of Budget: $250.88 million Based on City Council priorities, community input and staff work, it reflects our long-term strategy and priorities for funding for the next fiscal year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025).
Council members voted to approve the budget. June 11th City Council meeting.
budget Includes changes to current property tax rates 40.93 cents per $100 of valuation (an increase of $0.63)
The city also used an estimated $7.75 million from the fund balance to meet this year’s budget needs and objectives. The fund balance stands at about 13.3%, which is 1.7% below the stated policy target of 15%.
City staff used the following guidelines in developing this year’s annual operating and capital budgets:
Provision of essential services
Ensures that each department has the resources necessary to meet service delivery expectations.
Increase customer value
Ensures efficient service delivery that enhances customer experience.
Strategic Alliance
Align resources (new and existing) to achieve community, council and staff goals.
These principles are consistent with the priorities the City Council has identified during its term. February Retreat It will be used to guide City Council, city staff and the city’s budget through the upcoming fiscal year.
The City Council’s six strategic priorities for FY25 are:
- Regions and climate resilience
- Fair and affordable housing and stability
- Improving and maintaining our infrastructure and core services
- compensation
- Rethinking Public Safety
- Homelessness Measures
The strategic priorities for FY25 are consistent with those identified by City Council in the previous year and will allow for continued focus and continuity of services to the community.
Community Feedback
Input from the community through a budget priorities survey and public comment session on Jan. 23 and a public hearing on May 28 was incorporated into the development of the FY25 budget. Priorities identified by the community included:
- Service priorities include additional investment in:
- Affordable Housing and Homelessness
- Community Safety and Emergency Response
- Facility Maintenance
- Strong support for the Community Responder Program
- Housing is a priority, along with sidewalks, and road resurfacing also ranks high.
- Supports more comprehensive capital investments in fewer places (e.g., only street landscaping and paving) and maintaining current resources.
The budget, which goes into effect July 1, 2024, allocates funding to meet these priorities for the benefit of the City of Asheville’s residents, workers, facilities and services. Highlights include:
Rethinking Public Safety
The members of the council are Presented revised options The budget was increased from the original budget proposal to accommodate increased pay for public safety officers. The increases to police and fire department pay were: sRaise staff to minimum living wage rates.
Asheville Fire Department (AFD)
- An 8.8% increase in starting pay for sworn firefighters was approved, increasing the salary of an entry-level on-duty firefighter to $50,309.
- Longer-tenured employees further along in the step plan are offered larger dollar increments, helping to maintain the integrity of the step plan.
Asheville Police Department (APD)
Overall police salaries will increase by 6.0% per year, with starting pay for police officers rising to $50,309.
The increased public safety staffing also includes funding to support safety programs such as: Community Responder Program and Drone program support.
Improving and maintaining our infrastructure and core services
Fund employee compensation adjustments
Non-public safety employees would receive an increase of 4.11 percent or $2,400, whichever is greater.
Water resources
- Address your water system and water treatment plant maintenance needs.
- Additional staff positions for the design and implementation of capital projects for water pumping, storage, and treatment.
- Adding a maintenance team to South Asheville to better respond to leaks and breaks and minimize service interruptions and water loss. We currently do not have dedicated staff in the area.
Strengthening stormwater management
- Additional labor to accommodate road resurfacing projects, with dedicated preventive maintenance/repair crews and infrastructure replacement crews.
- Additional positions to improve the accuracy and timeliness of stormwater development reviews.
Funding for other identified needs
- Begin addressing identified maintenance needs for parking lots.
- New teams to complete road and sidewalk repairs in a more timely manner.
- Support the development of requests for proposals, bidding processes, selections, and transitions (where necessary) for transportation operations and maintenance contracts.
- Ensure sufficient staff numbers are available to complete yard waste and foliage collection routes each day.
Fair and affordable housing and stability
Ongoing and ongoing investments include:
- Continuation of the Joint City-County Property Tax Relief Program
- Housing Trust Fund
- Land Use Incentives
- Development cost discounts
- Federal HOME and HOME-ARP Program Management
Regions and climate resilience
Ongoing and ongoing investments include:
- Park maintenance relocation
- Neighborhood Matching Grants
- Food waste collection
- Weatherization Program
- Member service structure to improve response capabilities to inquiries
Homelessness Measures
Ongoing and ongoing investments include:
- Lead Agency for Continuum of Care
- Develop an evacuation plan with your partners
- Homeward Bound Street Outreach Contract
- Homeless Affairs Division
- Code Purple and Winter Shelters
compensation
- $2.1 million secured in compensation
- The damages allocation of $520,200 is the continuing amount plus an annual increase of 2%.
- Staff’s ongoing support for the Community Reparations Commission
Budget development for 2024-2025 focused on aligning funding with community needs. Ordinances, which are legal documents that adopt budgetsSigned by the Mayor Post onlineThe approved budget will be posted on the city’s website in July.
