Asheville announces series of educational budget worksessions

Press release from the City of Asheville:

Asheville City Council finalized and adopted 2018-2019 Fiscal Year Budget in June. Now City staff are looking ahead to the 2019-2020 budget with rollout of an enhanced budget communication process for City Council and all residents.

Want to dive into City finances and how they are allocated? Attend monthly budget worksessions scheduled during the next five months. The first one happens Aug. 28. See the full schedule below.

All sessions will be begin at 3 p.m. in Council Chambers, second floor of City Hall. And they will be broadcast in real time on the City’s livestream channel at this link. In addition, each session will be archived on the City’s YouTube channel, the same as the City Council meetings.

Putting City finances into context

One goal of the worksessions is to provide context to the public about the many services paid for by tax dollars, both externally facing (such as Sanitation) and internal (such as Human Resources) and how they work together. Staff will highlight departmental challenges and opportunities, discuss City operations and identify key resources required to deliver City services. 

The information provided will include a focused look at each department’s programs, level of service, budget, staffing, partnerships and goals.

Residents are encouraged to attend the worksessions to hear information on how taxpayers dollars are being put to work for the community. 

In addition to these worksessions, community engagement around the budget process is being designed and will be launched at a later date. 

The schedule

The schedule of departmental presentations is listed below, and all supporting information will be uploaded five days prior to each session on a dedicated webpage. Again, all sessions begin at 3 p.m. in Council Chambers, second floor of City Hall, and will be broadcast in real time on the City’s livestream channel.

Aug. 28, topics to include:

·         Community profile

·         Budget summary

·         General Fund revenue Details

·         Adm/Internal Audit

·         Council

·         Legal

·         City Clerk

·         Sustainability

·         Equity

Sept. 25, topics to include:

·         Fire

·         Human Resources

·         Parks & Recreation

·         Communication & Public Engagement

·         Planning & Urban Design

Oct. 23, topics to include:

·         Police

·         Information Technology

·         Finance

·         Non-departmental

Nov. 13, topics to include:

·         General Services

·         Capital Projects

·         Public Works

·         Development Services

Dec. 11, topics to include:

·         Transportation

·         Community & Economic Development

·         Water Resources

·         Wrap up / summary 

We look forward to sharing operational information with the people we serve!

Questions? Contact City Budget Manager Tony McDowell at 828-259-5635 or tmcdowell@ashevillenc.gov.