Group: Durham Incentives Plan Working, Still Room for Improvement

Durham Congregations, Associations, and Neighborhoods (C.A.N.) partnered with UNC to research the implications of public incentives.

According to the group, the county has agreed to more than $18 million in incentives over the past 10 years. Those deals include bringing more than 4,000 jobs to Durham.

The group said the city and county are doing a good job, but there is room for improvement.

"We want to open up the incentive-granting process to public review and accountability. We want to ask firms to commit to first-source hiring agreements to create employment and job training opportunities for Durham residents," said Ann Stack, of C.A.N. "We want to expand the livable wage to more workers in the developed properties of downtown Durham.

"We want to explore transportation options for getting Durham residents to distant and downtown job sites. We want to secure high-quality affordable child care onsite," Stack said.

Stack also said the group is calling for the expansion of local and construction jobs and career ladders through formal apprenticeships and mentoring programs.