BPR interviewed Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer this week ahead of the $530 million Helene-recovery legislation passage in the state General Assembly and asked her about everything from the city鈥檚 budget to why Asheville had to remove DEI language from a key federal disaster aid request.
Below are highlights from the conversation with Manheimer and BPR Host Helen Chickering.
Status of business recovery in Asheville:
鈥淪ome businesses are back 鈥� and others may never reopen.鈥�
"We have a lot of businesses that are doing well, and they鈥檙e open for business, and we鈥檙e seeing a lot of visitors return to Asheville,鈥� Manheimer said. 鈥淏ut we have others that have closed, and others that are temporarily closed that we hope will still be able to reopen.鈥�
She said the city has worked hard to support businesses as they recover, but she acknowledged that disaster relief options are limited.
鈥淵ou have the SBA 鈥� the Small Business Administration 鈥� that provides loans,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut a lot of folks are saying, 鈥楲ook, I took out a loan during COVID, and I don鈥檛 want to take out another loan.鈥欌��
Instead, Asheville has been advocating for grants and other financial assistance.
鈥淭here are a lot of things in the works,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he city has been able to provide funds, philanthropic entities have provided funds, the state has provided some funds. We鈥檙e hoping that the state legislative package that鈥檚 pending now, that will be voted on either today or tomorrow, will include additional grant funds for businesses.鈥�
She acknowledged, however, that navigating the process remains difficult for business owners.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a patchwork, I guess, that鈥檚 really the right way to think about it for folks,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 tremendously frustrating for business owners to try to figure out all the information they need to know, all the opportunities they have to make those applications 鈥� and some of them aren鈥檛 successful.鈥�
Shortfall in city budget:
Asheville鈥檚 financial strain extends beyond businesses. The city itself is experiencing a significant revenue loss due to the storm鈥檚 impact.
鈥淲e鈥檙e facing a $15 million revenue shortfall 鈥攁nd that has consequences.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a good program to provide revenue loss operating costs for cities and counties, school systems, fire districts, what have you,鈥� Manheimer said.
鈥淲e have plenty of money coming in to rebuild roads, but these are public roads, parks, water infrastructure, those kinds of things. But we don鈥檛 have the funding to cover revenue losses. For example, the city of Asheville is tracking about $15 million of revenue loss for this current fiscal year.鈥�
She said the budget situation was already challenging before the hurricane, but the storm made it worse.
鈥淓ven before this hurricane, cities were struggling,鈥� she said. 鈥淎fter COVID, sales taxes flattened out, and now it鈥檚 even worse.鈥�
Asheville is focused on maintaining its AAA bond rating, which ensures lower interest rates when borrowing for infrastructure projects.
鈥淭o maintain our fiscal health, we will have to raise taxes to some extent,鈥� she said, confirming that a property tax increase is likely.
Communication, emergency management:
鈥淥ur response went well 鈥� but disasters like this are a learning experience.鈥�
鈥淭he city did a lot of things right,鈥� Manheimer said. 鈥淲e rewrote our emergency operations procedures, trained everyone, and built the emergency operations center on Broadway, which we had just opened.鈥�
The city quickly mobilized all 1,200 employees for disaster recovery.
鈥淚mmediately, every one of our 1,200-plus employees was reassigned to disaster recovery,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether you were already a frontline person working in search and rescue, or if you were in Parks and Rec or some other department, you were immediately reassigned.鈥�
She also highlighted the role of communication in keeping residents informed.
鈥淧eople could hear it 鈥� right here on this radio station,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s soon as they could get online, or turn their car radio on, they could hear those updates.鈥�
At the same time, responding to a disaster on this scale was a learning process.
鈥淥ne thing that has been a learning experience for me is the complexity of a disaster like this and all the federal pieces that it triggers,鈥� she said.
She said she encourages other communities to prepare in advance by learning how federal disaster aid works.
鈥淲hen FEMA lands in your community, when the Army Corps of Engineers lands in your community, when the EPA and the USDOT and all the different partners that need to help you arrive, you need to understand how that鈥檚 going to work and what information you鈥檒l have to provide.鈥�
On DEI opposition, changes to Asheville HUD proposal:
鈥淗UD told us to remove the DEI language 鈥� and we had to make a choice.鈥�
A more recent challenge in Asheville鈥檚 recovery came when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) flagged Asheville鈥檚 $225 million Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) over language related to the city鈥檚 Minority and Women-Owned Business (MWBE) program.
鈥淭he requirement of HUD before we can receive what鈥檚 called CDBG-DR funds 鈥� these are funds that are on top of all the FEMA recovery and rebuilding funds 鈥� is that the city and the state also have to prepare what鈥檚 called an action plan,鈥� Manheimer explained.
鈥淲e have to submit that action plan to the community for comment, which is happening right now. And then we have to submit it to HUD for approval. And all those steps have to be followed before we can receive any of the allocated funds 鈥� $225 million in this case for the city of Asheville.鈥�
The issue, she said, came down to a single reference in the plan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long plan,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd on page 76 of that plan, it referred to the city鈥檚 Minority and Women-Owned Business contracting program. A lot of cities have them.鈥�
鈥淭hat was what was objected to,鈥� she continued. 鈥淪o we removed the reference to the program, and we鈥檝e been informed by the HUD staff that that is acceptable.鈥�
Manheimer said the city received a direct email from the HUD secretary, which she described as polite but firm.
鈥淲e got an email from the HUD secretary,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, you know, the email was very kind and expressed an eagerness to work with us and support our recovery, but reminded us of the president鈥檚 order.鈥�
She acknowledged that the federal directive is still in legal dispute.
鈥淗onestly, I believe it鈥檚 an order that鈥檚 in litigation,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it was an order that the president signed, and so they said that they needed us to remove the reference.鈥�
She described wrestling with the decision 鈥� whether to comply or push back.
鈥淚 talk to my kids about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 talk to my colleagues about it. Where do you fall on that spectrum? Do you scream and shout and get yourself kicked out of the meeting? Do you have a sidebar conversation?鈥�
Despite political tensions over DEI, she said that every federal official who has visited Asheville in person has expressed support for the city.
鈥淭hey come here, shake my hand, and say, 鈥楬ow can we help?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd then you see what happens on social media and in the press or on TV, and it鈥檚 almost like a completely disconnected world to me.鈥�
For now, she said, securing recovery funds remains the priority.
鈥淎sheville鈥檚 recovery is not just about fixing what was lost,鈥� Manheimer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure we鈥檙e stronger moving forward.鈥�
