The presentation will provide the first look at how the updated ordinance, which was implemented roughly one year ago this month, is working.

The presentation will provide the first look at how the updated ordinance, which was implemented roughly one year ago this month, is working.
The city’s Minority or Woman Business Enterprise Certification, a process that officially went into effect on Jan. 1, is designed to help entrepreneurs build their businesses and get more opportunities for government contracts.
On Tuesday, Jan. 8, Council will hold a public hearing on how to reallocate nearly $1.4 million in HOME funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Two other public hearings concern conditional zoning modifications for residential developments, including a 137-acre project on Ferry Road.
Asheville has gotten whiter over the past two decades. The proportion of African-American residents in the city dropped from 17.6 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2016, a change city officials attribute to a combination of white influx and black exodus. For the people of color who remained in Asheville, 2018 proved a mixed bag.
Businesses owned by white women and by Hispanic people of both genders fared well in terms of city contracting awards 2012-2017, according to draft results of a new study of minority contracting disparities in Asheville. But businesses owned by Native, Asian and black Americans did much worse, with
To boost participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in contracting opportunities with local government agencies, both the city of Asheville and Buncombe County provide programs to support those business owners in achieving certification and pursuing contracts.