Government Affairs Update: City of Raleigh Budget, Dix Park, and Downtown Safety

The City of Raleigh invites you to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our city by participating in Listening Sessions for the FY25 Budget, where staff aim to provide an overview of how the budget process works and foster discussion around business community priorities. One feature of these sessions is an activity where attendees will participate in a voting process to directly influence the allocation of resources by choosing projects they believe should be funded in the FY25 budget.
 
To get involved, please sign up for a Listening Session using this registration link.
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In-Person Listening Sessions:

• Thursday, October 19, 6 – 7:30 p.m., District E Glen Eden Park Community Center
• Tuesday, October 24, 6 – 7:30 p.m., “Budget & Brews!” at Trophy Brewing on Morgan Street

 
Virtual Listening Sessions:

• Saturday, October 21, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday, October 21, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
• Monday, October 23, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 25, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, October 26, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
• Thursday, October 26, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

​Time for a humble brag: thanks to the work of the Raleigh Chamber and area businesses helping pass the City of Raleigh Parks Bond in 2022, the City is getting to determine how best to physically shape Dorothea Dix Park to serve our residents and maximize its impact on our quality of life. This week, the Council heard from City staff and Dix Park Conservancy members on some proposed improvements, including removing 50+ buildings to make way for more green space and future infrastructure to improve the park’s programming and amenities.

They also discussed creating a Municipal Service District, (called an MSD,) around the park that would levy an additional tax on nearby businesses and (non-single-family) properties to create services that otherwise don’t exist. If that sounds familiar, it’s exactly how the Downtown Raleigh Alliance is run, and the idea is the same: local businesses and property owners fund services that enhance the area and benefit the city as a whole by boosting the area’s attractiveness.
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The Council already has many questions on how all of this will be implemented, but the conversation can happen at all thanks to the people of Raleigh overwhelmingly approving the parks bond last year. It’s just another example of how the Chamber is working to make sure our quality of life remains one of the best in the nation.

As we’ve touched on before, downtown safety, (and the perception of it,) are a major concern for the Chamber as we continue to position Raleigh as a vibrant and safe place for people to live, work and play. On Tuesday, October 17, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance held a community meeting with the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) where some important news was shared.
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1. Drop-in “day shelters” will be coming online in early November, where persons experiencing homelessness will be able to find shelter during daylight hours. Currently, Raleigh only has shelters at night, so those who aren’t actively working with social services often have nowhere to go except public spaces. This will give those individuals somewhere to go and provide another potential point of contact for government and nonprofit organizations to interact with them.
2. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance will be contracting with a private security firm to provide additional personnel who will work with and under RPD to provide additional oversight of public spaces and resources for RPD officers. Unarmed private security will run from October 31, 2023 through June 30, 2024, operating from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

The City will be implementing a new program where participating businesses will be able to voluntarily share their security footage on an ongoing basis with RPD, expanding the City’s ability to watch more areas with less personnel, and track hotspots as they develop. Currently, footage can only be shared on an as-needed basis, so setting up a permanent data-sharing system will speed up law enforcement significantly.

To learn more about our GA priorities you can visit our webpage.