The Buncombe County Commission meets this Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 at 5 pm. You can attend the meeting at 200 College Street, Room 326 in downtown Asheville. You can watch the meeting online via Buncombe County’s Facebook page. The full agenda is here.
URGENT
- 0 Items
PROBLEMATIC
- 1 Item
EMAIL TEMPLATE
Use our prepared email template to take action on this week’s item.
RED:
Things that seem problematic
Buncombe County Commission Agenda: New Business – Board Meeting Time/Schedule Change (Document)
The Buncombe County Commission is considering a scheduling change. They currently meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5 pm. Starting in August, they would meet at 10 am on the first Tuesday of each month; the meeting on the third Tuesday would remain at 5 pm.
We have serious concerns about this proposed scheduling change. Shifting one of the two County Commission meetings to the morning will make it almost impossible for many working people to attend. Participation and input will skew even more toward those in our community with the privilege of flexible work schedules, a population that is disproportionately white. We strive to produce GAP Reports like this one on Monday evenings, which allows community members a full business day to take action before the County Commission meeting the next day; this schedule change significantly shrinks that window of opportunity, and thereby limits the amount of input Buncombe County can receive before making critical decisions.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to the Buncombe County Commission and ask them to reconsider the proposed change to their meeting schedule.
You can (a) use our County Commission template link to open up an email you can adapt, (b) copy and paste the content below this chart into an email, or (c) write your own message to brownie.newman@buncombecounty.org, jasmine.beach-ferrara@buncombecounty.org, alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org, martin.moore@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org
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 the addresses listed.
Send to: brownie.newman@buncombecounty.org, jasmine.beach-ferrara@buncombecounty.org, alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org, martin.moore@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org
Subject: Proposed Meeting Schedule Change Limits Equitable Participation
Dear County Commissioners,
I read about your proposal to shift one of your monthly County Commission meetings from 5 pm to 10 am. I am concerned that this daytime meeting will be almost impossible for many working people to attend. This means that participation and input to your process will skew even more toward those in our community with the privilege of flexible work schedules, a population that is disproportionately white. I urge you to reconsider this plan.
Thanks for your leadership,