The recent articles regarding the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office requesting additional taxpayer funds to pay for sheriff’s deputies patrolling downtown Asheville prompted me to wonder what services, if any, BCSO provides to city residents, outside of the special collaboration programs that began in the past year.
City residents pay Asheville city taxes to fund the Asheville Police Department, and APD provides law enforcement services to city residents. BCSO provides law enforcement services to residents in the county (who live outside the city).
However, city residents pay the same tax rate to Buncombe County as people who live outside the city, and those taxes fund the BCSO. Therefore, if city residents are not using or benefiting from the BCSO, then it would seem that city residents should pay a reduced tax rate to the county. Perhaps someone out there can help me understand what services the Sheriff’s Office routinely provides to city residents.
— L. Cash
Asheville
