ASHEVILLE – The Reparations Commission recently heard the preliminary results of an equity audit aimed at assessing the harm perpetuated against Black residents in Asheville and Buncombe County through existing policies, practices and programs. The consultant said this is the first known audit of its kind funded by city and county government.
The $174,375 contract cost was split between the city and county.
Florida-based Carter Development Group was selected by commissioners to conduct the study, dubbed the “Cease the Harm Audit,” and began its work over the summer.
Adrian Carter, project leader and founder of The Carter Group, led the January 22 presentation. The report lists 70 preliminary recommendations, of which only 28 were shared at the meeting, some of which may seem familiar, including calls for more affordable housing and greater police transparency. There may be some.
But committee members and local activists told the Citizen Times that the report’s recommendations, even those that appear to be duplicative of ongoing efforts, are important to ensure that work actually takes place. He said it was essential for moving forward.
“A squeaky wheel has grease,” said Rob Thomas, executive director of the Asheville Racial Justice Coalition. “They have to listen over and over again. They have to start hearing not just the problems, but the solutions.”
Similarly, Reparations Commission Commissioner Tiffany Deverott said the recommendations were “on point” and that highlighting specific disparities was a “priority and urgency” to take to address them. “It tells a lot about sexuality.”
“Sometimes you have to tell them, tell them again, and tell them what you told them,” Develot said.
What did the audit find?
Carter said the audit was compiled through a review of more than 1,000 documents, including policies, procedures and reports across seven focus areas. The Carter Group has met 18 times with various city and county departments since being selected last summer. The study looked at information from July 2020 to June 2023.
Among the preliminary damages laid out on Jan. 22 are the levels of Black participation and representation in city and county opportunities, or to determine whether there is an equitable use of funds allocated to partnership programs. It included findings surrounding insufficient data-driven practices to
“Data is not being collected effectively,” Carter said. The report is a signal to cities and counties that they need to start collecting data to “ensure representativeness,” he said.
“How do we value representation, how do we ensure access, and how do we secure knowledge if we’re not collecting data that can be measured in the first place?”
Mr Carter said it was also found that local governments lacked extensive racial equity training to create basic knowledge about fair practices. He also cited limited affordable housing and the “subjective interpretation” of human resources departments’ hiring and promotion processes, which can enable hidden, implicit and explicit bias. criticized.
“I think that’s information that you already know. It’s not so much that counties and cities have created a particular harm, it’s how they address that particular harm,” Carter said. He spoke about the results of a survey regarding housing needs.
Carter elicited a murmur of agreement from the room as he spoke.
The more than two-hour presentation featured recommendations from the commission’s five impact focus areas, including housing, health and wellness, criminal justice, education, and economic development.
“I was actually shocked at how good the audit was,” Thomas said.
“You can see everything in one place, including the relationship between AMI and Black annual income, the percentage of Black people who rely on subsidized housing, and issues in the education system and the criminal justice system,” Thomas said. , the Carter Group felt he touched on a theme he had been advocating for many years.
Until now, he said, the problem has been addressed with “band-aid solutions rather than large-scale bailouts.”
He hoped this would be a path to “long-term, iterative and adaptive solutions.”
More data, training and transparency
The slides include a breakdown of area median incomes, showing Asheville’s highest rent increases in the state and a median household income of $22,312 for white residents ($70,209) and white residents ($70,209). The survey results once again highlight the disparity in home ownership for black residents, which is significantly lower than that of white residents ($70,209). Average ($64,548).
The results are similar to the Thrive Asheville report submitted to the Asheville City Council in November, which states that the city is targeting incomes at the upper end of affordability, such as 60% to 80% of the area median income. concluded that housing investments are likely to worsen race and gender. gap.
Addressing the urgent need for affordable housing was first recognized as a strategic priority by the Asheville City Council in March 2022. In December 2021, it was named a top spending priority for Buncombe County Commissioners.
The presentation also called for the creation of a Buncombe County Black Chamber of Commerce, more measurable training for the Asheville Police Department and Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, and for the county to conduct a disparities study. The City of Asheville has been conducting a disparity study since 2018.
Some of the information presented on the slides was later found to be inaccurate. For example, a data point that seems to suggest his 72% of Asheville’s black residents live in public housing. The city confirmed on January 29 that the number had been corrected by The Carter Group.
