Long-time Raleigh resident and Midtown CAC Chair Larry Helfant weighs in on the city’s budget process:
As many of you have noticed, community engagement for the adoption of the 2025 / 2026 Raleigh Budget has started with both virtual and in person sessions.
I attended the first virtual session in December, not October, thinking that they would actually engage with the audience. Instead, input was gathered through a number of questions, rather than an informative session and discussion with the public to gather more information about resident priorities and needs.
My session had a well educated audience, yet little time was afforded for actual public input.
This is the input that I wish I could have communicated:
The current year’s budget shows an increase of 44%, just due to the increased value of a penny due to County property appraisals. Couple this with a 12% increase in tax rate beyond a revenue neutral budget and a similar 10% increase in County tax rate, it is going to be a very expensive year for Raleigh residents that are already dealing with inflation and increased cost of goods in everything that it takes to stay in a home or to keep a roof above one’s head. The additional budget increase showed that the Council, Mayor and City Manager were not listening to the public.
Prior to adopting the budget, the number one priority was and still is affordable housing. This doesn’t just mean providing more housing. It means keeping the tax burden lower so people on fixed, low and middle income can afford home upkeep. The budget for this year just added an additional burden for an existing Raleigh residential population. So my message is clear – start with a goal of budget neutrality as the limit for 2025 / 2026. While this may not be within the Budget group’s responsibility, it is certainly within your guidance to City Administration.
I know the City administration thinks that they are meeting their 10 year goal of affordable dwellings but that is because they do not balance that with affordable housing losses. The public recommendation prior to budget adoption was for two cents for affordable housing, especially with a penny being worth more due to increased real estate appraisals. This was also requested in the Mayor’s outgoing statement. Please include this recommendation in your budget guidance.
My other recommendation is to prioritize City staff in all departments, including public safety. We are at least 15% deficient across the board and the employment rate is not increasing. Employees in all areas cannot afford to live in a City that puts City Improvements ahead of people’s welfare. You do not need to waste money on compensation studies to tell you that City employees cannot keep up with the standard of living. If you want to improve police, fire and emergency services, pay them. If you want to see more efficiency in project completion and customer service improvement, pay them. Like it or not, a fair competitive wage will induce people to work for Raleigh in close proximity to their jobs.
While you are investing in a new Fire truck, have you considered who will man that vehicle? While you are asking for improved police coverage of downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, have you considered where that staffing will come from when your headcount is already diminished?
Before you invest in more City positions, conduct more consultant surveys, invest in downtown improvements and grand parks, invest in your people. If this means readjusting and prioritizing the budget, take that action to put people first.
Residents recognize that we have a growing City and there is an increasing need for supporting services but are we allocating funds in the right places? Perhaps Council should rethink the Budget theme – Investing in Raleigh’s Future. Perhaps the theme should be “Securing Raleigh Residents Lives in Raleigh’s Future.”
Do not request a bond! Balance the budget by setting priorities of need!
Note: It was mentioned that your engagement sessions were more limited this year due to poor attendance in prior community engagement efforts. Please utilize CACs, which offer both virtual and physical engagement for an assurance of reaching more people.
Larry Helfant
You can find information about CACs on our website’s Resources page.
Upcoming Budget Listening Sessions can be found on our Community Engagement Calendar. There are sessions for each district:
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- Jan 6 – District D
- Jan 7 – District A
- Jan 8 – District E
- Jan 9 – District B
- Jan 13 – District C
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