$275.8M, One Vote: Inside Asheville's Nail-Biter Budget Showdown
Asheville City Council narrowly approved a $275.8 million operating budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The vote split 4-3, after a public hearing where residents weighed in on spending priorities and affordable housing funds.
Mayor Esther Manheimer joined council members Bo Hess, Sheneika Smith and Maggie Ullman to pass the plan. It runs roughly $1.7 million above last year's budget. Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley and council members Kim Roney and Sage Turner voted no.
The adopted budget raises hourly pay for Asheville Fire Department personnel. It also funds year-round Parks & Recreation programming, including summer camps. And it dedicates a staff position solely to affordable housing projects. City Manager DK Wesley briefed council on the capital improvement program's third-quarter status ahead of the vote.
Before the budget hearing, council heard comment on the city's 2026-27 Annual Action Plan. That plan directs how Asheville will spend federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership funds. Most of that money goes toward affordable housing and neighborhood improvements. Full agendas and minutes are posted on the City of Asheville's council agenda page.
Mall Rezoning Green-Lit — Over Planners' Objections
In a 4-2 vote, council rezoned the Asheville Mall property as Regional Business. The move overrides recommendations from both city planning staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission. The change strips the "Urban Place" requirements adopted in 2021, which had mandated housing and walkable design for any future redevelopment of the site. Critics at the meeting said the move runs counter to the city's push for denser, transit-oriented growth. Supporters framed it as removing a barrier to redeveloping an aging commercial property. Council is off its usual second-Tuesday schedule for August, per Blue Ridge Public Radio's report on the vote, and returns to the chamber Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Raleigh Pulls the Rug: Buncombe's Budget Rewritten Overnight
Barely two weeks into the new fiscal year, Buncombe County commissioners had to reopen a budget they'd just spent seven months building. The culprit was Senate Bill 889. Gov. Josh Stein signed it June 19. The law imposed a statewide moratorium blocking counties from using updated 2026 property reappraisals to calculate tax bills, as WRAL reported when the bill passed the legislature.
The timing hit Buncombe hard. The county's own reappraisal had already taken effect Jan. 1, with values roughly 40% higher than 2021. It was aimed partly at closing gaps in how high-end properties had been assessed, and it was already baked into the FY27 budget commissioners adopted June 2. At a special meeting July 14, the board voted to revert to 2021 property values. Commissioners set new tax rates: 61.54 cents per $100 for the county, 17.38 cents for the Unified Fire District, and 11.75 cents for Asheville City Schools. The county's 2026 reappraisal now takes effect Jan. 1, 2027 instead. Residents who already filed appeals do not need to refile. Full details are posted on the Buncombe County Commissioners page.
Board Chair Amanda Edwards did not hide her frustration. She said the legislature is elected largely by voters outside Buncombe County, and argued it is ignoring the county's ongoing Helene recovery. State Rep. Lindsay Prather, D-Buncombe, has pushed a companion bill, SB474, that would exempt Buncombe from the freeze. She noted every other Helene-affected county on the list had already been granted relief, except Asheville's home county. The bill cleared both chambers July 1 and was ordered enrolled. As of press time, Buncombe's exemption remains unresolved.
The Bats That Saved a Forest: One Artist's Guerrilla Mission
Last December, River Arts District artist Spencer Beals quietly enlisted more than 30 fellow local artists for "Batland." It was a guerrilla installation of over 40 hand-painted wooden bats, hung by night through the woods behind UNC Asheville. That 45-acre urban forest was, at the time, under threat from development. The project has since become a case study in how art and organizing can move together. This month, Beals is presenting recent work, including a detailed map of Batland, at ArtsvilleUSA's gallery inside the Ferguson Family YMCA. He's speaking publicly for the first time about how uniting Asheville's creative community helped protect one of the city's last urban forests, and the species living in it.
99 Years and Still Dancing: Asheville's Oldest Tradition Roars On
Downtown drew crowds this past weekend for the 99th Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, one of the longest-running folk festivals in the country. Across three evenings, July 30 through Aug. 1, a rotating lineup of traditional Appalachian musicians, cloggers and storytellers took the stage. It's a tradition that has carried the region's ballads, banjo tunes and square dance calls from front porches into the next century. The festival's 100th anniversary is just a year away. Organizers and longtime attendees alike were already trading notes on how Asheville might mark the centennial.
