Durham Hosts First-Ever E-Town Hall June 3

Now that City Manager Tom Bonfield has presented the FY 2013-14 preliminary budget, Durham residents have a chance to weigh in on how they would like to see the City’s budget used in the coming year.

New for this year, an e-Town Hall will be held on Monday, June 3 during the regularly scheduled City Council Meeting. Moderated by WTVD’s weekend anchor and reporter Anthony Wilson, the City’s e-Town Hall will be televised live on Durham’s local television, DTV8 (Time Warner Cable channel 8), from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. as well as from the City’s website. The forum is part of the Budget Public Hearing also taking place at the meeting.

City Council members will take part in the interactive event, addressing questions submitted by Durham residents regarding how tax dollars are allocated in the proposed budget and what the priorities are for the upcoming year. “This forum will give residents, who might not otherwise come down to City Hall, another option to let us know what they think,” said Bertha Johnson, director of the City’s Budget and Management Services Department. “Additionally, there are so many people who are active on social media – Facebook and Twitter in particular – we felt an e-Town Hall would be a great way to reach them, while supporting the City’s overall efforts to increase and diversify our outreach to Durham residents.”

Residents are encouraged to submit their questions prior to the June 3 event by email, through Facebook, or on Twitter using hashtag #DurhamETH. Residents can also upload a video of their question to YouTube and then share the link via email. After May 31, questions can only be submitted by Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

For more information on the City’s first-ever e-Town Hall, click here or watch a series of YouTube videos.

About the Budget & Management Services Department
The Budget and Management Services Department is responsible for preparing, implementing, and monitoring the City’s annual operating budget as well as the five-year revenue/expenditure projections for all City government services. The department also provides operational and organizational studies as identified by the City Council, City Manager's Office, and department staff. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, which the department established and maintains, the department helps to ensure that the City of Durham is a well-managed city by working with City agencies to build and implement performance measurement monitoring and evaluation. The department is also responsible for preparing the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), coordinating the City's process for petition and City-initiated annexations, conducting resident satisfaction surveys, and evaluating departmental achievement of City goals and objectives. Learn more.