Lower city spending = fewer greenways, roadwork, sidewalks





ASHEVILLE – Greenways, leaf-sucking trucks, road repairs, community center improvements — all are on the wish lists of city residents.

"Sidewalks," said Montford resident Ian Foust, who doesn't drive and figures he walks five miles a day including getting to his job at the Asheville Mall.

But despite such projects' popularity with residents and hopeful promises by local politicians, serious boosts to these kinds of services may have to wait. Years after the end of the Great Recession, one sector of the local economy has not recovered, according to data from city staff. It's municipal spending.

According to numbers from the Asheville Finance Department, city spending per resident, despite climbing in recent years, is still below the 14-year high of $1,249 in 2008.

While fiscal hawks might see this as good news, it has meant hard choices for elected officials who have campaigned on services ranging from increasing the number of buses to making the streets safer for walkers and cyclists.

"I can't even tell you all the plans in place to build greenways and to do sidewalk construction — all kinds of major improvements that if we had the funds we would love to see tomorrow," Mayor Esther Manheimer said.

People outpace revenue

The numbers in question come from Asheville's general fund. That's the pot of money now hovering around $100 million, which pays for most of the city's core services, from police to fire protection to sidewalk construction.

Other parts of the budget are mostly enterprise funds, such as water service or parking or buses. Those funds are set up to pay for themselves through fees, though some get help in the form of money transfers either from the general fund or from each other.

About 50 percent of revenue in the general fund comes from property taxes. After that comes sales taxes at about 20 percent, followed by intergovernmental transfers. Here's some of the important numbers regarding general fund spending:

•Since 2000, general fund revenues have climbed from $63.1 million to $99.5 million today.

•The population, meanwhile, has grown from 68,889 to 89,042 during those 15 years.

•During 2000-15 the city saw it's highest per capita spending in 2008 at $1,146, just before the national economic collapse.

•Two years later, when the full effect of the recession was felt in 2010, spending crashed to $875 per resident.

•When inflation is factored in, the difference in spending is even more dramatic. Per capita spending in 2008 adjusted to today's dollars was $1,249, compared to the current $1,117.





Creeping back?

Some point to the lower spending as a sign of fiscal responsibility, a reflection of "economic reality," said city Finance Director Barbara Whitehorn.

Whitehorn characterized the last three years when spending has increased both in historic and inflation-adjusted dollars as a sign of recovery. That rise came along with a property tax rate hike in 2013.

"The increase in per capita is an indicator of an improving economy that enables the city to fund infrastructure maintenance and service delivery at their necessary levels," she said.

But others still see great gaps.

Manheimer remembers when the full effect of the economic crash took effect on the city five years ago.

"There were hiring freezes. The number of city employees dropped," the mayor said. Most services were maintained, though some weren't as robust, she said.

That included leaf pickup when the city decided not to reinvest in its vacuum truck service in 2011. Buying new trucks would cost a minimum of $400,000-$600,000, while labor, maintenance and fuel would run $800,000 a year, according to a 2014 estimate.

Residents are now asked to bag their leaves for pickup, though rakers continue to grumble.

The city also contracted out the municipal golf course and shed its obligation of paying annual expenses for the McCormick Field baseball stadium.

"What really suffers in a recession are those kind of quality-of-life services such as parks and rec, because you have to provide police and fire — those are half the budget," Manheimer said.

"We heard a lot from people about rec centers. They wanted a new basketball court floor or a tennis court resurfaced."

But some such as Foust say the services being put off are more than quality of life; they come down to safety.

In the last decade he's noticed more sidewalks being built, "but there are still lots of areas where there aren't any and you have to walk in the street," he said.

"All through North Asheville, East Asheville, all through Oakley and Haw Creek — there's lots of areas where there are families and children and no sidewalks."