The last time Asheville City Council met, they were presented with a surprise request for $500 to help homeless people commute to work on city buses. Dr. Carl Mumpower offered to pay $200 out of pocket, and after the meeting Bill Russell matched his offer. Afterward, Employment Staffing, Inc. offered to pay the city $500. The donation from ESI was scheduled as a consent agenda item, but it was pulled because an unnamed funding source had paid the homeless shelter directly.