Durham City Council
This election, three constitutional amendments appear on the ballot for all voters, and the Durham City Council wants people to vote against all of them.
Late Monday night, the council unanimously approved a resolution urging residents to reject the three proposed amendments, arguing they could limit government revenue options and make it harder to respond to local needs.
If passed, the amendments would:
Cap the state income tax at 3.5%,
Require the General Assembly to limit how much local governments can increase property-tax revenue
Require photo identification from all voters, including those voting absentee
The council says the tax measures could constrain funding for services and investments in schools, public safety, roads, affordable housing and infrastructure. Durham Mayor Leo Williams said the point of the resolution is to get “the word out across the state as much as possible.”
“I hope that North Carolina votes no on these constitutional amendments. I want to be very clear about that,” he said during the meeting. “We don’t govern in resolution, but, you know, some things that are regarding city business, we try to you know just at least position our stance on things.”