Candidates looking for work with Buncombe County will have one less question to answer on their application. During its Tuesday, April 19 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution, effective immediately, to remove a question about past criminal offenses on the county’s preliminary employment applications.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has a decidedly lighter agenda for its upcoming meeting compared to this month’s previous seven-hour slugfest. There are no public hearings scheduled and the four new business items don’t appear to be inherently contentious in nature when commissioners tackle the agenda on Tuesday, April 19. Among those issues are amending the budget to pay for June’s Congressional primary and consideration of removing the question regarding an candidate’s criminal past on the county’s hiring application.
Asheville based Changing Together is one of a growing number of crime deterrence programs aimed at helping felons avoid ending up back in prison. A project of The SPARC Network, a nonprofit with branches in Charlotte and Asheville, Changing Together works in partnership with local law enforcement to help offenders find work and move forward with their lives after they have completed their sentences.
City Council appointed Franzi Charen to the Downtown Commission and Barry Bialik and Laura Collins to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee at its Jan. 26 meeting. Council also passed a “Ban the Box” measure, meaning that applicants for most city positions will no longer be required to answer questions about past criminal convictions on their initial job applications.
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, City Council will take up the Ban the Box initiative for city hiring, potentially removing questions about an applicant’s past criminal history from the initial application form for certain positions. Council also will hear public comment on matters including reallocation of unused affordable housing development grant funds, an airport hotel and a controversial apartment complex proposed for Mills Gap Road.
