From Staff Reports

Buncombe County’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year was reviewed and discussed by Brownie Newman, chairman of the Buncombe Board of Commissioners, who also fielded questions on the plan on June 3 at an “issues” breakfast meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners. 

About 50 people attended the early-morning meeting.

The only other speakers at the meeting were two district engineers from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. (For details on their presentation, see the story on Page A5.)

Newman addressed the following concerns from CIBO: :

• “What is being funded in the budget?”

• “Is there a proposed property tax increase?”

•  “Why is the county having to use fund balance (savings) to balance the budget?

• “What is the proposed $70 million bond referendum going to fund?

• “Will the bond cause an increase in property taxes?

• “What else is in the budget that will affect the way you do business?”

Newman said his presentation would involve showing slides that he would “walk CIBO through” and that after his slides, there would be “time for a few questions.”

He began by noting, “We’re in our budget planning cycle right now. We held our first budget retreat back in December. We have held several work sessions since then. On May 10, we had presentations from different public school systems in Buncombe County — the Buncombe County schools, the Asheville city schools and A-B Tech —  and also different volunteer fire districts.

“By the last day of June, every North Carolina county must approve a budget,” Newman noted.

To that end, he said, “On June 21, we (the Board of Commissioners) are planning on voting on the final budget.

“Our proposed budget recommends no change to the property tax rate” — holding steady at 48.8 cents per $100 valuation. “When we think about our county budget, we think about our community plan.”

Newman then spoke “a little bit about our goals in advancing the county departments

“On the economic development side,” that would start with the county’s “$4.3 million investment in economic development programs,” including Pratt & Whitney, where, he said, “the county has an economic development agreement.”

He added that the county is investing $2.3 million in housing for its affordable housing program, that it has been building out its community paramedics program, as well as the recreation program — and is the state’s “biggest investor in the schools.”

Buncombe is investing in about an 8 percent increase for city schools, 11.9 percent for county schools and 6.22 percent for A-B Tech, Newman said. “Most (of the increase in its investment) is for keeping key personnel in the schools.

“So this is a pretty big increase for investing in public schools. But a lot of inflation is happening, along with the need of retaining staff in the schools.

“Looking at our revenues, the property tax is the biggest source of revenue at $240 million forecast,” which will amount to 63 percent of Buncombe’s revenue, he said.

“Intergovernmental revenue is the next biggest category at 12 percent, along with local option sales tax, also at 12 percent,” Newman said.

“Buncombe County ended up faring a lot better during the pandemic than a lot of other places. People felt like Buncombe is a beautiful, healthy place to visit,” so they continued to visit during the pandemic” and, as a result, “our sales tax are at a historic high.”

Among other expenditures, Newman noted education is about $109.2 million, followed by human services, at $91.5 million; followed by public safety and other expense categories.

Further, Newman said, “Asheville City Schools requested an increase. At this time, we’re not recommending a change in the rate, but we’re still looking at that.

“Barnardsville Fire District requested an increase. We are recommending that a change in the Barnardsville district’s funding is well-justified.

“Skyland Fire District requested an increase  We feel they have enough funds on hand, so there will be no change.

What’s more, Newman said the county is increasing its “compensation for public employees.”

Also, a budget amendment has been passed to increase officer’s pay at the county Sheriff’s Department Detention Center by $3 an hour. This annualized investment increase amounts to $864,083, Newman said. The pay increase was recommended by county Sheriff Quentin Miller “to reduce huge turnover at the Detention Center,” Newman noted..

In addition, he cited the passage of the following compensation plan for county employees, which Newman said:

• Raises base pay to $17 an hour for all employees, plus 6 percent cost of living adjustment on July 1.

• Adjusts pay for staff based on analysis of similar counties across the state.

As for the pending Buncombe vote, he said a $70 million bond referendum for housing and land conservation is headed for November ballot. “One or both of these could be passed.”

Regarding affordable housing goals, he said, the county is planning to “double annual construction of new affordable units,” as well as the following:

• Construct 2,650 affordable and workforce homes/apartments by 2030.

• 1,850 rental units for households at 80 percent AMI with an average at 60 percent AMI across all households.

• 400 new homeownership units for households at 80 percent AMI.

• 40 ownership or rental units for households at between 80 percent to 120 percent AMI.

“On the conservation end,” Newman said, the county is “proposing a $30 million investment in bonds for conservation purposes — conserving natural areas” as well as conserving “properties for the future, including conservation easements” and “allocate some funding to purchase properties in Buncome for sale”… and to “help build out some county greenways.”

Newman concluded his presentation by stating, “Cost per typical Buncombe County household would be about $34 per year. How that would be paid for is still to be determined.”

During a question-and-answer period that followed, CIBO member Mark Delk asked, “ I didn’t see anything about Department of Social Services and Health and Human Services... Slides 7 and 8, show that you don’t have a balanced budget.”

Responding, Newman said, “Part of our budget ... we have a fund balance we carry every year— including cash we carry in the bank. We try to carry at least 15 percent of our funds as unrestricted funds... So we have a forecasted use of funds balance,”

Mac Swicegood asked, “Can you tell me acreage is already owned by the federal, state and local government — and now we’re talking about doing conservation?”

Newman replied, “Buncombe County covers about 422,000 acres — about 18 percent of the land area in Buncombe is under some form of conservation status. The biggest part of that is Blue Ridge Parkway and National Forest. Our goal between now and 2030… we’d like to get another 6,000 acres, which would bring land from 18 percent to 20 percent. And that’d probably be under conservation easements. It becomes privately owned land.”

Swicegood then interjected, “But it’s still a subsidy from the taxpayers of Buncombe County.”

Newman noted that he “disagreed with that assessment.”

An unidentified woman asked, “How is Buncombe’s credit rating? How much will we have to pay in interest?”

To that, Newman replied, “Good news —  Buncombe is a triple-A-rated county. So we can access debt on the most favorable basis. It’s not possible to know with certainty what that rate will be... We’ve been able to borrow funds at very, very low rates.”