Durham County Government

It's Employee Appreciation Week at Durham County Government! Our Human Resources Department has scheduled educational, stress relieving, hunger busting, and other fun events from Oct. 13-17 for our employees to take a break from their jobs and celebrate the hard work we do each day! Today on Day 1, we held a Durham County Jeopardy contest with employees gathered in a conference room in Admin II as well as virtually via Teams. In the end, "Team Onion" aka, Department of Social Services' Malcolm Toby, came away victorious as the employee with the most #DCo knowledge! Congratulations Malcolm, who is a Community Social Services Assistant. We thank all of our nearly 2,000 employees for their dedication and hard work! #DCoRocks

Introducing the 2025 Innovate Durham Cohort!   On Wednesday, September 24, we officially launched this year’s program in partnership with Forward Cities. The kickoff event brought together our cohort of entrepreneurs, Durham County Government staff, and program facilitators for an evening of networking and collaboration.   Highlights included speed pitches from the entrepreneurs, who will spend the coming months testing their ideas, gathering data, and refining products—all with the goal of improving our services and the lives of Durham County residents. The 2025 cohort includes: Cashem Holland, Financial BOSS | Financial BOSS is a nonprofit organization that educates, empowers, and elevates children in the areas of money management and financial literacy. Cash is being championed by Durham County Library. Nijil Persaud, Novexa | Novexa is a health innovation company building healthier, more resilient communities through preventive care, sustainability, and equity. Nijil is being championed by Durham Cooperative Extension.   We’re excited to work alongside these innovators as they bring fresh perspectives and creative solutions to #DCo!

We are excited to be collaborating with these entrepreneurs as they test their new ideas at #DCo over the coming months! 

Early Voting for the 2025 Municipal Primary Election starts today, and our Board of Elections precinct officials are ready to assist you! Durham County residents can cast their ballot early at any of the five Early Voting sites: 🟢 North Regional Library, 221 Milton Road 🔵 East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Lane 🟢 South Regional Library, 4505 S. Alston Avenue 🔵 Durham County Board of Elections, 3825 S. Roxboro Street 🟢 North Carolina Central University Turner Law Building, 640 Nelson Street All Early Voting sites are open during the following dates (September 18 – October 4, 2025) and hours: 🟢 Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 🔵 Saturday, September 20,2025, and Saturday, September 27, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 🟢 Sunday, September 21, 2025, and Sunday, September 28, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 🔵 Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Check wait times at sites here: http://bit.ly/4npX0Lo Need more information on Early Voting? Go to the early voting page on the Durham County Board of Elections website at https://lnkd.in/e-hsCUiD.

This week, County Manager Claudia Odom Hager brought in Julie Parker to lead two days of Crisis Communications training with staff and leadership. In Tuesday’s session, communications staff from throughout the County participated in an interactive class on best practices for government agencies when communicating during times of crisis or calm through a transparency-focused strategy. On Wednesday, department heads met to run through mock news conference preparation for various scenarios. "Our leadership participated in a media training exercise involving real scenarios that take place everywhere in our public arena,” said Durham County Communications Chief Deborah Craig-Ray. “We appreciate how Julie Parker helped equip us with strategies to be more impactful the next time cameras and microphones appear before us.” Before forming Julie Parker Communications, Parker was an award-winning television news anchor and reporter for ABC7 News in Washington, D.C., who also served as media relations director for two of the United States’ largest police departments in Prince George’s County in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia. We thank her for coming and lending her expertise to our staff’s continuous learning and improvement!

RFP Announced for Pilot Durham County Homeless Day Shelter and Services Center. Durham County Purchasing has posted a Request for Proposals, 26-012, for a Pilot Day Shelter and Services Center. Please visit the County's bid opportunity page and follow the link to the e-bid system here: https://lnkd.in/g7kxT9_x. The closing date of this is September 25, 2025, at 2 p.m. (EST). This is an Offline Bid Process. Bids must be mailed or hand delivered to Durham County Purchasing Division at 201 East Main Street, 7th Floor, Room 703, Durham, NC 27701. Please see the Bid Schedule in the Bid Attachments for important dates. All questions must be emailed to purchasinggroup@dconc.gov. The deadline for questions to be submitted is September 16, 2025, at 3 p.m.

Durham County received two 2025 Civic Excellence in Innovation Awards during today’s opening session of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners' (NCACC) 118th annual conference at the Greenville Convention Center in Pitt County. County Commissioners Wendy Jacobs and Michelle Burton joined Eileena Boyce and Ben Helfen from the Durham County Board of Elections and Communications Chief Deborah Craig-Ray in accepting the awards for the Durham County Board of Elections “DCo Votes” Mobile Application and “Partnering for Progress: Durham County’s Spanish Language Programming.” For more information on the NCACC conference visit https://lnkd.in/ekdSWfz4 Want to download the DCo Votes App? Search for it in the Apple Store and Play Store. #localgov #govluv #Innovation #NCACC #Excellence #awards #staff #DCo #NCACC118

Durham County Purchasing has posted a Request for Qualifications, 26-006, for an Architect Design Team to work with the County to design a new fleet operations center. Please visit the County's bid opportunity page and follow the link to the e-bid system here: https://lnkd.in/g7kxT9_x The closing date of this is September 4, 2025 at 2 p.m. (EST) This is an Offline Bid Process. Bids must be mailed or hand delivered to Durham County Purchasing Division at 201 East Main Street, 7th Floor, Room 703, Durham, NC 27701. Please see the Bid Schedule in the Bid Attachments for important dates. All questions must be emailed to purchasinggroup@dconc.gov.

Cheers from the Durham County Government Public Information Office as we toast (an empty) glass for the 10th annual #CityHallSelfie Day (Remember, It’s for Counties, Too!) with our friends at ELGL: Engaging Local Government Leaders ‼ Every year we join other government agencies and our community members to celebrate public service with selfies in front of government buildings and landmarks! Feeling inspired? Snap a selfie at your favorite community place, tag us & share to show that #DCoRocks ‼💖

🚀 Innovate Durham is BACK! 🚀 Are you a startup, entrepreneur, or small business owner in Durham County with a big idea? Here’s your chance to pilot your innovation with local government! Durham County is now accepting applications for the 2025–2026 Innovate Durham Cohort! •Collaborate on real projects with local government •Showcase emerging tech and services •Gain visibility, new clients, and potential investors •Stay ahead of the curve on innovation in public service 📝 Eligibility: ✔ Must be a registered E3 Durham member: https://lnkd.in/ewswFj6g ✔ Must live or do business in Durham County 📲 Apply now: http://tiny.cc/1g1q001 Application open now through August 11, 2025. More information on Innovate Durham here: https://lnkd.in/eMMvpkTA