Expenditure Reductions, Accept Grants for Housing Assistance & More

Buncombe County -- January 21, 2025: Press Release Buncombe County Government : Commissioners Approve Expenditure Reductions,

Accept Grants for Housing Assistance,

Accessible Playground Funding, and More 

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners met on January 21 and approved FY25 expenditure reductions due to financial impacts from Hurricane Helene, approved funding allotment to the County’s Helene Recovery Housing Assistance Grant program, held public hearings, and more. 
The Board approved several budget amendments, two of which are part of the County’s $17.6-million expenditure reduction plan after Helene-related financial impacts. These include:  

Education Budget Reduction 

The Board approved an amendment to reduce FY25 education appropriations by $718,577 for Asheville City Schools and $3,971,874 for Buncombe County Schools. Totaling $4,690,451, the adjustment is one piece of the County’s $17.6-million expenditure reduction plan to address budget impacts after Hurricane Helene.  

“Our intention is, if we are able to get this [state] funding, this is when we can be able to use this to reimburse both the schools and the county proportionally to be able to put some of that funding back,” said Commissioner Terri Wells.  
Per North Carolina General Statute 159-13(b)(9), a reduction to the local current expense funds of K12 education partners can only take place where "prevailing economic conditions" cause a general reduction in county expenditures. Click here for the budget amendment. 

“This can’t be a zero-sum game with our budget,” said Commissioner Drew Ball. “We are in a crisis together. This is less a budget cut than it is that funds never materialized because of this disaster we all experienced together.” 

Reduction to Tax Reappraisal Funding, Future Conservation Easements 

The Board approved a budget amendment to reduce $921,342 in FY25 General Fund transfers from: 
Reappraisal Fund ($325,000): The 2025 reappraisal was delayed to January 2026 following the storm’s impacts 
Special Projects Ordinance for Future Conservation Easements ($596,342)  

The Board also approved budget amendments for: 

Declared Disaster Recovery (DDRF) Grant Fund Allotment to Buncombe County 
The Board approved the budget amendment of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds received by the City of Asheville to be allotted to Buncombe County’s Helene Recovery Housing Assistance Grant program. The City of Asheville has received supplemental funding from the CDBG Declared Disaster Recovery Fund to provide rental assistance to City of Asheville residents. An interlocal agreement between the City of Asheville and Buncombe County has been initiated to distribute $624,000 of these funds via the County's Helene Recovery Housing Assistance Grant program. Ten percent ($62,400) of this grant will be used for the administration of the program. The grant program application window was Dec. 5 to Dec. 18 and is now closed, but housing assistance funds continue to be distributed to residents who applied.  
 
Accessible Parks Grant Funding 

The Board approved a budget amendment to accept $500,000 from the N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources awarded to Buncombe County Parks and Recreation as part of the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Accessible Parks grant. These funds will be used to replace the existing playground at the Buncombe County Sports Park with an ADA accessible playground as well as improving drainage conditions at the park. Matching funds have been budgeted through the Enka Recreation Destination project. This will be the County’s first accessible park playground. Click here to view the parks presentation.  

Audit Contract Amendments 

The County’s financial audit for the year ending June 30, 2024, is finished, and during the audit, it was found that more work was needed because additional grant programs had to be reviewed. This extra work increased the cost of the audit by $23,000, bringing the total to $215,000. 

The audit took longer than expected due to delays caused by Hurricane Helene. To finalize the report, the contract needs to be extended through January 31, 2025. This extension allows time to handle any remaining paperwork but doesn’t change the financial report's content. 
Auditors Mauldin & Jenkins presented results to the Board during the meeting. The County is required by law to have an independent audit every year to ensure finances are in order and comply with federal and state grant rules. The Board approved the amended FY24 external audit contract and accepted the audit as presented. 

The Board held two public hearings: 

Additional Fund Request for Transformation Village 

After a public hearing, the Board approved a resolution to request additional funds of $2.8 million from the North Carolina Department of Commerce for the Transformation Village expansion project. In August 2024, Buncombe County accepted $1 million from the N.C. Commerce through CDBG’s Recovery Housing Program to support ABCCM’s Transformation Village, a four-story, 64-unit building with half of those units dedicated to women and mothers with children in recovery from substance use.  
“Prior to Hurricane Helene there was a need for recovery housing with wrap-round support, and now there is an even greater need to rebuild lost infrastructure,” states the request for board action. 
These additional funds will help increase the number of new beds available in recovery housing while focusing on utilizing available funds and resources to rebuild lost infrastructure.   
 
Rezoning Land from Residential to Commercial 

The Board approved a rezoning request from Barney Danzansky of Equity Development Group to change the zoning of 10.35 acres of land at 14 Hitching Post Lane from R-2 Residential to CS Commercial Service. The rezoning request was found to be consistent with the Buncombe County 2043 Comprehensive Plan. 
 
For more information or to view the agenda, go to www.buncombecounty.org/commissioners. To view this or any Board of Commissioners meeting, go to www.facebook.com/buncombegov.