How long do City Council members serve? When does a council member have to recuse herself? What role does the city manager play?
Find answers to these questions and more in this guide to Asheville City Council. One of our goals is to help you decode the jargon at meetings and share ways to speak up on issues that are important to you.
Have a question we haven’t answered? Email us at lastnight@bpr.org.
What’s the basic structure?
How many members does the council have and how long do they serve?
Asheville City Council has seven elected officials who serve four-year terms, including the mayor, vice mayor, and five council members. Each member of council has the same voting power.
The terms are staggered so that three council seats open up every two years. The mayor is elected through a separate race every four years. City Council and mayoral elections are held on even years only, as of 2020. The vice mayor is appointed by members of City Council.
What’s the relationship between council and city staff?
Like many other North Carolina cities, Asheville has a “strong manager, weak council” system, meaning the city manager holds more power than the mayor or council.
The city manager role is not an elected position. City Council decides who to hire as city manager and whether or not to extend or terminate their contract.
What does the city manager do?
The city manager oversees 1,200+ city staff members and is responsible for operations of the police, fire, sanitation, parks and recreation, water, and other city departments.
She also recommends the annual city budget and property tax rate, which is then voted on by City Council. She is the highest paid city employee, earning $254,829 annually.
What does City Council do?
While the city manager wields much of the power in local governance, Asheville City Council still makes major decisions, especially in the areas of growth, financial decisions, and strategic planning. According to the city website, council has the authority to:
- Determine policy in the fields of planning, traffic, law and order, public works, finance, and recreation
- Appoint and remove the city manager, as well as the city attorney and city clerk
- Adopt the budget, levy taxes, collect revenues, and make appropriations
- Authorize the issuance of bonds by a bond ordinance
- Establish administrative departments, offices and agencies
- Appoint members of the city boards, commissions and committees
- Inquire into the conduct of any office, department, or agency of the city and make investigations into municipal affairs
- Provide for an independent audit
- Provide for the number, titles, qualifications, powers, duties, and compensation of all officers and employees of the city
How much do City Council members make?
Council members are paid $19,011 annually.
What does the mayor do?
Like any other council member, the mayor has voting power. The mayor can also declare and manage a state of emergency. Beyond that, a mayor’s power is mostly procedural and ceremonial. Asheville mayors do not have veto power.
How much does the mayor make?
The mayor is paid $25,876 annually.
What does the vice mayor do?
If a mayor can’t perform her duties, the vice mayor – currently Sandra Kilgore – performs the mayoral duties.
How much does the vice mayor make?
The vice mayor is paid $21,474 annually.
Who is the city attorney and what role does he play?
The city attorney serves as lead legal counsel for the city, oversees all legal affairs, and serves as department director for the city attorney's office.
The city has five attorneys on staff, in total, and they provide general legal support to city departments. Attorneys also offer special support in the realms of litigation, land use, employment matters, constitutional issues, contracting, etc.
How much does the city attorney make?
The current city attorney is the second highest paid city employee with an annual salary of $214, 288.
How do the meetings work?
How do council members vote?
Council uses a parliamentary procedural process, meaning any proposed action must be put forward as a motion by a voting member (any council member, including the mayor and vice mayor).
All motions also require a second by a separate member. The “vast majority” of votes can pass with a simple majority, according to city attorney Brad Branham, but there are a few scenarios where a supermajority or two separate votes must be taken.
In order to suspend the city council rules or procedure temporarily, a supermajority is required. Most ordinances also require a supermajority vote to pass on the first reading.
Do any decisions have to be unanimous?
Items on the consent agenda require a unanimous vote. A unanimous vote is also required to declare the mayor incapacitated.
What rules govern the City Council meetings?
Voting is governed by the City Council Rules of Procedure, as specified by North Carolina law.
City Council is governed by its own rules of procedure. City Council also has an adopted code of ethics. State and federal laws also create certain requirements and limitations for council action.
Current members
Who sits on council now and what are their terms? How long have they served?
- Mayor Esther Manheimer, third term, 2022-2026. Manheimer has served as mayor since 2013 and originally joined Asheville City Council in 2009.
- Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore, first term, 2020-2024* She became vice mayor in 2022.
- Antanette Mosley, second term, 2022-2026
- Kim Roney, first term, 2020-2024*
- Sheneika Smith, second term, 2022-2026
- Sage Turner, first term, 2020-2024*
- Maggie Ullman, first term, 2022-2026
* = Open seat in 2024 election
Who is the city manager?
Debra Campbell has served as city manager since 2018. Prior to this role, she served as an assistant city manager in Charlotte since 2014 and as Charlotte's planning director from 2004 to 2014. She is the first Black city manager in Asheville’s history. At the end of 2023, City Council renewed her contract for two years.
Who is the city attorney?
Brad Branham has served as the city attorney since 2019. Prior to this role, Branham served as a municipal lawyer in Charlotte from 2012.
How can I get involved?
Can anyone go to a meeting?
Yes! The N.C. Open Meetings Law mandates that any Asheville City Council meeting and any committee meetings are open to the public.
There is no advance sign-up required, although sometimes showing up a few minutes late to an especially packed meeting may mean that you have to sit in the overflow room rather than the council chamber.
Members of the public can sit in any open seat.
When and where is the meeting?
Every second and fourth Tuesday, Asheville City Council meets at the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Meetings can also be watched live on Charter/Spectrum Channel 193 and are streamed live via the city’s YouTube channel.
How do I get to speak?
