No Buncombe County commissioners addressed why the subsidy was necessary for the company to make its investment during their Nov. 17 meeting. P&W is a division of Raytheon Technologies, a Fortune 50 company with approximately $10 billion in cash reserves.
According to the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County’s most recent annual report, the coalition attracted just $20 million in capital investment to Buncombe County in fiscal year 2019-20. That figure is down nearly 40% compared to the $33 million invested in fiscal 2018-19.
Board members will consider spending an additional $650,000 to connect the bridge to existing roads at the board’s regular meeting in Room 326 at 200 College St. Buncombe officials previously allocated $3 million in taxpayer money for the structure, which was started over four years ago and has yet to carry traffic over Hominy Creek.
“The recent scandals about misspent economic development funds show that the game was really to create a pool of funds, which certain officials could dip into to spend tax money for their personal benefit.”
Although County Manager Avril Pinder warned commissioners in April that her recommended budget might cause the county to dip below its policy-recommended fund balance of 15%, the projected difference between Buncombe’s assets and liabilities remains over that bar in the most recent version.
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Kit Cramer weighed in on the year’s top economic development accomplishments in Buncombe County, starting with funding progress on the Interstate 26 Connector.
ASHEVILLE, NC
Business leaders, nonprofit representatives, elected officials and political candidates from across Buncombe County gathered at the Biltmore Estate’s Lioncrest venue Wednesday, Oct. 28 for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual meeting.
They’ve heard funding requests from nonprofits and others, they’ve seen the budget draft, and they’ve considered the public comments. Now, at the Tuesday, June 16 regular meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote on the finalized budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
At the Tuesday, June 2, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting, county staff will review the proposed 2016 budget, hear an economic development proposal and discuss seeking advice on a Woodfin firing range.
When Asheville City Council voted 5-1 this week to give $90,000 to Moogfest (including $40,000 in cash), it marked the latest chapter in a long Asheville debate: Whether it’s business or festivals, who should get money from the city?
Asheville City Council passed $90,000 in incentives for Moogfest this evening, both in cash and services, with the possibility of a partnership continuing for years. However, while its proponents touted it as an important investment in the city’s future growth, one Council member asserted that it’s an unreasonable amount of taxpayer dollars to go to an event not entirely open to the public.
Budget time! Project X! All that and more at tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting. Follow live Twitter coverage here.
The uncertain budget meets the economic development project that no one can talk about. Tonight, the public gets a chance to weigh in on the city of Asheville’s proposed budget and the mysterious “Project X” at tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting.
Part of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s plans to turn the Department of Commerce into a public-private partnership that would be run like a business, Senate Bill 127 would mandate the dissolution of regional organizations like AdvantageWest and strip it of state funding. It passed a second reading in the Senate Monday night, May 13, by a 31-17 vote.a
As the local creative sector gains financial clout, tensions loom between art as a business, an economic-development tool and a means of personal expression.
Six western North Carolina nonprofits are among 28 state organizations that will share $5.85 million in grants from the N.C. Community Development Initiative over the next three years aiming to spark economic growth and job creation in some of the state’s most distressed areas.
Asheville’s creative culture fosters a lot of good business ideas, but big challenges remain to making many of those ideas come to life. That was one of the thoughts from Mark Erwin, president of Erwin Capital and a former U.S. Ambassador, as he spoke to about 375 attendees at AdvantageWest’s Nov. 19 Economic Summit. He joined a panel of three other experts in a discussion that focused on defining and cultivating business innovation. Here’s some of the highlights of what each of the panelists had to say.
AdvantageWest is hosting its annual Economic Summit this evening at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. This post features live dispatches from the event via Twitter using the hashtag, #avlbiz
A year after Linamar made headlines with the announcement that it would set up shop in Asheville, the Canadian auto-parts manufacturer is expanding, adding 250 more jobs and $75 million in facilities and equipment.
Crews were working today, April 24, on installing new steel for a tasting-room expansion at the Lexington Avenue Brewery.
(photo by Bill Rhodes)
