Where’s the fat in the Buncombe County budget?

The average Buncombe county family of four pays nearly $1,600 more each year in taxes and fees to Buncombe County than the average North Carolina county resident. Why is this?

In the 2011/2012 Buncombe county budget, there is a line item called “Contributions,” which is money given to outside agencies (nonprofits) through grants, contracts or assistance (your county taxpayer dollars). The problem is that this line item is significant — it amounts to over $103 million or a whooping 40 percent of our general fund expenditures. It is the single-largest budget expenditure, surpassing the cost of all Buncombe County employees’ salaries and benefits.

If, as publicly stated by the commission chairman, the countywide compensation study (which was not countywide and only included five job classifications out of hundreds) showed that Buncombe County employees are underpaid (which was not the conclusion of the study), then perhaps we need to be looking into what nonprofits are getting county money, how much money there are getting, and what are they doing with the money.

There is a reason Buncombe County is more expensive to live in than other N.C. counties. Maybe “Contributions” is part of that reason.

— Linda Southard
Candler

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Where’s the fat in the Buncombe County budget?

  1. Lnorth

    “The average Buncombe county family of four pays nearly $16,000 more each year in taxes and fees…”
    This is a type. It should be $1600.00.

  2. D. Dial

    $103,000,000!!! that’s a lot of line item money. And I know for a hard fact that they do not do proper oversight on monies allotted to various non-profits. Lotta room for shenanigans.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.