Equity-Focused Budget Engagement
Equity-Focused Budget Engagement
Results Overview
All input from this engagement was used to help inform budget decisions for fiscal year 21-22. It will also help inform how the city will spend ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds
Click here for a comprehensive budget engagement summary
This engagment involved:
- Two rounds of online public meetings
- Meetings with community leaders
- Employee engagement sessions
- An online survey (Click here for results)
This year, city staff is approaching the development of the city manager’s recommended budget differently.
Instead of focusing solely on the math of where funds are allocated, the intention is also being put behind a strategic view of how city services are delivered. The goal is to recommend a budget that Advances Racial Equity.
In collaboration with the consultants who led the Re-imagining Public Safety engagement last year and the City’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, City departments are exploring how city services impact social, economic, and environmental justice.
Using input heard through community engagements such as Re-imagining Public Safety, the Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan, neighborhood meetings, and other master planning processes, staff is working to identify budget recommendations that begin the process of addressing injustices.
Ideas that could be funded in this year’s budget process will be brought back to the community for feedback before the recommended budget is presented to City Council for consideration.
Timeline for the Budget Process
March 9: Budget Worksession #1
Presentation
March 23: Budget Worksession #2
Presentation
April 13: Budget Worksession #3
April 27: Budget Worksession #4
Presentation
Responsed to 4.13.21 Work Session
May 11: Budget Worksession #5
May 25: City Manager's Proposed Budget
Presentation
Proposed Budget Document
June 8: Public Hearing
Presentation
June 22: Budget Adoption
Presentation
Instructions for participation can be found at the City's Engagement HUB: www.PublicInput.com/hub/88.
Upcoming input opportunities
Closing the Loop!
Please watch this short video on what the City heard during our Re-Imagining Outreach.
Here's the Equity-Focused Budget Survey. Thank you for Participating!
Equity-Focused Budget Sessions
The multiple sessions are all the same in Round One and then a new session for Round Two in April. We are providing multiple opportunities to participate and there will be a survey posted.
Round One Sessions:
March 18 - 6:00-7:30 p.m.
March 24 - 6:00-7:30 p.m.
March 25 - 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Round Two Sessions:
April 20 - 6:00-7:30 p.m.
April 22 - 6:00-7:30 p.m.
April 23 - 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Community Engagement Academy
Click Image Above to Register
They are Back! Meet the Facilitators for our Next Round
AMPLIFY COMMUNITY CONSULTING
Christine Edwards, MPA, Founder and Principal for Amplify Community Consulting
Established in 2018, Amplify Community Consulting is a minority-owned consulting firm located in Charlotte, NC. The firm consists of professionals experienced in multiple disciplines, including community outreach planning, community development, marketing, communication, and local government policy. They work with governments and nonprofits to enhance their community engagement capacity and increase awareness of special projects by hosting public meetings and workshops, specifically for capital projects and community developments. They also offer civic engagement tools and resources for community leaders as well as local government education resources. Amplify Charlotte is a proud project of the Emerging City Champions Fellowship 2018. They are a registered MWBE vendor with the State of North Carolina and the City of Charlotte, and a HUB Certified Business. Though Amplify Charlotte specializes in community outreach planning and place-based outreach initiatives, they have professional experience with priority-setting, stakeholder interviewing, public opinion polling, and internal (employee) engagement that improve the quality of life for community residents and stakeholders.
SHEMEKKA EBONY
Shemekka Ebony, 2018 CJA Health Equity Leader Award Winner and 2020 BWR SISTARS Leadership Award recipient, is a Brilliant wife and mother of 6. Shemekka is a community engagement expert, Health and Racial Equity leader, and a Johns Hopkins’ Health Policy Research Scholars Leadership Coach, an initiative funded by Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. Shemekka is committed to expanding awareness about policy transformation in the areas of ending discrimination, racial equity, health equity, and economic equity with marginalized communities and emphasis with Black Women. I Am Brilliant is her flagship for organizing and engagement strategies dedicated to connecting all the threads that weave through communities in order to provide people better access, honor their experiences, and institute better practices for sustainable partnerships. She works with her husband, Michael Stewart-Isaacs, co-founder of I Am Brilliant to consult several Community and National organizations for better practices in meaningful and authentic community engagement.
