-owned land, bond funds and strategic property acquisitions to preserve and create affordable housing before land prices make it harder.
3. One example: 129 affordable apartments near transit.
The city invested $2.9 million in the Duplex Village site, which is planned for 129 affordable rental units with an affordability period of at least 80 years.
4. Council is taking another look at “neighborhood character.”
A lengthy discussion focused on Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts (NCODs) and whether some of them may be limiting housing production in neighborhoods where demand is high.
5. Missing Middle zoning is still evolving.
Staff reviewed changes that allow more duplexes, townhouses, smaller apartment sites and other forms of housing. Council also wants more information about what these changes are actually producing.
6. Raleigh’s new growth plan is built around “grow where it counts.”
The proposed approach would concentrate growth and investment around centers and corridors—and explicitly consider whether new development generates enough revenue to help pay for the services it requires.
7. Regional growth is Raleigh’s problem, too.
Clayton, Garner, Knightdale and other communities are growing rapidly outside Raleigh’s borders. Council members raised concerns about the resulting demands on Raleigh’s roads, water, sewer, fire and other services, particularly in Southeast Raleigh.
8. Downtown safety is as much about perception as crime statistics.
A city survey has received more than 3,000 responses. Respondents generally said they feel safer downtown during the day than at night and identified security, social services, lighting, activity on the streets and cleanliness among the things that would make them feel safer.
9. Police reported modest declines in downtown crime.
Raleigh Police reported slight year-to-date decreases in both violent and property crime downtown compared with 2025. The department also discussed expanded partnerships and possible future technologies, including drones and autonomous vehicles.
10. Raleigh is considering a multi-pronged approach to downtown homelessness.
The city reported that about 90% of participants in its Dixon Park unsheltered pilot are no longer sleeping outside, with that rate holding after roughly 18 months. Staff said the next challenge is creating enough shelter and housing options to support efforts to reduce regular street sleeping downtown.
What we’ll be watching
- Housing production
- NCODs and zoning
- The new growth plan
- Regional infrastructure costs
- And the city’s evolving strategy for downtown.
Day 2 was ultimately about a basic question:
How does Raleigh accommodate growth without making housing less affordable, overwhelming infrastructure, or undermining the downtown and neighborhoods that people already value?