Durham Mayor Bill Bell delivered his annual State of the City address Monday night in the City Hall chamber. He focused on the year’s positive developments in a number of areas but warned that increased violent crimes and problems with the housing authority were “the not-so-good news.”
Bell cited improvements in Durham’s economy and image, the revitalization and development of its downtown district and its neighborhoods, and the city’s stable financial status as highlights of 2004. Bell also noted that Durham’s tax base has grown 3 percent since 2003, that construction permits increased by 25 percent in 2004 and that sales tax revenues grew by nearly 9 percent since 2003.
But Bell did not paint a perfectly rosy picture of the city. He acknowledged that crime is “perhaps the single most frustrating issue facing Durham.” In 2004, the city saw the highest incidence of homicides in five years.
Still, Bell emphasized that the city had made strides toward enhancing its crime-fighting resources. He pointed to the fact that the Durham Police Department’s clearance rate on crimes has vastly improved since 2000 and that the DPD has solved all but two of the homicides that occurred in Durham last year.
“It takes all of us working together to find solutions to this problem [of crime],” Bell said. “It is not a problem simply to be laid at the door of law enforcement. It really takes all of us.”
Bell said that curtailing gang violence would continue to be a priority of his administration and pointed to the need for more community outreach programs to combat the problem.
Furthermore, Bell noted that the majority of those committing homicides in Durham are black and under the age of 25. “On this issue we as a city cannot afford to give up,” Bell said. “We must all work together to direct our youth toward more productive activities.”
Bell also emphasized some of the projects that were “jump-starting Durham’s heartbeat.” He mentioned the continuing development at South Square, improvements at Northgate Mall and Brightleaf Square, and the long-planned American Theater for the Performing Arts.
The fiscal status of the Durham Housing Authority, however, remains a problem, Bell said. Last month, the DHA decided to hire a consulting firm to take over after its former executive director invested in a number of ventures that are still losing money.
During the public hearings the City Council held after Bell’s speech to hear comments on its proposed FY 2005-2006 budget, many speakers urged the city to provide affordable housing. Some of those who came to speak criticized the city’s funding of the proposed arts theater and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. “When people can afford housing, there is less crime,” said Anita Keith Foust of the Durham Justice and Fairness Commission.
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