Asheville budget fight ends in increase, foreshadows mayor race

A sharply divided Asheville City Council approved a $275.8 million budget on June 9 after a contentious debate that exposed deep disagreements over taxes, spending priorities, and the city’s financial future — while offering voters an early preview of the mayoral contest between incumbent Mayor Esther Manheimer and challenger Kim Roney.

The budget passed on a 4-3 vote after council members spent hours debating spending levels, future deficits, and employee benefits before reaching a compromise during a recess.

The adopted budget sets Asheville’s property tax rate at 37.69 cents per $100 of assessed value, roughly 4.8 cents above the revenue-neutral rate. City officials said the spending plan maintains core services, funds ongoing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, and preserves employee compensation and benefits.

But the vote revealed stark differences among council members over how aggressively the city should spend taxpayer dollars as Asheville faces long-term financial challenges.

The divisions were particularly notable because Manheimer and Roney are opposing each other in this fall’s mayoral election. Manheimer also serves as co-chair of GROW NC, the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western NC. Throughout the meeting, they represented competing visions for Asheville’s future.

Manheimer defended the budget as a balanced approach that protects city services while maintaining fiscal stability.

“City Council and leadership appreciate the time and effort our community and staff took to identify opportunities to strategically invest in Asheville’s future,” Manheimer said following the vote.

Roney, meanwhile, argued the city was failing to invest sufficiently in employees, community programs, and nonprofit organizations serving residents. The disagreement highlighted a broader philosophical divide likely to become a central issue in the mayoral campaign.

While Manheimer and her allies emphasized financial sustainability and gradual investment, Roney pushed for greater spending on community priorities and social services.

The most intense criticism of the budget came from Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley and Councilwoman Sage Turner, who warned that Asheville is failing to address projected structural deficits expected to grow in coming years.

Turner repeatedly raised concerns about city’s financial forecasts showing budget gaps expanding over the next five years.

“We haven’t communicated with each other enough, or something, to get to the same place to be able to direct you better,” Turner said during the debate, expressing frustration with the budget process.

“The vice mayor did second the motion,” Manheimer noted during one exchange.

“But I wasn’t going to vote on it,” Mosley responded. “I just did it so we move forward.”

When asked directly whether she supported the budget, Mosley replied, “No.”

The exchange underscored the tensions that emerged throughout the evening as council members struggled to balance competing priorities.

One key point of contention involved whether Asheville should take a more austere approach to spending. Turner and Mosley argued for additional reductions to help address long-term financial concerns, while others favored maintaining services and employee benefits.

The final compromise restored a 1% employer retirement contribution for city employees at a cost of approximately $530,000. Supporters argued the benefit is necessary to retain workers and remain competitive in the labor market.

The path to approval became contentious. At one point, the council recessed after it became apparent there were not enough votes to move forward. Council members held discussions outside council chambers before returning to the public session with a compromise proposal.

Councilman Bo Hess, who ultimately introduced the motion that passed, acknowledged the difficulty of the negotiations.

Earlier in the evening, Hess indicated he did not believe the council had reached consensus, telling colleagues, “I just don’t think we’re there yet.”

When council reconvened, however, Hess joined Manheimer, Maggie Ullman, and Sheneika Smith in supporting the final budget. Roney, Mosley, and Turner voted against it.

The budget includes funding for police, fire, sanitation, parks and recreation, public transportation, water resources and infrastructure projects. It also provides city employees with a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment while maintaining existing health benefits.

The debate unfolded as Asheville continues recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread damage across western North Carolina in September 2024.

Earlier in the meeting, city officials reported receiving more than $34 million in FEMA reimbursements and outlined ongoing efforts to secure additional federal recovery and mitigation funding.

Council members also discussed a separate proposal to redirect $19.2 million in federal disaster recovery funds toward rebuilding and repairing single-family homes damaged by the storm.

That proposal sparked its own debate over whether recovery dollars should prioritize homeowners or affordable multifamily housing developments, a discussion that will continue later this month.

The budget vote itself revealed stark disagreement among Asheville’s elected leaders, not only on recovery priorities but also on the city’s broader direction.

For Manheimer, the budget represented a pragmatic effort to maintain services while navigating financial uncertainty; and for Roney, it reflected a missed opportunity to make larger investments in workers, housing, and community programs.

Those competing visions now move from the council chamber to the campaign trail.

With Manheimer seeking another term and Roney mounting a direct challenge, Monday night’s budget debate offered Asheville voters a preview of the arguments they can expect to hear throughout the fall election season.

“Asheville budget fight ends in increase, foreshadows mayor race” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.