State, federal burden shifts to Asheville property owners

ASHEVILLE - Tightening of federal and state funding has shifted the tax burden onto local property taxpayers, such as Asheville homeowners, according to City Council members, some of whom went so far as to say the cuts represent a strategy to oust liberal municipal officials.

The council members said this month the cuts put pressure on city officials to either increase taxes or reduce programs for such things as affordable housing or public buses. Mayor Esther Manheimer and Councilman Cecil Bothwell said the moves are part of a partisan political strategy by state and federal officials, something denied by Republicans.

“The intention is to create tension so you are disappointed with these funding decisions," Manheimer said during an April 11 council meeting that followed budget talks for the July 1 fiscal year. "Ultimately, if the whole plan works, you’re supposed to vote in a bunch of Republicans, but I’m not sure if that's what will happen."

Afterward, two local Republican state legislators rejected the charge, though Rep. Chuck McGrady of Hendersonville said there was a rural-urban divide that "continues to play out."

Read more: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/04/18/state-federal-burden-shifts-asheville-property-owners/100598732/