At the close of the last Asheville City Council meeting, the mayor added an item to the agenda. She said Western Carolina Rescue Ministries had asked the city for $500 to pay for bus passes for homeless people who had been offered jobs at Avarto. They were filling vacancies created when up to seventy-five persons left Avarto “in protest†of the ICE raid on the nearby Mills Manufacturing plant.
To pay for the passes, the city would transfer funds from one department to another. Still, Councilmen Dr. Carl Mumpower and Bill Russell said had they known earlier, they would have gotten the funds from the private sector. Mumpower offered to pay $200 himself. He and Russell were outvoted by their scoffing peers.
The Consent Agenda for council’s next meeting, published today, includes an item to accept a donation from Employment Staffing, Inc. to cover the cost of the passes.
