At last night’s Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting, county officials honed their message to state lawmakers: We need recovery assistance.
Board members approved the county's legislative agenda, a list of priorities lobbyists will use to make the case to state lawmakers. Financial grants to help the county recover from Hurricane Helene topped the list of requests.
Board Chair Amanda Edwards said the legislative agenda is critically important this year.
“ This is again by far the strongest, and it really digs in and addresses the needs that we have as we continue to recover, rebuild and become more resilient after Helene,” She said.
As part of the fallout from Helene, the county’s municipal budget faces a projected $20 million shortfall. The overall budget totals $628 million.
“The impacts of revenue losses to Buncombe County have already necessitated a reduction in services and the education budget allocation,” county documents stated. The funds will help stabilize their revenue, along with law enforcement and public safety funding. Grants will also aid in ongoing recovery efforts like infrastructure repair and small business support.
Other top priorities included housing solutions for those displaced by the storm.
The county's housing stock was “constrained before the storm and now countless residents have been displaced their homes either for the short term or lost them indefinitely,” according to the agenda.
To deploy the funds as quickly as possible, the county is pushing for a block grant model where “state appropriations are made directly to counties for the purposes of not only new housing but also reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair.”
Lobbyists for the county will be repeating some refrains from last year’s request.
County officials said they hope again to get the state to reimburse the county for a $300,000 city-county school merger feasibility study state lawmakers mandated. The county has finalized the study and submitted it to the General Assembly.
The agenda includes another renewed request from prior years: funding for water and sewer system expansion.
The county is also asking the state for funds towards K-12 and Community College education employee salaries, as well as small business loans and grants.
“This would allow for small businesses to continue or restart operations with the support of a potentially forgivable loan, providing further sustainability for the community as a whole,” the agenda stated.
The county pays law firm Ward and Smith $75,000 annually to lobby on behalf of the county, according to Lillian Govus, the county’s communications director.
Coxe Avenue property
After a lengthy bid process, the county selected Harmony Housing, a Raleigh-based developer, as a partner on the creation of 200 affordable housing units in the South Slope neighborhood.
Throughout last summer the county solicited bids from nine developers and examined them through criteria like “alignment with the guiding public interests” and “positive references from local governments.”
The project is estimated to cost $74.5 million – with the county paying $9.8 million. Harmony Housing would qualify for a property tax exemption, according to county documents.
Later this month, the commission will consider authorizing the county manager to enter negotiations for a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining each party's responsibilities and establishing milestones. The MOU is a prerequisite for a development agreement to be executed, and the county estimates the project will be completed by early 2029.
Other tidbits
- Demolition of Helene-damaged structures: According to the county, 264 private property debris removal applications have reported demolition needs. The county plans to launch a program to demolish these structures this month. They are working on identifying “priority properties.” The application deadline is April 15, 2025, and applications are available at the county’s website.
- County leaders entered into an $8.45 million zero-interest loan agreement with the state for disaster response activities related to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. A bill – HB 47 – making its way through the legislature may include loan forgiveness.
Every first and third Tuesday, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meets at 200 College St., Room 326, in downtown Asheville beginning at 5 p.m. See the full recording and agenda of the meeting.
