The proposal also includes small raises for city employees, but some argued that it doesn't go far enough.
Some city workers told ABC11 that without more money, they're going to struggle to get by.
Ferguson admitted that this was a tough cycle, with less money coming in and costs going up.
"Our General Fund revenues are smaller than last year's," Ferguson said. "No City administration in recent memory - and no City Council - has built a budget under these circumstances. While this creates a difficult reset this year, we expect revenue growth to resume in future years once this one-time adjustment is behind us."
The proposed budget totals $766.1 million, compared to $722.2 million last year. But the $326 million General Fund, which is the core of the City's operating budget, is smaller than last year by $489,000.
The zero increase in property tax rates is significant, but many city workers are facing no step increases and just a 2% raise. And water and sewer rates will go up 12%.
"We have a lot of work to do, and we are doing an impossible, impossible deck of cards here," said Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams.
That impossible deck of cards includes more property re-evaluations successfully appealed, meaning less revenue than the city thought, fuel costs going up, and inflation.
Despite that, city leaders said they're trying to keep services going.
"We are protecting essential services. We are delivering critical infrastructure," Ferguson said. "And, we are doing all of this without a proposed property tax rate increase."
But that came at a cost, namely the modest raises for city workers.
"We've got a lot of young firefighters that are here," said Jason Davis, of Professional Firefighters of Durham. "And I don't know if half of them will be here next year, because they can't afford to work for the city anymore."
Merit-based step-pay increases that firefighters were asking for are gone from the budget.
"That's what we earned. And we're not getting that. It's like a slap in the face again," Davis said.
And this comes after years without those step-ups post-COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm essentially three years behind where these pay studies say I should be, because I have missed three years, three years out of seven of my 5% merit raises at this point," said Meredith Carter, also with Professional Firefighters of Durham.
The City said it would launch a classification and compensation study to "ensure pay structures remain sustainable and in line with the market."
It wasn't just city workers; city residents were ready to make a racket when it came to parks.
"Yeah, well, it seems like there are some reductions in the overall budget by about five of us who are here just to make sure that they saw the Durham residents use the tennis courts very frequently," said Brett Phillips, a Bull City resident. "We don't want to have to drive to Cary to Chapel Hill to use tennis courts."
The official budget proposal is open to discussion. Some in the Bull City are hoping changes can be made.
"Just to look over it again and just know that for the folks who are making 50, 60, $70,000, a 2% pay raise in the midst of this inflation, it's just, it's going to cause us to have to make very difficult choices, and it can be very stressful," said Wilma Oliver, a Durham city employee.
The budget also eliminates nine positions, four of which are vacant. The remaining five workers have been notified of the job loss, Ferguson said, and he noted that the City is assisting them in exploring other job opportunities.
"These decisions are never easy," Ferguson said. "But they represent a very small portion of our nearly 3,000-person workforce and reflect our commitment to using resources wisely while maintaining essential services."
The public will have time to weigh in on the proposed budget in the next few weeks. The next public hearing on the budget is June 1.