The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted 6-0 on June 18 to approve a $440 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2024-25. Chair Brownie Newman said the decision to raise taxes is not easy, and this was the toughest budget season he’s been through in his 12 years on the commission.
“As other Asheville firefighters have done, many of them will have to find higher-paying jobs in their chosen craft in another community or make a complete career switch.”
Roughly 86% of Asheville Police officers live outside of the city limits, according to Asheville Police Department spokesman Samantha Booth.
“But I watched this little city that I loved transform by the spending of millions on tourism and catering to all things tourist-oriented.”
Asheville Food and Beverage United seeks to interrupt “the abusive culture that just keeps being perpetuated,’” explains Jen Hampton, the union’s lead organizer. Her work in the service industry spanned over 30 years, with the last 16 in Asheville.
“As a professional educator with a college degree, will she be able to purchase the house in: (A) five years, (B) 10 years, (C ) 15 years or (D) never?”
“It is embarrassing how low teacher pay is in North Carolina and especially Asheville with the higher cost of living.”
“I applaud the raise in pay. The cost of living is outrageous for all and especially those paying for those who do not need assistance, just lazy.”
“It’s infuriating to see so many people complain about lack of affordable housing and then in the same conversation oppose new developments.”
Many issues are close to Vicki Meath’s heart. She has spent her life in community organizing, working on environmental justice with Western Colorado Congress and striving to raise Ohio’s minimum wage with Cleveland Jobs With Justice. In 2010, she joined Just Economics of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit that advocates for a living wage, as […]
“This kind of denial of how tourism has negatively impacted people who live here will only infuriate them more.”
“As real estate prices climb and cost of living goes up and up, the only solution is to pay workers more.”
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
“They are smart to leave for a more affordable area and will continue to be able to sell at galleries around the country, but Asheville has lost out.”
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Asheville, NC
Surrounded by mountains and crammed into a 45-square-mile valley, the city of Asheville is bursting at the seams, suffering from a severe housing shortage, skyrocketing rents and home prices, overcrowded streets with no place to park, and an abundance of lower-paying, tourism-based jobs.
The North Carolina Justice Center has released economic snapshots for the last two years for many of the state’s counties. Buncombe’s reveals lower-than-average unemployment but a tough rental market, below-average wages and high cost-of-living.
