At Asheville City Council’s retreat earlier this month, the biggest news was a paper written by the city staff’s managers and department heads that said the level of service in Asheville will depend on securing new forms of revenue or seeking out partnerships with other public or private organizations to accomplish its goals.
Titled “Asheville, NC 2010: A financial crossroads,” the paper says that the city’s reliance on property taxes for half of its operating revenue is unsustainable.
A discussion on the topic was scheduled for the retreat on January 8 and 9, but with time running tight on the retreat’s final day, Council decided to move the discussion to a work session on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
According to a report from City Manager Gary Jackson, staff will propose to Council a series of public-input meetings and sit-downs with Buncombe County Commissioners, state legislators and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce to weigh options.
Asheville City Council will hold a work session on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 5 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room of City Hall.
— Brian Postelle, staff writer
WOW, – does this mean that we are focusing on fiscal security, or shall I use the term SUSTAINABILITY? Let’s start by having Brownie Newman recuse himself from pushing forward his green agenda, and wasting our tax dollars on helping his business find new funding. He has a financial interest in GREEN TECHNOLOGY and will directly profit from his proposed ideas. Does anyone see this as a conflict of interest???
Even in the face of civic fiscal insecurity, Brownie and Cecil are STILL only interested in global sustainability…
Fiscal sustainability is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than becoming energey independent right now. Education of our children is far more important than energy independence. Feeding the hungry is more important than another bus, bus route, or GPS tracking of the buses. Wake up.
Maybe Asheville is realizing that electing people with ZERO business acumen is not fiscally prudent. Your tax base is dwindling and you have been ‘progrssively’ creating an anti-business climate. WHEN was the last time you have seen a BIG business locate their headquarters here, expand inside the city limits, or announce new high paying jobs coming to town. Nothing but low paying service jobs. And apparrently, green jobs are coming. And waht did the ‘energy independence’ document state that 50 million dollar investment created 300 jobs??? Fuzzy math.
Quit comparing us to Boulder, Berkley, or other cities which have high paying jobs or a higher tax base. And PLEASE stop trying to use their examples to tout the successes of your energey independence plans. These cities have had NO TIME to really prove out the ideas, when in fact most of these programs have been around less than one year, and have not begin to payback.
Can anyone tell us what the unemployment rate is for the city of Asheville these days? Can anyone tell us what the statistics of tourism has been in 2009 compared over a 5 year period? Ask around, everyone’s business is down, except those receiving stimulus money.
Carl Mumpower is surely missed, and with the benefits of hindsight, right on the money. MY MONEY. Time to stand on your own feet, without the Government ninny…
Come on Mayor, take charge and lead the way out. Your track record has shown prudence in the face of challenges. Keep up the good work.
The Asheville Energy Independence Initiative is a revenue neutral voluntary program that will create jobs, reduce energy demand, and save all participants money.
You can see a powerpoint about the programs here: http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2010/01/11/job-growth-and-energy-independence/