Update: Buncombe County Commissioners meeting on budget requests canceled

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has started the budget process for next fiscal year. During its meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 46 nonprofits asked to be a part of that budget.

UPDATE: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioner’s workshop for 9 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 17, has been canceled due to the potentially dangerous weather expected through the night. The workshop will be rescheduled. Check here for updates on the meeting’s status or follow the Board on Twitter at @BuncombeGov.


Forty-five local nonprofits are scheduled to present budget requests before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Feb. 17, for the 2016 fiscal year. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. rather than 4:30 p.m. to budget time for thorough discussion.

The combined list of requests — which, if approved as-is, would cost the county $4.2 million — must be finalized and approved by the Board before the start of the fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Last year, 48 nonprofits requested funds from Buncombe County, totaling $6.6 million dollars. After a 5-2 vote in July, the commissioners approved a budget, granting $2.3 million to these organizations — just more than one-third of the money requested and less than one percent of the $368 million operating budget as a whole.

Asking for the biggest chunk of the budget is the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, the Asheville Area Chamber, the Pack Square Cultural Partnership, Pisgah Legal Services and Homeward Bound of WNC.

These five groups make up about half ($2.2 million) of the $4.2 million in budget requests.

ABCCM is requesting $600,000 for its Transformation Village, an initiative to provide homeless women and their children a stable and healthy living environment while teaching them skills to become self-sufficient. The ministry is also requesting $164,280 for Our Circle, a network of support for under-resourced families, and $50,000 for Community Service Navigators.

Asheville Area Chamber is requesting $500,000 for its Economic Development Coalition, a strategy for economic growth in the Asheville area with five target clusters: advanced manufacturing, science and technology, healthcare, arts and culture and entrepreneurship.

The Pack Square Cultural Partnership is asking for $415,000 for maintenance and operations support. Pisgah Legal Services is requesting $247,500 for the Child and Family Protection and Self-Sufficiency Project. And Homeward Bound of WNC asks for $130,000 for AHOPE Day Center and another $50,000 for Project Rebound, providing substance abuse and mental health treatment.

Following the budget requests, the majority of the Board members plan to attend the funeral of Minnie Jones, local civil rights activist and advocate for affordable health care. Jones died early Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Click here for the meeting’s agenda.

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 Hayley Benton
Current freelance journalist and artist. Former culture/entertainment reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times and former news reporter at Mountain Xpress. Also a coffee drinker, bad photographer, teller of stupid jokes and maker-upper of words. I can be reached at hayleyebenton [at] gmail.com. Follow me @HayleyTweeet

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.

One thought on “Update: Buncombe County Commissioners meeting on budget requests canceled

Leave a Reply to Fremont V. Brown III ×

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.