Author: Hallee Haygood

Hallee Haygood is an intern with the City of Durham's Budget & Management Services Department. She is currently a dual degree student in the Public Administration and City & Regional Planning programs, with a focus on local government and community development. Before starting at UNC-Chapel Hill she earned a dual undergraduate degree in Political Science and Ethics & Public Policy from the University of Iowa. Going forward, she looks forward to learning more about municipal budgeting and applying what she has learned in her first-year to the field.
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Week 1: Greetings from the City of Durham!

Hello there! For those of you who may not know me, my name is Hallee Haygood and I just finished my first-year of the MPA Program. As a dual degree student with the City & Regional Planning Program this means that I am 1/3 of the way done.  And with that, it is now time for my professional work experience.

My job will be as a Budget & Management Intern with the City of Durham, in their Budget & Management Services Department. For me, as someone who hopes to work in a municipal budget office after graduation, this opportunity is ideal. The projects that I will be working on and blogging about this summer, are:

  1. Creation of the FY 2020 budget document
  2. An analysis of historical sales tax and property tax revenue
  3. Durham’s new participatory budgeting, or PB, process
  4. Durham’s Strategy and Performance (DSAP) meetings
  5. Process improvement projects with operational departments

My first week has been off to a great start. Upon arriving, my desk was covered in Parks & Recreation themed decorations. A photo of my desk can be seen below. Thus far I have spent my time learning the ins and the outs of the budget process for Durham. My first project will be working on compiling historical local option sales tax data.

And the rest of the week I have the opportunity to attend the Engaging Local Government Leaders, or ELGL, Conference! The conference is in Durham, which will allow me to learn even more about the city where I’m working. It will also be a unique opportunity to learn about trends in the field, and what practices I can put to use after graduation. Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to updating you more next week!