Buncombe County commissioners doled out millions of dollars during their July 19 meeting – earmarking funding for everything from pandemic recovery to reparations.
RECOVERY Lawmakers approved just under $19 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. This is the sixth round of awards from the $50.7 million allocation from the federal government. It’s the largest investment in projects since the county received the funding last year. In all, the $18.8 million will fund 24 projects going to local organizations including the YMI Cultural Center, Helpmate, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, along with a number of county departments including Emergency Services and the Office of Sustainability.
The county has just under $4 million dollars left in ARPA funding. Commissioners will consider how to distribute the rest of the money in 2023.
REPARATIONS County commissioners also approved annual funding for reparations in the 2023 budget. During the meeting, they discussed a June 6 motion by the Community Reparations Commission stating “The Community Reparations Commission recommends that the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners include a line item in their budget for reparations for Black people in Buncombe County as a percentage of the overall budget in perpetuity.”
Commissioners voted to allocate $2 million for reparations in its FY23 budget and to add $500,000 to future reparations budgets with an annual increase of two percent. The financial commitment is similar to the one made by the City of Asheville earlier this year.
“It’s not just going to strengthen one segment of the community ,” said Commissioner Al Whitesides. “It’s going to help all of us. This is going to make our whole community stronger.”
The 25-member commission is charged with coming up with a reparations plan for the city and county. It was formed after local leaders adopted a resolution in 2020 to repair damage caused by systemic racism.
According to a press release from Buncombe County, the commission is expected to make its immediate recommendations on October 1, 2022, with short-term recommendations to follow in March 2023, medium-term recommendations in August 2023, and long-term recommendations in February 2024. The Commission’s work is anticipated to close out in April 2024.
The group will meet next on August 15, 2022 from 6-8 p.m. at Harrah’s Civic Center. Community Reparations Commission meetings are streamed live on the Buncombe County Facebook page.
DEVELOPMENT Commissioners also approved more than $600,000 in economic development dollars to help local organizations grow small businesses, attract new industry, drum up tourism. The recipients include Mountain BizWorks, CityWorks USA and the Carolina Small Business Development Fund. For a complete list of economic development projects, click here.
You can find the full agenda from the 7/19 commissioner’s meeting here and a link to a video recording of the meeting here.
