Buncombe County is taking its first formal step toward seeking voter approval on millions of dollars in new borrowing.
That journey began with a letter to the Trust for Public Land, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, which the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday night. In that document, Board Chair Amanda Edwards asked for the nonprofit’s help “to develop and sustain reliable, ongoing sources of funding for parks, trails, land and water conservation, affordable housing, and related priorities.”
The request is nearly identical to a letter the county sent TPL in 2021. The nonprofit then prepared a comprehensive report on the feasibility and popularity of different financing strategies, including issuing new bonds.
After the TPL’s surveys showed that Buncombe voters would support borrowing for affordable housing and public land, commissioners placed two bond referenda on the 2022 midterm ballot. Both a $40 million bond issue for housing and a $30 million issue for land conservation passed with over 61% support. (According the University of North Carolina School of Government, North Carolina voters approved nearly 95% of bond referenda from 2012 through 2022.)
As previously reported by BPR, county staff have suggested Buncombe approve up to $53 million in new affordable housing bonds and $10 million for conservation this year to meet the county’s strategic plan goals. Paying the debt service on that borrowing would cost the county about $5.5 million per year, the equivalent of a roughly 1-cent increase on property taxes per $100 of assessed value. For a home valued at $350,000, taxes would increase by about $35 annually.
The county has also discussed issuing another $162 million in debt for capital projects at Buncombe County Public Schools, including a $46 million new facility for Glen Arden Elementary and a $32 million major renovation of W.D. Williams Elementary. The letter to TPL does not ask for support on funding that work.
“I am in favor of moving forward with all three bond packages — and giving voters the final say — because these bonds could deliver critical investments in housing affordability and the preservation of open space and could address school facilities priorities,” Edwards wrote in response to a BPR request for comment.
Before Buncombe can put any bond referendum to a vote, officials must seek approval from the state’s Local Government Commission. The county must then hold a public hearing and give notice of the referendum at least two weeks before the voter registration deadline. This year, notice would have to be given by Friday, Sept. 25.
County distances itself from reparations, equity work
The N.C. House Select Committee on Government Efficiency asked Buncombe officials to address allegations about their diversity, equity, and inclusion work at a Feb. 11 hearing in Raleigh. The Republican-led committee specifically grilled Edwards, a Democrat, about the county’s involvement with the Community Reparations Commission (CRC).
Edwards responded to claims that Ruth Smith, an Asheville attorney who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for the state House in 2024, made before the committee in January. Smith had argued that Buncombe intended to “evade civil rights of non-Black residents” through implementing the CRC’s recommendations.
“The recommendations from the CRC are simply that: They are just recommendations from that group, and no action has been taken on those matters,” Edwards said. Under further questioning from the committee, she confirmed that “at this time, we do not intend to take further action” on reparations.
Prior county budgets have allocated over $3 million toward reparations. Of that money, just over $88,000 has been spent, nearly all of it on a “Cease the Harm” audit of racial inequity in local government. In response to a BPR request for comment, county spokesperson Kassi Day said the remaining funds were not legally encumbered but that reallocating the money would require Board of Commissioners action.
In September, the federal Department of Justice warned Buncombe and Asheville leaders that pursuing the CRC’s recommendations would lead prosecutors to “investigate and enforce violations of federal civil rights laws to the fullest extent possible.” The county subsequently renamed its Equity & Human Rights Department to “Access & Human Affairs,” giving each of its employees a new job title.
Day told BPR that the name change was in no way related to the federal threat.
“As we started to move into recovery from Tropical Storm Helene last year, one of the lessons learned was how important accessibility is to our community, whether it is resources, services, or programs. After internal assessment, county management made the change to reflect this focus on access and human rights,” Day wrote. “Staff will continue their work to amplify accessibility to county programs and services and manage the non-discrimination ordinance process.”
Other tidbits
- County Assessor Eric Cregger updated the Board of Commissioners about Buncombe’s ongoing property reappraisal process. At a briefing prior to the board’s formal meeting, he shared that the county’s total property value is expected to increase somewhere between 50% and 70% compared to the last valuation in 2021. He said his office would begin notifying individual property owners of their new values this week. Taxpayers can appeal their valuations through Tuesday, May 5, online or by calling 828-250-4940.
- Also at the pre-meeting briefing, Rafael Baptista, Buncombe’s strategy and innovation director, shared an update on plans to combine the county’s fire tax districts. Currently there are 20 districts, with tax rates ranging from 8.36 cents per $100 in assessed value for the Asheville Special district to 22.70 cents in the French Broad district. Baptista’s proposal would create a single, as-yet-unspecified tax rate for the entire county, which he said would be a more sustainable funding approach to “ensure a basic level of fire protection.” A town hall on the change is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at Koontz Intermediate School in Asheville.
- The county passed revisions to a funding agreement with Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools that commissioners had previously approved Jan. 6. The new language tweaks some details about confirming the agreement in subsequent years and resolving any disputes that may arise. However, it doesn’t change the formula that will allocate county tax dollars to education.
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. The next meeting will take place Tuesday, March. 3. See the full recording and agenda of the Feb. 17 meeting.
