Durham County Board of Commissioners Work Session - April 6, 2026: Transit Dollars, Jail Healthcare, and Equity
The Durham County Board of Commissioners digs into how the half‑cent transit tax is governed and spent—scrutinizing slowing revenues, large fund balances, capital needs, fare‑free service, and a status‑quo work program that leaves little room for new projects—while inviting public input on the draft plan. The board also hears detailed briefings on jail healthcare costs and HIV treatment, along with student research on women’s rights, maternal and maternal oral health, and barriers facing Latinx survivors of intimate partner violence. 46mins
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Original Meeting
Monday, April 6th, 2026
14365.378
Board of County Commissioners on 2026-04-06 9:00 AM - Work Session
In This Video
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Steven Schlossberg reviewed unaudited sales tax and related revenues, noting preliminary FY25 receipts slightly below budget, expectations to meet or exceed the FY26 projection due in part to Article 43 sales tax performance, and total revenues ending above budget largely because of investment income and reimbursements from GoTriangle.
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Commissioner Jacobs cautioned that apparent revenue gains were driven by investment earnings rather than sales tax growth, and Steven Schlossberg responded by emphasizing conservative budgeting practices and the thorough review and board oversight involved in any potential GoTriangle property sales.
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Steven Schlossberg outlined that while the transit fund’s cash balance had grown to about $213.5 million, roughly $45 million was reserved for required contingencies and recession protection, leaving about $120 million in excess liquidity that was already largely committed in multi‑year and capital plans and projected to dip as low as $15 million.
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Brandy Minor introduced the delayed draft annual transit work program, explaining that lower Article 43 sales tax projections and lack of staff consensus postponed it by two months, that it had been released for required public comment, and that it generally maintained the Durham Transit Plan’s priorities while shifting more funding toward operations, maintenance, and enhanced bus service.
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Brandy Minor reported that growth in Article 43 half-cent sales tax revenues had slowed, with FY25 collections coming in about $3.4 million below budget, but noted that through December roughly half of the $44 million FY26 projection had already been received and the draft work program kept the revenue forecast at that same $44 million level.
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Brandy Minor explained that, because the Staff Working Group could not agree on new projects, the draft annual transit work program used a status quo budget with only a required plan update added, documented partner priority options separately, and preserved fund balance targets so that projected excess liquidity dropped to about $15 million, leaving roughly $5 million available for future allocation.
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Brandy Minor outlined the FY27 transit budget, projecting about $57 million in revenues—largely from the half-cent sales tax and a fund balance draw—explaining that slower sales tax growth limited the draft to one new capital project while still allocating most funding to the City of Durham and GoTriangle and keeping all existing commitments whole.
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Brandy Minor reviewed proposed FY27 capital allocations, including reallocating earlier FACE Street bond funding toward design and later construction of two facilities, programming funds for GoDurham’s Village Mobility Hub and a regional connections placeholder, and advancing pre-approved Bus Rapid Transit design funds without adding new money.
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Brandy Minor described the sole new project in the draft work program—a $650,000 Durham Transit Plan update and Interlocal Agreement review planned to begin in early 2027—which the Staff Working Group supported to incorporate policy developments, improve the work program process, and add flexibility to project funding while reducing decision-making conflicts.
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Director Baker recommended prioritizing funding for City of Durham maintenance facilities and deferring staffing requests until a regional staffing study is complete, noted that some service expansions already funded but not yet in operation contributed to an operating balance, suggested using one-time investment earnings to help close capital funding gaps, and highlighted differing county revenue capacities as a reason to pursue a more equitable cost-sharing approach with neighboring counties.
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Commissioner Jacobs stressed that the Durham County Transit Plan should not be expected to fully fund the City of Durham’s long-range maintenance facilities, calling for a clear capital cost-share policy with other funding sources and greater accountability to residents given previously approved but still unimplemented transit services.
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Director Baker explained that while the City of Durham had shifted its priority request from fare-free funding to maintenance facilities, the transit plan still supported fare-free service through several existing funding streams, and confirmed in response to Commissioner Lee that other nearby systems like GoCary and Chapel Hill Transit also operated fare free.
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Beth Dehghan, founder of WomenNC, described the organization’s long-running work with Durham-area universities to train student advocates for women’s human rights, highlighted a 2017 county resolution supporting the CEDAW treaty, and previewed student research and policy recommendations on issues affecting women in Durham.
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Student researcher Noelle Smith presented on the Strong Black Woman archetype and its links to health disparities, especially maternal mortality, and recommended national, regional, and local policy interventions such as respectful maternity care standards and expanded Medicaid coverage for doula services.
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Student researcher Caroline Joo examined how inadequate utilization of Medicaid-covered dental care for pregnant women and single mothers in North Carolina undermined maternal health and economic opportunity, highlighting oral disease–related pregnancy risks and the gap between full eligibility and very low actual use of benefits.
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Student researcher Chalina Morgan-Lopez presented findings on Latinx survivors of intimate partner violence in North Carolina, highlighting shortages of bilingual providers, fears of ICE and deportation, economic and transportation barriers, and recommending stronger protections for undocumented survivors and more stable funding for legal and mental health services.
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A staffer explained the jail’s medical intake and chronic care process, describing how new arrivals were assessed for acute and long-term conditions, scheduled for labs and specialist visits within 30 days and every 90 days thereafter, and connected with community providers and short-term medications at release to support continuity of care and reduce recidivism risks.
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Chief Pharmacy Officer Deleca Reynolds-Barnes reported that while the number of patients on medications in the jail had risen modestly each year, drug costs increased more sharply due to expensive treatments for conditions such as mental illness and HIV, noting that HIV affected a small share of patients but carried very high per-patient costs and that powerful modern therapies, though costly, could suppress the virus to undetectable levels and reflected broader community health needs.
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Chief Pharmacy Officer Deleca Reynolds-Barnes emphasized that correctional health reflected community health by explaining efforts to reduce HIV viral loads among incarcerated people to undetectable levels, noting Durham County’s higher HIV diagnosis rate than neighboring counties, and stressing the need for stronger prevention efforts for young adults to curb both health and cost impacts.
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Commissioner Jacobs reported that two detainees had been approved for a state-funded capacity restoration program in Mecklenburg County, and Miss Humphreys explained that while treatment costs would be covered by the state, the county still needed to resolve who would pay for transporting the detainees to the program.
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