According to the 2020 Census, Asheville has 9,938 Black residents. This represents 10.5% of the city’s total population, a decrease of 1,196 people since 2010. Approximately 2,845 people were found living in public housing complexes, according to data provided to the Citizen Times by the Housing Authority in May. Of those, 40% are white and 53% are black.
A final report and presentation is scheduled for the end of February, city spokeswoman Kim Miller said. It will be presented to the Buncombe County Commission on March 5th and to the Asheville City Council on March 12th.
The Carter Group’s presentation and other meeting materials are available on the city’s website at ashvillenc.gov/Department/city-clark/boards-and-commissions/reparations-commission/.
What happened to the application for extension of compensation?
In October, the Reparations Commission requested an eight-month extension to the two-year deadline, which would extend the process until December 2024.
The request was met with a cold shoulder from some Buncombe County commissioners, who appear to have agreed to a June extension, and were initially not agreed to by the Asheville City Council.
A response from the city attached to the Jan. 22 Community Reparations Commission agenda said staff recommended continuing the current level of support for the commission’s work through June 30. .
“Staff will continue to provide the support necessary to ensure the success of this important effort,” the memo said.
The historic 25-member board is tasked with making short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations to repair the damage caused by systemic racism in the public and private sectors. The resolution supporting reparations was first passed by the Asheville City Council on July 14, 2020. Asheville and Buncombe County were among the first in the country to implement such an initiative.
The resolution does not set a deadline. Commissioner He was appointed to the Commission in March 2022. There were no term limits.
All draft recommendations are expected to be submitted to the full committee by February.
Mr. Develotto stressed the need for the committee to have time to incorporate Mr. Carter’s recommendations into the ongoing work of the Reparations Commission.
“This is a monumental task, and it won’t happen overnight. We need to consider how we can continue this effort even without the support of our local cities and counties. ” she said. ”
The Community Reparations Committee will next meet on February 19th at 6 p.m. in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center ballroom. The meeting will be held in public.
more:The Asheville Reparations Commission is seeking an extension. Waiting for the final decision in “limbo”
more:What is reparation? Seventeen months later, the Asheville Board of Trustees is still struggling to define itself.
See some of our preliminary recommendations
Economic development
- We will develop a “Usage and Industry Dashboard” to understand the funds raised by cities and counties.
- Conduct a disparity study on inclusive procurement practices in Buncombe County.
- Establishes the Buncombe County Negro Chamber of Commerce.
education
- A universal assessment tool for early childhood education.
- Utilization of educational subject matter experts.
- Data collection.
- Require cultural sensitivity training for school resource personnel.
- Pursue legislative changes that tie funding to specific county-driven metrics.
housing
- Increase housing supply.
- Collaborate with counties, housing authorities, and other key stakeholders to develop strategic housing plans.
- Establishes a joint housing commission comprised of Buncombe County, the city, and the Housing Authority to develop a joint strategy to increase affordable housing.
health and wellness
- Increase the number of indoor winter markets.
- Create a “Healthy Corner Store” initiative to provide healthier options to food-insecure Black communities.
- Improve advertising and tracking for pop-up markets, including SNAP-approved opportunities.
- Improve data collection and visibility into demographics and community engagement for parks and recreation programs.
- Create health and fitness challenges, such as walking and cycling campaigns.
criminal justice
- Conduct skill assessments in the form of “measurable scenario-based recorded training” and pre- and post-tests to understand the overall proficiency and competency level of your department.
- We will continue to conduct race-related training annually and incorporate a measurable approach.
- Leverage volunteer citizens to participate in scenario-based training, encourage both peer and citizen reviews, and ensure transparency.
- We work with the Citizen Police Academy, a program of the Asheville Police Department.
internal employees
For both city and county:
- Develop policies and procedures for hiring managers and interview panels.
- Conduct comprehensive data collection on key relationship indicators annually.
- Conduct an annual employee engagement survey.
For counties:
- Develop a point system incentive for completing leadership and skill development courses in Buncombe County.
For cities:
- Develop women-focused leadership programs to support the advancement of women of color.
Equity inclusion and human rights
For both:
- Work with Human Resources to conduct comprehensive data collection of key employee metrics annually.
- Work with your human resources department to conduct an annual employee engagement survey.
For cities:
- Require professional development training in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all staff, starting with executive leadership.
Sarah Honosky is a city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message @slhonosky on Twitter. Support local daily journalism by subscribing to Citizen Times.
