From Staff Reports 

Asheville City Council’s meeting was jammed with citizens on Dec. 13, including supporters of Asheville Police Department, as well as backers of council member Kim Roney, who recently was rotated off the city Public Safety Committee, according to Asheville television station WLOS (News 13).

“Members of the newly formed Asheville Coalition for Public Safety were there to voice their support for the Asheville Police Department, but there were many others who did not feel the same,” News 13 reported.

““The council’s consent agenda had a lot of items up for approval in support of the police department.

“Those items also sparked comments on Roney, who has come under fire for her votes on police department matters.

“Asheville Coalition for Public Safety co-chair Honor Moor said the group rose out of what members saw as a need to support Asheville police.

‘Moor said some people would not be happy about Roney being rotated off the committee — and some would support the move.

“I feel like she is more of an elected protestor versus a public servant,” News 13 quoted Moor as saying “She just always votes no pretty much 99 percent of the time on anything the police department requests.”

However, News 13 added, “Others believed that Roney’s removal was a big step backward, including Asheville resident Tiffany Debellott, who said it’s important to ask the hard questions and that if we’re not able to do that or if we’re encouraged to be quiet it damages democracy.”

News 13 quoted Debellott saying of Roney:

“‘Her goal is to be transparent when it comes to budget decisions and to be able to have questions answered when necessary. And for that reason, I feel like this is an injustice not just to Kim but also to city council and the city of Asheville at large.”

As for Moor, News 13 reported that she “believes those who support Roney think the Public Safety Committee doesn’t have transparency, but she said that is not true. Anyone can attend the meetings and question any topic.”

The items on the consent agenda involving APD included:

• Resolution authorizing the city manager to apply for and accept grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice for the 2022 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant.

• Budget amendment, in the amount of $20,327.22, from the U.S. Department of Justice 2022 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant.

• Resolution authorizing the city manager to apply for and accept grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice for the 2022 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.

• Budget amendment in the amount of $80,145 from the U.S. Department of Justice for the 2022 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.

• Resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a contract with Cole Pro Media LLC for police transparency engagement advising services.

• Resolution authorizing the city manager to renew a contract with LexisNexis for the ACCURINT Virtual Crime Center crime analysis platform.

News 13 noted that “a major topic was the approval of more funding for bulletproof vests.

“Moor said the vests are basic safety equipment that need to be updated after a certain period of time. She said that’s an item Roney had voted no to previously.

“‘By voting no, it’s kind of like saying we don’t support the police department at all and we don’t care if they get harmed by a stray bullet,’ Moor said.

“Debellott said that when money is pulled from the police department it doesn’t mean there isn’t a focus on safety, it means there’s a focus on what is right and how things are operating on the surface where everyone can be safe.

“‘I’m not here to say that I’m against bulletproof vests, but there’s so many places where money can be distributed equally on an equitable level,’ Debellott said.

“Roney once again voted down funding for bulletproof vests, saying that while the vests are a necessary tool for APD there’s already funding in the budget for that resource.

“She voted no to all items on the consent agenda that involved APD.

“‘It is the council’s duty to maintain oversight of budget plans and policies. The Public Safety Committee is still lacking the requested update to the fiscal year-to-date budget and projections,’ Roney said.

“She said her ‘no’ vote was because of a lack of transparency of not disclosing the fiscal year budget before voting to approve an increase.

“Debellott agreed that transparency is an issue.

“‘People need to stop doing power plays around this city and actually be transparent and honest about what’s happening with the budget and the investments,’ Debellott said.

“Moor stood strong in her stance that the police department has a hard enough job and officers need all the support they can get.

“The rest of the council items on the consent agenda relating to APD except for a decision to execute a contract with Cole Pro Media LLC, which was pushed to next year.

“Mayor Esther Manheimer said the council’s foot is not off of the gas pedal on reimagining public safety but the top concern is being able to function as a city. She said the city is already stretched thin, and leaders need to ensure that the work is getting done.

“Functioning as a city includes a well-functioning police department, which Manheimer believes is vital. If the city is not functioning at the best level, then leaders are not serving the community at the best level, Manheimer said,” News 13 noted.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Citizen Times on Dec. 13 reported that Roney “said she is being denied her request to serve on the city’s new committee dealing with public safety policy by Mayor Esther Manheimer, with Roney’s understanding that it comes at the request of Asheville police senior leadership.

“This is the mayor’s decision (and) responsibility,” Roney was quoted by the ACT as saying of appointments in a phone interview Dec. 12. “It’s an important one. I respect her decision.”

“‘It’s my understanding that it’s a request of command staff,’ she said. 

“Police Chief David Zack confirmed Dec. 12 that the department’s command staff shared concerns with Manheimer about Roney being on the committee. “‘I can’t recall everybody that was present, but yes, the APD command staff … expressed our concerns about (Roney) being on the committee,’ he said,” the ACT noted.