Before sundown, Max Davis was one of more than a dozen people who came together on the corner of Durham's City Hall Plaza.

"The city works because we do," Davis hollered from a megaphone.

In half an hour, City Manager Tom Bonfield would present a proposed budget to city council members. In it: a recommendation to eliminate 113 positions. After the hiring freeze that came last year, 35 of those spots are actually filled. One of them is Max Davis' job.

"I'm a heavy equipment operator," Davis said. "I go around the neighborhood and sweep all of the debris out of the gutter."

Two weeks ago, he learned the city would eliminate his position June 30.

"We just found out this year that my wife is expecting in September," he said. "The news couldn't have come at a worse time."

The total budget for 2009 - 2010 is $344 million. Bonfield told council members in a presentation Monday night that's a decrease of $11 million below the adopted budget from 2008 - 2009.

"We realized we were facing a $24 to $40 million budget gap," he told the council as he was discussing the challenges the city faced in bringing its budget from red to black.

Durham will reduce contributions to non-city agencies by $480,155. That funds 36 agencies that provide arts, public safety, youth, community development programs and other activities for Durham residents.

The city is also cutting its "pay-for-performance" increases this fiscal year and will decrease contributions to 401(k) plans from 5 percent to 3 percent. However, police officers and firefighters will receive 3 percent anniversary increases, totaling $1.8 million. It was part of the city's move to keep public safety salaries at a competitive level.

"No one individual's job who works for the city is more important than anybody else's," Davis said.

Nathanette Mayo, Secretary for the Durham Chapter of the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, agreed.

"If the water doesn't flow for a couple days, the city goes into chaos. If garbage sits in the streets for a week, the city will go into chaos," she said. "We're not saying that fire and police don't provide essential services because they do. We all do and we all should be treated equally."

She's not facing a job cut, but was here to support those who were.

"If workers do nothing - they'll feel free to do it this year, next year and the year after that," she said. "They're just kicking people to the curb. We've been asked year and year again to do more with less with not having positions filled. At this point, it's horrible to do this to workers."

Click here to read the full budget response from the City Manager's office.

More dates residents can learn about Durham's budget:

May 26 to May 28
Council Work Session
Committee room, second floor, City Hall

June 1 at 7 p.m.
Public Hearing
Council chambers, first floor, City Hall

June 15 at 7 p.m.
Council will adopt budget
First floor, City Hall

Related Links

1. Budget Website