The Community Reparations Commission will hold their next meeting TONIGHT, Monday, December 5th, 2022, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The meeting is being held at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall at 87 Haywood Street in Asheville. The public is welcome to attend the entire session. The meeting will be recorded and streamed here.
The Buncombe County Commission meets this Tuesday, December 6th, 2022 at 5 pm. You can attend the meeting at 200 College Street, Suite 326 in downtown Asheville. You can watch the meeting online at the County’s facebook page. The full agenda is here.
URGENT
- 0 items
PROBLEMATIC
- 0 items
CONCERNS
- Reach out to City Council and County Commission about alcohol tax revenue for Reparations
- Reach out to County Commission about affordable housing goals
- Reach out to County Commission about impact of Moutain Mobility on BIPOC folks
- Reach out to County Commission about impact of COVID-19 Vaccination program on BIPOC folks
POSITIVE
- Reach out to County Commission about increasing Reparations support
EMAIL TEMPLATES
Use our prepared email templates to take action on this week’s items.
YELLOW:
Things of concern, more information needed
Alcohol Revenues for Asheville and Buncombe County
The City of Asheville and Buncombe County are seeing an increase in revenue into their general funds from alcohol sales. As described in this article, Asheville is projected to take in over $4 million this year from liquor, beer, and wine sales; Buncombe County is projected to take in almost $2 million. Both numbers have risen considerably in recent years.
We wonder what restrictions, if any, there are on the allocation of these funds. The City of Evanston, IL has tied its Reparations funding to tax revenue from cannabis sales; could Asheville and Buncombe County make a similar commitment to utilize alcohol tax revenue for reparations?
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Asheville City Council and ask them if alcohol sales tax revenue could be used to fund the City’s commitment to reparations. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov.
We also encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commission with the same question. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message on their contact page https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx.
Buncombe County Agenda – Consent: Approval of Affordable Housing Services Program Description, Requirements & Guidelines
This document represents the County’s vision for affordable housing through 2024, including objectives for different levels of affordability.
We notice that the County’s goal for deeply affordable housing – at or below 30% of Area Median Income (AMI) – is only 200 units out of a total of around 3,000. That’s just 7%. We wonder why this goal is being set so low, when this is the most vitally needed affordable housing in our community.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commissioners and the County Manager and ask them why their goal for deeply affordable housing is only 7% of the anticipated total. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message on their contact page https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx.
Buncombe County Agenda – Public Hearing: FY 2024 Annual Section 5311 Capital Grant Application
The County is seeking to renew an application for state and federal funding support of Mountain Mobility, the County’s Community Transportation System.
There is no data associated with this report to show the impact of this program. Among other things, we would like to know how often this service is used by communities of color.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commissioners and the County Manager and ask them to provide demographic data for their Mountain Mobility program. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message on their contact page https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx.
Buncombe County Agenda – New Business: Budget Amendment for Reissuance of AA716 CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program
This ordinance would authorize the acceptance of additional federal funding for the County’s “activities that focus on coordinating and expanding COVID-19 vaccine services, with an emphasis on reaching those disproportionately affected by COVID-19.”
There is no data associated with this report to show the impact of this program. Given that Black Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, we wonder how successful this program has been in reaching them, and how the County plans to continue or enhance that outreach.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commissioners and the County Manager and ask them to provide demographic data for their COVID-19 vaccination program. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message on their contact page https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx.
GREEN:
Things that sound like a step in the right direction
Buncombe County Agenda – Presentation: Fiscal Year End 2022 Audit Presentation
The County’s finances were audited by a contractor, which will be presenting their findings. The County took in $13.6 million more and spent $18.8 million less than budgeted, resulting in a $7.7 million fund balance (in contrast to the $27.7 million decrease that was projected).
We’re excited to hear that Buncombe County has millions of dollars of resources more than anticipated. Earlier this year, the County committed to a baseline yearly allocation toward Reparations of just $500,000, and it seems appropriate, in light of this positive financial news, to revise that figure upward.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commissioners and the County Manager and ask them if they are ready to make a more robust ongoing financial commitment to Reparations. You can use our template link to open up an email to adapt, copy and paste the content below, or write your own message on their contact page https://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/default.aspx.
COUNTY COMMISSION TEMPLATE TEXT
You can open this email in your own email program by clicking here. To proceed manually, you can copy and paste the text below into an email and then address it to County Manager Avril Pinder and the County Commissioners.
Send to: Avril.Pinder@buncombecounty.org, brownie.newman@buncombecounty.org, jasmine.beach-ferrara@buncombecounty.org, alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org, robert.pressley@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org
Subject: Will Buncombe County increase its financial commitment to Reparations?
Dear County Manager Pinder and County Commissioners,
I was excited to hear the news that Buncombe County has much more revenue at its disposal than was anticipated in the budget. There is also an increasing flow of tax revenue from alcohol sales. Earlier this year, the County committed to a baseline yearly allocation toward Reparations of just $500,000. In light of this positive financial news, it would seem that the County can afford to set a baseline allocation of $1 million or more for Reparations each year. Doing so would send a clear message to the Community Reparations Commission that you all are encouraging them to make bold proposals.
I also was wondering why the County’s goals for deeply affordable housing were so low, with just 7% of projected developments meeting that criteria. In addition, the County is seeking to continue funding for its Mountain Mobility and COVID-19 vaccination programs, but isn’t sharing any demographic data on how those programs are reaching communities of color. Can you seek out that information and share it?
Thanks for your leadership,
CITY COUNCIL EMAIL TEMPLATE TEXT
You can open this email in your own email program by clicking here. To proceed manually, you can copy and paste the text below into an email and then address it to City Manager Debra Campbell and the City Council.
To: AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov, dcampbell@ashevillenc.gov
Subject: Will Asheville increase its financial commitment to Reparations?
Dear City Manager Campbell and City Council Members,
I read that the City was seeing a substantial increase in tax revenue from alcohol sales, amounting to a total of over $4 million this year. The City of Evanston, IL has tied its Reparations funding to tax revenue from cannabis sales; could Asheville make a similar commitment to utilize alcohol tax revenue for Reparations? Doing so would send a clear message to the Community Reparations Commission that you all are encouraging them to make bold proposals.
Thanks for your leadership,