Buncombe County Commissioners tabled a vote on a workforce housing incentives policy at their Nov. 16 meeting. In other actions on their agenda, they
• Voted 5-0 to to bring the way the county collects the 4 percent hotel tax in line with other counties in the state.
• Voted 5-0 to cover the transaction costs — $14,000 — for a conservation-easement deal that will preserve 78 acres in the Upper Broad community.
• Heard a report on the county’s finances, which auditing accountant Chuck Killian said “were extremely good.”
Here’s roundup of live reports via Twitter from reporter Jake Frankel:
4:42 p.m. Things are getting going here at the Buncombe Commissioners meeting with a public hearing on the hotel tax.
4:45 p.m. The board passed a bill 5-0 to bring the way the county collects the 4 percent tax in line with other counties in the state.
4:53 p.m. Next up, the board votes 5-0 to cover the transaction costs ($14,000) of a conservation easement deal to preserve 78 acres.
4:54 p.m. The land is in the Upper Broad Community and includes streams that are part of the headwaters to the Broad River.
4:57 p.m. Chair David Gantt to land owner: This is probably the greatest gift you could give the community. Thanks for being a leader.
4:59 p.m. Land owner Chuck Fortune: The family would like to do this to keep it a farm and keep all these houses from creeping up.
5:02 p.m. County Finance Director Donna Clark steps up to the lectern to deliver a report on the county’s finances.
5:10 p.m. The report found that the county had a fund balance of $158.5 million last year, an increase of $28.1 million over the prior year.
5:12 p.m. A lot of that $ ($81.5 million) has already been designated for expenditures such as courthouse, landfill and DSS improvements.
5:17 p.m. Accountant Chuck Killian: Basically, in a nutshell, the county financial audit findings were extremely good.
5:21 p.m. Killian: I’m not going to bore you with the issues in here, because on every issue the county turned out good.
5:30 p.m. Now the board is considering a new workforce housing incentive policy proposal.
5:43 p.m. The board votes 5-0 to delay decision on workforce housing policy to seek more feedback and make changes.
5:45 p.m. Commissioner K. Ray Bailey: I want to make sure that whatever we’re doing, we follow the right procedures.
5:46 p.m. Vice Chair Bill Stanley: I think we want this to happen, but we want to do it right.
5:59 p.m. Board plans to continue working on the policy at its Dec. 14 retreat. Meeting adjourned.
