Buncombe County and Downtown Asheville PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS David Gantt Buncombe County Commission Chair January 16, 2014 How is money from city taxpayers allocated now? Do Asheville city residents get their fair share of county sales tax and property tax payments? 1
WHERE ARE WE NOW? HOW DO WE STAND? WHAT DOES BUNCOMBE COUNTY SPEND MONEY ON? 2
Buncombe County 2012 Demographics Population City of Asheville (34%) 244,490 85,712 White Black Hispanic Female Male 87.4% 6.4% 6.0% 52.4% 47.7% Buncombe County Historical Tax Rates 76.5 73.0 63.0 59.0 56.9 53.0 52.5 3
Urban County Comparison FY2014 Tax Rates 88.9 71.7 74.0 77.4 78.0 81.6 53.0 53.4 55.4 56.9 Buncombe County Budget 2014 Overall Budget: $337M 2014 General Fund Budget: $265M Revenues Expenditures 4
Function FY2013 FY2014 Education $75,809,954 $75,301,612 Public Safety $62,702,202 $64,393,955 Human Service $79,958,697 $84,693,201 Percent of Budget 82.0% 84.7% Property Tax Collected from Asheville Collected Outside Asheville Total Collected Sales Tax Collected from Asheville Collected Outside Asheville Total Collected $65.7M $91.3M $157M $17.7M $21.5M $39.2M 5
Sales Tax Distribution Current Method Woodfin, $531,950 Weaverville, $845,097 City of Asheville, $14,333,691 Black Mountain, $1,070,436 Biltmore Forest, $753,825 Fire Districts, $4,339,066 Buncombe County Unrestricted, $24,802,892 Montreat, $271,613 Asheville City Schools, $2,385,802 Buncombe County Current Year School Capital Outlay, $10,200,435 Buncombe County School Capital Fund, $12,624,739 Sales Tax Distribution Per Capita Woodfin, $1,293,518 Weaverville, $768,142 City of Asheville, $17,680,278 Black Mountain, $1,652,920 Biltmore Forest, $282,609 Montreat, $142,027 Buncombe County Current Year School Capital Outlay, $11,773,355 Buncombe County Unrestricted, $23,995,207 Buncombe County School Capital Fund, $14,571,490 6
Gain $ from Per Capita Asheville gains: Black Mountain gains: Woodfin gains: $3,346,587 $582,484 $761,568 Lose $ from Per Capita City Schools Lose: Fire Districts Lose: Biltmore Forest Loses: Montreat Loses: Weaverville Loses: $2,385,802 $4,339,066 $471,216 $129,587 $76,954 Investment in Asheville Regional Airport (1958 to present) City of Asheville $250,000 Purchase of Land $636,950 Fixed Assets $886,950 Total Buncombe County $5.5M in 1988 bonds (part 1) $0.5M in 1988 bonds (part 2) $2.0M in 1999 bonds (paid off in 2012) $8.0M Total 7
Capital Investments in US Cellular Center Year County TDA City 2014 $340K $2.2M $100K 2013 $340K $150K $0 2012 $0 $1.7M $613K 2011 $0 $0 $250K 2010 $340K $0 $310K Capital Investments in McCormick Baseball Field County: $5.8M since 1998 Made last bond payment in 2013 City: $650k since 1992 8
Capital investments also in: Nature Center- $150k Aston Park Tennis Courts- $250k Golf Course- $1.4M Beaucatcher Park- $192K Haw Creek Park- $240K County Money Spent within Asheville City limits $88M of $265M County Operating Budget Based on investments in: Human Services Public Service and Detention Education Tax Assessment Cultural Arts (library, recreation, culture) Emergency Services 9
Recent Projects Create more new job opportunities- 3047 new jobs and $805M increase in tax base in past 3 years- Still need much, much more Public Safety Training Facility- Training for law, fire, emergency, hazardous wastes, rescue- Woodfin landfill site ($15.7M) Courthouse- Renovate 75 year old Courthouse with Safety Tower ($30.8M) and Open new $29.3M LEED certified Judicial Center New County Building (Carolina First) with Commissioner Chambers- Also house County Manager, Finance, Personnel ($9.5M) Recent Projects $40.5M for Allied Health Building Began major construction at AB Tech to increase capacity for medical employees $7M for PST Classroom Building $15M for Victoria Campus Parking Totaling $62.5 Million 10
Benefits to the Community Courts and County offices remain downtown to support urban core Renew Courthouse facility for decades of future usage Relieve Courtroom crowding, increase security Preserve historical building to compliment City Hall and Pack Square Park landmarks Least costly option for taxpayers- No tax increase needed to fund construction 11
Bottom Line Downtown Capital Investments Parking Deck: Life Safety Tower: Courthouse Windows: Pack Square Park: Pack Library: Coxe Avenue Building: Woodfin Street Building: Carolina First Renovations: Detention Center Addition: Buncombe County Admin Building: $13.1M $28.6M $1.6M $2.0M $4.3M $8.0M $4.6M $14.1M $28.5M $9.5M Grand Total of $132.1M Downtown Annual Contributions Pack Place: Pack Square Park: Asheville Art Museum: Ash Green Works: $440K $150K $19K $23K Yearly Total $632K YMI Cultural Center The Diana Wortham Theater Colburn Earth Science Museum 12
Investment in Economic Development and Job Creation Item Investment City County EDC yearly budget $40k to $50k $475k New Belgium $175M $5.1M $8.4M GE Aviation $126M $1.5M $2.6M Linamar (2011) $125M $2.2M $7.0M Ingles Market $99M $0 $1.7M Nypro $83M $0 $1.8M Linamar (2012) $75M $1.0M $4.5M Jacob Holm $46M $0 $1.1M Reict GmbH $28M $0 $350K $9.8M $27.4M GE Aviation To Build Ceramic Matrix Composites Plant in Buncombe County 250 Jobs Retained 52 New Jobs Created $126 Million Invested in Buncombe County 13
2010-2013 Announcements CY 2010 - CY 2013 New Capital Investment: $805M New Job Creation: 3,047 Dirty Dozen in early 1980s Worst school facilities in USA 14
Asheville Middle School Investment of $35 million to build new facility from General Fund Most expensive school in County history Will start in 2014 budget Isaac Dickson Elementary School Investment of $18 million to build new facility from General Fund Construction has already started 15
Total investment in City School construction over and above Article 39 mandatory allocation & Supplemental City School tax of 15 cents is: $53 million dollars Universal Health Care lives in Buncombe County, NC 60,000 medical visits in 2013 4,400 more patients since partnership with WNCCHS began 16,000 dental visits Partners include: WNCCHS; Buncombe County; Mission Hospital; Buncombe County Medical Society; and Project Access 16
Preservation of mountains and farms Over 5,262 acres in County easement at $1,212/acre $6.3M County $ leveraged $32M in grants and donations 72,792 acres total preserved in Buncombe County national forest, parks, watersheds, and easements Hickory Nut Gap Farm 17
Bee Branch Farm Sandy Mush 500 Acres Claxton Farm North of Weaverville - 500 18
PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS Buncombe County website judged best in USA in 2010 Questions? 19