“So when the choice is between crazy and evil, which is the best choice I have ever seen on a ballot without my own name on it, voting for the nutcase is the easy choice.”
Tag: Asheville City Council
Showing 694-714 of 1645 results
Asheville sets property tax rate, passes budget
At its June 13 meeting, Asheville City Council adopted its 2017-18 fiscal year budget, which sets a property tax rate of 42.89 cents per $100 of taxable property value and includes funding for 15 new police officers to create a dedicated downtown police unit, as well as $630,000 for expanding the city’s transit system.
Asheville City Council to vote on budget
Asheville City Council will vote on the city’s 2017-18 budget for the fiscal year that will begin July 1. New pedestrian safety measures for Fairview Road, an affordable housing development on city-owned land and a strategy aimed at allowing Asheville residents to control the method used for electing representatives to City Council are also on the agenda for the Tuesday, June 13 meeting.
Climate change, aging infrastructure and rapid development fuel Asheville stormwater woes
A changing climate, aging infrastructure and rapid rates of development are contributing to a rising tide of stormwater problems in Asheville. But responsibility for stormwater infrastructure often rests with private property owners, complicating the process of planning and paying for fixes.
Activists speak out against proposed police department expansion
Activists dominated the May 23 public hearing on Asheville’s proposed 2017-18 fiscal year budget. The group $1 Million for the People opposes Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper’s request for $1 million in additional funding to hire 15 new officers for a new downtown policing unit.
Public to weigh in on Asheville budget Tuesday, May 23
Asheville City Council will hold a budget worksession at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23. Immediately after the worksession, Council will hold its regular meeting at 5 p.m. During the regular meeting, Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed city budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Letter: Williams asking for more accountability in city government
“In addition to pushing to lower APD’s racial disparity in police stops, Dee Williams on City Council will bring sanity to local politics and make racial and economic justice some of her top priorities.”
Letter: Starvation wages, urban renewal and gerrymandering
“Indeed, policies are still in place actively working against the formation of new communities ā zoning rules that forbid local shops that could serve as neighborhood hubs, lot size restrictions that might work for the suburbs, but which result in a farcically low population density in a city; a lack of sidewalks that means you may have to take your life in your hands just to go check up on a neighbor.”
Asheville Council closes in on city budget
At its May 9 meeting, Asheville City Council grappled with the challenge of creating a city budget in a time of plenty. “Oddly,” said Mayor Esther Manheimer, this year’s budgeting process has been more difficult than during the recession. Council asked City Manager Gary Jackson to tweak his proposal to achieve a property tax rate that reflects a revenue-neutral rate plus 3.5 cents to pay for interest on the city’s $74 million bond program.
Letter: City should require apartments to provide recycling
‘I wish Asheville would make providing recycling for renters mandatory. … Iām sure many of the thousands of renters who do not now recycle would if it were convenient.”
City budget and policing on tap for May 9 session of Asheville Council
If you want to attend Asheville City Council’s May 9 meeting, arrive early. Between a response from the Police Department to a recent report on racial disparities in policing to the first presentation of the city manager’s proposed budget for the 2017-18 Fiscal Year, there’s a lot on the agenda that could be of interest to a variety of city residents and advocates.
Lines in the sand: Fight brews over Asheville districts
Sen. Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville explains some of the considerations that led him to introduce a bill that would compel Asheville to institute district elections for seats on its City Council. And Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer lays out the reasons the city plans to follow a “parallel process” that may include a referendum on the issue, despite Raleigh’s insistence that the city knuckle under by Nov. 1.
Letter: Turn city lot entirely into a park
“City Council members Brian Haynes and Cecil Bothwell have the right idea ā turn the vacant, city-owned parcel fronting St. Lawrence Basilica and the U.S. Cellular Center entirely into a park.”
Asheville traffic stop data show racial inequities
Data reported to the State Bureau of Investigation by the Asheville Police Department reveal significant racial disparities in traffic stops, an attorney for the Southern Coalition of Social Justice told Asheville City Council on April 24. And even though the data are disturbing, they may not tell the full story: An analysis revealed an apparent failure to report data for 58 percent of audited traffic stops, despite a state law requires police departments to provide demographic data for all stops.
Asheville voters could choose: Council districts or status quo?
Asheville voters may face an up or down vote on the city district elections plan making its way through the N.C. General Assembly. City Council accepted the advice of City Attorney Robin Currin to hold a referendum on establishing six districts for seats on the council versus the city’s current at-large election system in November.
Homestay short-term rentals return to City Council agenda April 25
Discussions on whether and how Asheville should regulate short-term lodging in residential neighborhoods will return to City Council on Tuesday, April 25.
Letter: No mystery in bypassing City Council
“People contacted [former Sen. Tom] Apodaca initially, and now Mr. Edwards, because they no longer expect those who destroy their quality of life to have any interest in restoring it. We’ve seen this before during City Council’s forced annexation crusade.”
Letter: Park is not a four-letter word
“The ‘citizen’ task force process was a farce. Council did not need this task force. There are 12 years of documented public support for green space, not more commercial development.”
$7 million in grants, incentives on commissioners’ agenda
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners may be in for a long night when it confronts a full agenda at its Tuesday, April 18, meeting. Commissioners will hear presentations for two grant requests totaling $6.2 million, and consider approval of an economic development incentive package worth $881,960. Commissioners will also hold public hearings on two […]
City launches district election referendum push
Despite confusing and contradictory results from a poll designed to measure voter preferences on how Ashevillians elect their representatives to City Council, Council decided on April 11 to take steps toward placing a referendum on instituting district elections on November’s ballots.
Council to puzzle over district election survey results
Asheville City Council will consider the results of a poll that show 54 percent of city voters support keeping elections for the Council as they are now ā and the same percentage would vote yes to change them if asked by a referendum. Council meets at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11 at 5 p.m. At 3 p.m., Council will hold its final work session dedicated to the 2017-18 fiscal year budget.