Letter: City Council should focus on more urgent priorities

Graphic by Lori Deaton

According to an article in the Mountain Xpress, “Campbell Discusses Next Steps on Asheville Street Renaming, Police Budget” [Jan. 20], it appears that “ranking high among” the Asheville City Council’s priorities for 2021 are:

1. Reducing the police budget. Is this a good idea? Asheville is in the top 10% of U.S. cities for high crime and is second worse for crime among large cities in North Carolina. Additionally, there is a racial disparity, with seven out of the nine Asheville homicides in 2020 impacting the minority communities (while 84% of the community is white).

2. Renaming Asheville streets that are named after documented slaveholders. “City staff have identified 120 streets that share the name of a documented slaveholder.” This appears to be both time-consuming and costly, not only to the city but also to businesses. As businesses point out, the rebranding and change to their marketing materials will be costly.

3. Removal of the Vance Monument. This includes a task force and bids from companies regarding the cost to remove; consequently the expense will not be immaterial.

I would have thought that it would be more advantageous for the City Council to redirect the resources and money that are being used on the street renaming and Vance monument removal projects to address more immediate issues caused by the pandemic:

1. Vaccine distribution. In particular, providing education and information to the minority community to help reduce the reluctance regarding taking the vaccine. Also, helping lower-income communities with limited access to health care, Wi-Fi and internet to apply for vaccine appointments.

2. Economic hardship caused by the pandemic. Help those in financial hardship due to loss of employment by providing rent and mortgage subsidies to avoid an eviction crisis later in the year. Also, support restaurants, music and arts businesses by providing support with rent and business loans.

In summary, it appears that there are more urgent priorities for the City Council to focus on and better usages of city funds.

— Cliff Moss
Asheville

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 Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

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.

2 thoughts on “Letter: City Council should focus on more urgent priorities

  1. Enlightened Enigma

    Current cadre of city council lacks uber important LEADERSHIP, more than any other council ever. So much democrackkk agenda evils within them. Again, WHY are so many democrackkk led cities in America in shambles ? WHY do democrackkks exhibit no Contitutional leadership skills ? WHAT is their problem ?

    • James

      Shall we compare the quality of life in Asheville with places like West Virginia or even rural or GOP-run towns in North Carolina that are dying? Or are you unhappy with how much of our tax dollars are used to subsidize GOP voting areas’ healthcare, infrastructure, K-12 education, military funding etc etc etc? If you are so unhappy here in Asheville no one is stopping you from moving to some white-supremacist wonderland like Russia.

Leave a Reply to Enlightened Enigma ×

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.