CITY OF ASHEVILLE: OUR QUALITY OF SERVICE,

YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE

Gary Jackson, City Manager

Our quality of service, your quality of life

Asheville the City

Population: 72,000- 22% minority population

Urban hub of WNC- Medicine- Commerce- Culture

Revitalized downtown National recognition

- Culture & Arts- Tourism & natural beauty- Retirement

History – Did you know?

Asheville was originally named “Morristown” in 1793

- Incorporated as “Asheville” in 1797 after North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe

When the Great Depression hit, Asheville had the highest per capita debt in the nation

- When most cities defaulted on the debt, Asheville decided to pay it back

- Took more than 50 years

How Others See Asheville Now

Outside Magazine’s top 10 cities to live, work and recreate

Vacation Magazine’s top 10 cities: Getaway Destination

Family Circle Magazine’s top 20 Family Resort Cities

Sea Tourism/Travel top 15 cities in the U.S. for group tours

American Style Magazine’s top 25 art cities in the U.S.

Governance - City Council

Form of Government: Council/Manager

City Council comprised of Mayor and six Council Members - Elected to 4-year, staggered terms- Elected at large- Mayor serves as ceremonial head of government and

sets Council’s agendas but does not have veto power

Responsibility: Setting policy for the City

Appoint: City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk

City Council Committees

Revenue and Finance Committee

- Third Tuesday of each month, 3:30 p.m., City Hall room 209

Public Safety Committee

- Second Tuesday, 7 a.m., 4th floor Training Room Municipal Building (Police and Fire Headquarters)

Planning & Economic Development Committee

- Second Wednesday, 2 p.m., Office of Economic Development (29 Haywood St.)

Housing and Community Development Committee

- Third Monday, 3 p.m., City Hall's 5th floor conference room

City Council

City Council has the power to:

Determine policy in planning, traffic, law and order, public works, finance, and recreation;

Adopt the budget and levy taxes;

Authorize the issuance of bonds (borrow money);

Appoint members to city boards, commissions and committees;

Inquire into the conduct of any city office or department;

Provide for an independent audit; and

Provide for the number, titles, duties, and compensation of all officers and employees of the city.

City Manager

Appointed by City Council Responsibility:

• Day-to-day operation of the City• Prepare issues/policies that will be presented

to City Council for action• Hire department directors• Recommend annual budget to City Council for

consideration/adoption

City Services

External Services− Police, Fire

− Building Safety

− Public Works (Streets and Sanitation)

− Civic Center

− Planning & Development

− Water Resources

− Parks and Recreation

− Engineering & Transportation Services

Internal Services− Finance (Accounting, Risk Management, Purchasing, Payroll)

− Human Resources (Recruitment and Selection, Compensation, Benefits, Training)

– Information Technology

– Engineering (also External)

– Administration (City Manager, Budget, Legal

City Services by the Numbers

• 385 miles of roads

• 133 miles of sidewalks

• 12,531 street lights

• Collecting trash from

28,814 rollout containers

• Responding to 14,000

calls for emergency

medical or fire service

(data from 2005-06)

• Responding to nearly

100,000 calls for police

assistance (2005)

• 50,000 water customers

• 1,400 miles of water lines

• Processing 2,189

building permit

applications (2005)

The City of Asheville is responsible for:

City Council’s Strategic Goals

City Council priority areas:

Community Building

Economic Development, Job & Business Growth

Growth, Development & Land Use

Housing Opportunities

Natural and Built Environment

Partnerships to Improve Critical Services and Infrastructure

Sense of Place, Heritage & Arts

Growth issues: Population Demands

Asheville’s daytime population is nearly double its residential population- Highest ratio in the state for cities > 50,000

residents- 15th highest ratio in the nation for cities 50,000-

99,000 residents

Daytime vs. Nighttime Population

  City Resident PopulationDaytime

Population Ratio

1 Asheville 68,889 102,472 1.49

2 Wilmington 75,838 105,774 1.39

3 Winston-Salem 185,776 233,617 1.26

4 Jacksonville 66,715 87,346 1.31

5 Greensboro 223,891 282,808 1.26

6 High Point 85,839 105,462 1.23

7 Raleigh 276,093 345,286 1.25

8 Charlotte 540,828 655,483 1.21

9 Rocky Mount 55,893 64,787 1.16

10 Gastonia 66,277 76,887 1.16

11 Greenville 60,476 70,501 1.17

12 Fayetteville 121,015 138,334 1.14

13 Durham 187,035 214,137 1.14

14 Concord 55,977 61,189 1.09

15 Cary 94,536 92,231 0.98

Growth issues: Population Demands

By 2025, Asheville will have 90,000+ new residents and Buncombe County will have 280,000+ new residents

- 10,000 new homes in Asheville- 35,000 new homes in Buncombe County- 350,000 more daily trips on city streets and

state roads

Opportunities

High Performance

High Performance Organization

Core Values

Management Systems

Roles and Responsibilities

VISION

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

What “business” are we in?MISSION

Where do we place energy & resources?

GOALSWho does what?

When?

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

How good do we want to be?

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLANWhat do I need to do to improve?

TRAININGA system to provide support.

How Systems Fit Together

Service Delivery: Asheville’s High Performance Model

Recent Accomplishments

Opening of two new fire stations- Improved response time from 10-13 minutes to under 6

minutes for 80% of all calls in the West district

UDO Amendments- 43 UDO Amendments approved by Council in 2006 and 2007

Economic Development Partnerships 2,700 new jobs added to the metro-Asheville economy since

2006 More than 400 advanced manufacturing jobs have been

created in the last 18 months with companies like Volvo Construction Equipment, Smiths Aerospace, and Colbond

2007-08 Budget: Expenditures

Salaries & Wages37.0%

Fringe Benefits11.1%

Operating Costs28.5%

Debt Service9.4%

Capital Outlay14.0%

2007-08 Budget: Revenues

Charges For Service34.0%

Investment Earnings1.0%

Property Tax31.3%

Parking Fees & Misc.2.6%

Intergovernmental8.6%

Sales Tax12.9%

Gen Fund Sub./Other2.1%

Licenses & Permits4.2%

Fund Balance3.3%

Opportunities: New Initiatives for 2007-08

Public Safety Enhancements- Two additional police beats - 10 additional police officers- 18 additional firefighters- Enhanced staffing in APD Criminal Investigations

Downtown Investment- Downtown Sanitation Crew- Graffiti Removal Program - Downtown Master Plan - Urban Trail maintenance program- Downtown public restrooms

Infrastructure Investment- Additional sidewalk crew- Greenway acquisition and master planning- Pedestrian and traffic safety improvements

Growth, Development & Environment- City-owned property project- Transit investment- Sustainability Plan for reducing greenhouse gas

emissions by 2 percent per year

Opportunities: New Initiatives for 2007-08

Opportunities

Quality of Life

Quality of life is our business. People come here because of:

Our natural beauty Our diverse architecture Our local businesses Our cultural and recreational

opportunities

Quality service means quality of life.

Questions or Comments?