The last meeting of Asheville City Council is now uploaded for viewing. Of interest are the budget discussions. It was argued that the city could not dip into its fund balance without damaging its bond rating, which would drive interest rates up on its mighty capital improvement program. That said, the city still had a $700,000 surplus to, in the words of Councilman Jan Davis, cavalierly spend. Roughly speaking, each penny in the property tax corresponds to $1 million, and the city wants to raise taxes 1.5 cents.
Chris Pelly didn’t want to raise taxes, arguing The Wee People also have needs for cash. Davis saw his logic, but went along to get along. Both council members have announced they will not be seeking re-election.
