About Budget & CIP
The Budget Division of Budget and Management Services (BMS) is responsible for the development and oversight of the city’s annual operating budget. According to North Carolina State Law, each North Carolina Municipality must develop a balanced operating budget for each fiscal year, which starts on July 1 and ends on June 30.
In addition to an annual operating budget, BMS develops a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which allocates funds to longer-term capital projects, such as purchasing expensive equipment or resurfacing roads.
City vs. County Services
As mentioned above, BMS prepares an annual operating budget for City (not County) Departments. North Carolina State Law provides guidelines about the types of services that Cities and Counties can provide. There are certain services that Cities and Counties are legally required to provide, and others that they may choose to provide or not provide.
The legal requirements of service provision differ for Cities and Counties. For example, counties must provide a court system, while Cities are not legally permitted to do so. The chart below identifies the difference in services that the City of Durham versus Durham County currently provides.
There are other City departments, not listed below, that deal primarily with internal services (Human Resources, Finance, etc.) Please refer to the City’s website to review other City departments. For more general information about the legally permissible activities for North Carolina City and Counties, please refer to this chart.
Legally Required Services
City of Durham |
Durham County |
|---|---|
| Building Code Enforcement (Joint City-County Inspections Department) | Building Code Enforcement (Joint City-County Inspections Department) |
-- |
Courts |
-- |
Deed Registration |
-- |
Election Administration |
-- |
Jails |
-- |
Law Enforcement |
-- |
Medical Examiner |
-- |
Mental Health |
-- |
Public Health |
-- |
Public Schools |
-- |
Social Services |
-- |
Tax Assessment |
Optional Services
| City of Durham | Durham County |
|---|---|
| Community Development | -- |
| Economic and Workforce Development | -- |
| Fire Protection | Fire Protection |
| Law Enforcement | Library |
| Parks and Recreation | Tax Collection |
| Sewer | Sewer |
| Solid Waste Collection | Solid Waste Collection |
| Land Use Regulation (Joint City-County Planning Department) | Land Use Regulation (Joint City-County Planning Department) |
| Streets | -- |
| Transportation | -- |
| Water | -- |
Service request:
Click or call 919-560-1200