“This may hurt some feelings, but you can no longer operate the city of Asheville like it’s the Oprah Winfrey talk show, where you get a car and you get a car,” said Council member Keith Young, referencing the daytime TV host’s famous giveaways. “As much as we love all these programs and trying to help the public good… this is the time to close the bank.”
At City Council’s Nov. 13 budget work session, four department directors spoke about their troubles with obtaining bids on service and construction contracts, recruiting qualified employees and retaining current staff. Burgeoning activity in other parts of the economy, they said, had created stiff competition for workers.
Offered in response to public demand for greater transparency in the city’s finances, the work sessions allow each governmental department to explain how it uses its portion of more than $180 million in spending. The sessions also provide a forum for Council members to seek information on specific budget items, such as Pack Square Park maintenance.
Beginning Aug. 28 and continuing through Tuesday, Dec. 11, a series of monthly meetings will explain to City Council members and the public how Asheville allocates over $180 million to provide a range of services. The first session set the general context for the budget through a discussion of community demographics and major city revenue streams.
A day after students at Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools return to their studies, Asheville City Council is scheduled to brush up on its own ABCs — as well as its AAs, BBs, and CCs. The consent agenda for Council’s upcoming regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 5 p.m. in council Chambers exhausts the standard alphabet, forcing three entries to take on double letters in a collection of 29 items.
No additional changes made their way into this year’s budget as Council decided to adopt the ordinance in a 4-3 vote. Mayor Esther Manheimer, Vice-Mayor Gwen Wisler, and Council members Vijay Kapoor and Julie Mayfield all voted in support of the budget. Members Brian Haynes, Sheneika Smith and Keith Young voted against the plan; all three had shown hesitation about a police funding increase during previous work sessions.
Two weeks before the Fourth of July, the meeting’s agenda promises a grand finale of rhetorical explosions over two matters of unfinished business. The first is the Asheville city budget, which Council member Brian Haynes has said he will not support as long as it contains funding for additional officers to staff the Asheville Police Department’s downtown district. The second is a series of resolutions to rescind and replace the three motions on police policy previously proposed by Young and passed by Council on May 22.
On Tuesday, June 19, Council will put the result of its planning process to the test as its members vote to adopt the proposed budget. The document must account for $180,388,554 in spending, enough to fund the current work of over 1,200 employees and invest millions in the city’s future.
City residents will comment on Asheville’s $180 million spending plan at Council’s regular meeting in council Chambers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22. Police equity concerns and Strategic Partnership Fund grants are also on the agenda.
For now, the work sessions and haggling are over. Interim City Manager Cathy Ball will present the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018-19 to Asheville City Council and the public at Council’s regular meeting in Council Chambers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15. The document reflects Council’s consensus on issues such as parking […]
In a move estimated to yield an additional $800,000 of annual revenue, Council unanimously decided to provide free parking at city parking decks only for vehicles that exit within one hour.
Asheville City Council will pull a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 24, as it grapples with how to address a projected deficit of $2.2 million for the budget for fiscal year 2018-19, which begins on July 1. The Council begins at 3 p.m. with a budget work session in the First Floor North Conference Room of […]
At its June 14 meeting, City Council will vote on Asheville’s municipal budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Council will also hear an update on the I-26 Connector project and will consider a rezoning request related to a proposed 290-unit apartment development off of Long Shoals Road.
Asheville City Council passed the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget yesterday that increases property taxes and fees for municipal services. The budget also gives raises to city employees. Council voted 6-1 to approve the budget, with Council member Chris Pelly voting against.
On March 16, I had a letter published in favor of North Carolina’s annexation code and encouraging Asheville’s continuation in the battle to incorporate Biltmore Lake [“You May Need Annexation as Much as It Needs You,” Xpress]. My family has lived in North Carolina for several generations. In that time, it has evolved from the […]
The national economy is taking a dump, and the detritus is affecting not only financial institutions, investors and taxpayers, but also the city of Asheville.
Council is heading into the budget-writing homestretch.
