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.
ASHEVILLE, NC
Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson has undertaken a major staff reorganization: Three senior staff members will oversee “functional groupings” that put multiple, related departments under one umbrella, and a new “general services” department will oversee building and vehicle maintenance. Jackson claims the changes will make for better coordination and efficiency,
Some of the biggest news in city government this week isn’t happening at Asheville City Council’s formal meeting, but at a presentation to the Finance Committee at 2 p.m. this afternoon. There, staff will lay out the effects of rising property values in the city, and the details of Council’s challenges will become more clear.
Firefighters and police packed Asheville City Council chambers on May 22 to demand a higher raise, Council had one of the most heated budget debates in years, and an unexpected property tax increase came within one vote of passing.
As the city of Asheville begins deciding what it will and won’t spend money on in the coming year, staff has presented a menu of budget options, putting a price tag on everything from Sunday bus service ($190,000 a year) to a raise for city staff ($460,000).
Xpress has obtained 270 emails from city of Asheville staff concerning Occupy Asheville. The emails reveal law enforcement considering their approach to (and surveillance of) the protests as well as city staff and Occupy representatives debating freedom of assembly, among other things. These emails are available to the public in a searchable database.
photo by Bill Rhodes
“We’ll freely admit we don’t know everything. And if something new comes out, we have to be ready, because we’re going to see it in Asheville—that’s the kind of builders we have here.” So said Building Safety Director Robert Griffin on June 12, seeking to give his listeners a snapshot of the challenges his department […]