There are several ways to speak at an Asheville City Council meeting.
The most straightforward is to sign up for public comment, which can be done with the city clerk (who sits outside the meeting room) at the start of the meeting. Residents can either sign up to participate in the “Informal discussion and public comment” section of the meeting, which occurs at the very end, or sign up to speak on a specific matter during a “public hearing.”
A resident or group may also request to be added to the agenda. Members of the public can make a request to the council for an item to be added, which will either be accepted or rejected by the mayor and city manager. In most cases, it will take at least two weeks for a new item to make it onto a council agenda, according to the city.
What are the rules about speaking at the meeting?
In general, people addressing council may only speak for three minutes or less and “basic rules of decorum” must be observed. The rules include using respectful language and refraining from profanity, foul language, personal attacks, and any disclosures that would be prohibited by the Personnel Privacy Act, i.e., information such that would compromise the privacy of a city employee.
If a person wishes to speak for longer than three minutes, they can assemble a group of four other people, thus allowing that person to address the council for 10 minutes.
If a public hearing lasts for more than one hour, the mayor and city attorney have the right to change the rules around how long someone can speak.
Can I take photos?
Yes.
Can I record the meeting?
Yes.
Where do I see a meeting I missed?
Meetings are available on the city’s YouTube channel. Or, of course, you can follow BPR’s recaps.
What does this term mean?
What is a closed session?
“Closed session” means that council members may speak privately among themselves. In order to go into a closed session, there must be a motion and vote.
Under state law, closed sessions are allowed only when meeting topics involve confidential records, attorney consultations, some aspects of economic development, real estate negotiation, employment contracts, criminal investigations, and personnel issues.
What can be done if I think a session shouldn’t be closed?
If council has a legal justification, they can conduct a closed session. If an individual believes the session was improper, he can file a lawsuit.
Are there minutes from closed sessions?
The city clerk maintains minutes taken during closed sessions; however, those minutes are kept confidential until the reason for the confidentiality expires.
What is a special meeting?
Council can call a special meeting for any reason with 48 hours notice. A special meeting counts as anything not previously listed on the meeting scheduled.
What is an emergency meeting?
An emergency meeting requires only six hours notice. Council may call an emergency meeting if there is an item in need of immediate consideration or involves an unexpected matter.
What is a public hearing?
“Public hearings” are a form of public comment that allow residents to express their opinion on a matter before council members vote on it.
Public hearings are required before a vote on the budget ordinance, a bond ordinance, or a zoning ordinance or amendment. Council may also opt to hold a public hearing on select topics, such as a noise ordinance or vision plan.
Can a member of the public request a public hearing?
The public generally cannot request a public hearing as public hearings are determined by state law and are only heard for certain matters like rezoning requests.
What is a consent agenda?
The “consent agenda” is a list of “routine, noncontroversial items” prepared by the city manager that requires City Council action but “little or no deliberation,” according to city law. Consent agenda items may include bid awards, approval of minutes, board appointments, and the authorization of leases, contracts, and other action items for the city attorney, clerk, or manager to perform.
The consent agenda must receive a unanimous vote to get adopted and items on it do not get debated. A council member can also motion to remove an item from the consent agenda and place it on the regular agenda so that it can be discussed. The removed item can then get passed with a simple majority vote.
What is a work session?
A “work session” gives council members an opportunity to meet ahead of a formal meeting and discuss upcoming agenda items.
No votes take place at a work session, and there is also generally no public comment available. Work sessions are open to the public and are streamed online from the city’s website.
What is a recusal? When does a member have to recuse herself?
The state’s Ethics Act requires public servants to abstain from voting or participating in discussions in which there’s a conflict of interest between the public and their personal or business interests. If a conflict of interest is identified, a public servant must “recuse” from participating in formal action regarding that topic.
What about other meetings City Council members hold with staff?
The state’s open meetings law requires all meetings that involve more than two elected officials to be available to the public and any person is entitled to attend such a meeting.
Council members previously held "check-ins" with a few members and no public presence, recording or minutes. Council voted to end the practice in early 2023.
How does the agenda get made?
The agenda is prepared by the mayor and city manager. A draft agenda is available eight weeks in advance of the meeting and is updated every Tuesday. A more fleshed out version of the agenda is usually ready by the Friday prior to Tuesday’s meetings, but the agenda can still be subject to change a few days before the meeting.
Council members, as well as residents, may request additions to the agenda. The city manager and mayor hold the ultimate say over what makes it on the agenda, and if the city manager and mayor disagree, the mayor will get the final say on the agenda, according to a city spokesperson.
Council members can force an item onto the agenda with a written request signed by three or more members. They can’t add items to the agenda stated in the notice of a special meeting called by the mayor, vice mayor, or two council members, unless all members are present, or those who are absent sign a written waiver of notice. They also can’t add items to an agenda of an emergency meeting unless it is connected with the emergency.
What is the budget process?
The budget process is lengthy and involves multiple drafts, public hearings, and opportunities for community feedback.
The budget process for Fiscal Year 2024-25 (which runs from July 2024-June 2025) kicked off in mid-January. The first public comment session was at the January 23 Asheville City Council meeting.
Residents can also participate in the budget process by taking this survey through February 23. Once the initial community feedback closes, it will be presented to Asheville City Council during their budget work session on March 12.
The first budget draft will be released by the city manager in May 2024.
Still have questions? Email us at lastnight@bpr.org.
Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect that council meetings are streamed live to the city's YouTube channel.
