At Asheville City Council’s Jan. 22 meeting, Mayor Esther Manheimer said the city would re-advertise its vacant city attorney position — after she and her colleagues unanimously approved an additional $300,000 for outside legal services. The role has been filled on an interim basis by Sabrina Rockoff since the departure of Robin Currin in September.
Change proved the only constant among staff members in Asheville city government during 2018. Firings, resignations, reassignments and new hires left the city’s bureaucracy radically changed from its makeup at the start of the year.
Nearly a month after an anticipated release in late July, Asheville City Council has shared the final report from Chicago-based 21CP Solutions about the city’s policies and procedures in relation to a police beating scandal. Since April, the consulting firm has been reviewing the beating of black Asheville resident Johnnie Jermaine Rush by white former Asheville Police Department […]
In our weekly roundup of community news in brief, the Henderson County Public Schools launches a new app for reporting behavior of concern or threats.
Sen. Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville explains some of the considerations that led him to introduce a bill that would compel Asheville to institute district elections for seats on its City Council. And Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer lays out the reasons the city plans to follow a “parallel process” that may include a referendum on the issue, despite Raleigh’s insistence that the city knuckle under by Nov. 1.
Asheville voters may face an up or down vote on the city district elections plan making its way through the N.C. General Assembly. City Council accepted the advice of City Attorney Robin Currin to hold a referendum on establishing six districts for seats on the council versus the city’s current at-large election system in November.
City Council voted unanimously to deny the zoning request for a 185-room hotel at 192 Haywood St. at its Jan. 24 meeting. Police Chief Tammy Hooper gave an update on policing in the city in 2016.
At City Council’s annual retreat on Fri., Jan. 29, at noon Mayor Esther Manheimer announced that the N.C. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the city’s case opposing a state-mandated transfer of the Asheville water system’s ownership to the regional Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County.
The next shot has been fired in the long-running battle over short-term vacation rentals. A group of property owners has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the city’s prohibition on vacation rentals of less than 30 days.
For the first time in 16 years, Asheville has a new city attorney: this past week City Council appointed Robin Currin, a Raleigh attorney with particular expertise in land use and zoning law, to the job. The role is one of the most powerful positions in city government, especially in an era of frequent court battles.
Today Asheville City Council appointed Robin Currin as the new city attorney, formally swearing her in at a special meeting. Currin, a Raleigh-based attorney with experience in local government, land and zoning law, will take office on May 1. Photo by Alicia Funderburk.
