Durham City Council October 5, 2026

At its October 5, 2026 meeting, the Durham City Council approved a renewal of state lobbying services with Checkmate Government Relations LLC, for an amount not to exceed $480,000. The motion passed 4–3, with Council Members Baker, Burris, and Cook voting no. Discussion focused on the contract’s cost, perceived return on investment, the firm’s political relationships, and the difficulty of measuring lobbying results. Council members called for closer monitoring, more regular updates to the full council, and research comparing lobbying costs among similarly sized municipalities; no performance metrics were added to the contract during the meeting. The council also approved federal lobbying services with the Ferguson Group LLC for up to $346,000, unanimously.

The consent agenda passed unanimously and included additional procurement and infrastructure matters: a change order for custom fire trucks; a parking-facility structural maintenance design amendment; a contract for a compensation and classification study; bus mobile-ticketing software and hardware; a purchase contract with Gillig LLC for eight Go Durham buses; an engineering-services amendment for water, sewer, and stormwater work; and a construction award to TA Loving Company for the Elizabeth Street Water Replacement Project. The transcript did not state amounts for these consent items. The council also approved two annexation and development-related agenda items, including one allowing a project of up to 200 residential units; these were land-use approvals rather than procurement actions.