Children First of Buncombe County

2009 Candidate Survey Responses & Voter Guide

Candidate for City Council: Kelly M. Miller (incumbent)

1. What are your top three policy priorities for your term, if elected?

Strengthening our economy and local workforce is Job #1. I am committed to helping entrepreneurship survive and grow in Asheville, as well as supporting programs that prepare our workforce for the ever-changing job environment. When small, locally owned businesses flourish, higher wages are paid and more dollars remain in our community. We must continue to fund innovative workforce development programs that align employment needs with our workforce, regardless of age or color.

Master plans and dedicated funding sources. Citizens provided thousands of hours of input into various master plan processes: Downtown, Transit, Parks/Greenways, Bicycle, Wilma Dykeman Riverway, and Sustainability. Moving these plans from concept to actionable items to funding requires dedication and focus.

Evaluating the effectiveness of City funded social services related programs. I serve on both the Finance and Housing & Community Development committees. We will be working with staff and social services providers to identify the best ways and means to deliver limited dollars to numerous community programs. We must be strategic in how we affect change where change is needed.

2. An estimated 16-20% of Buncombe County’s children and youth live in poverty; a number expected to rise during this recession. What role, if any, does council play in addressing the impact of child poverty (e.g. hunger, health, nutrition, education) in the region?

Council’s role in addressing poverty issues is to do all it can to help organizations such as Children First/CIS fulfill its mission; “To improve the lives of children, youth and their families through community collaboration, advocacy and programs,” and its vision for Asheville; “A community where children and youth are highly valued and are provided the maximum opportunity to reach their full potential.”

I will advocate the following four strategies on council to help fight regional poverty:

Continue pursuing collaborative partnerships with other public policy stakeholders including Advantage West, Land of Sky Regional Council, WNC legislative delegation and our D.C. voices. I’ve worked these channels and know the players.
We must accurately access what is working locally in fighting the war on poverty and be prepared to move resources to be more effective.
The best social program to combat poverty is a vibrant economy creating an increased demand for labor and higher paid jobs. Council can help grow the economy.
Dedicate more resources to boosting affordable housing numbers.

3. How effective has the City been in addressing youth crime, including gang-related activity? Are there other intervention and prevention strategies the City should invest in?

Asheville Police Chief Hogan and Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan are committed to not allowing gang-related activities to gain a major foothold in the Asheville area. Hogan and Duncan’s staff communicate regularly on gang issues because gang activities are not confined to just our city. Two dedicated gang focused officers were added to our force several years ago.

The more emotionally and financially stable families are, the more difficult is it so recruit gang members. To achieve this objective, I support the following intervention and prevention strategies:

Adult parenting and financial programs like Getting Back to Basic and Ontrack.
Supervised afterschool programs such as Children First, YWCA, YMCA, City Rec centers and faith based programs.
Increase the number of mentors in Asheville for our at-risk youth. I am mentoring a young African-American teenager whose mother is in temporary housing. Let’s triple the number of mentors in Asheville.
Encouraging programs such as Listening to Our Teens. We must seek to understand before we are understood.
Strengthen the economy hurts gang recruitment.

4. What is your assessment of the City’s public transportation system? Would you propose changes?

As a community leader, I believe great cities offer residents and visitors a variety of ways to enjoy life without a car. My service on City Council and related committees document my record in making Asheville friendlier to walkers, cyclists or bus riders.

Yes, I do support the Asheville Transit Master Plan and look forward to the final presentation to Council later this year. HDR Engineering’s ATMP steering committee recommendations dated March 12, 2009 and subsequent staff reports do a good job of outlining proposed changes. The eight potential new routes, 19 proposed changes to existing routes, seven guiding principles for routing and six guiding principles for scheduling provides a comfort level that the right questions and audiences were asked on how to improve the current system. I am a believer in empowering appointed boards and commissions to work with staff to present priority action steps to Council for consideration and funding. The Asheville Transit Commission has my full support in working with staff to make sure the TMP is more than a plan gathering dust.

5. The Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign calculates that a single person needs to earn $11.35/hr to have economic self-sufficiency in Asheville. Should the City ensure that all City employees and contractors make a living wage? Why or why not?

I do support a living wage for all city employees. Council has requested more facts on the contract labor piece of this question, specifically, what are the unintended consequences of including contractors? Does it include the non-profits who currently receive city, state or federal dollars? How many subcontractors are the City currently using and what is the average wage paid? What is the feedback from our subcontractors? We anticipate a November 2009 presentation to council by staff regarding the contract labor question.

I would also like to see more living wage information provided to all private businesses in Asheville. My sense is that many businesses are already paying a livable wage when health care and other employee benefits are included in salary calculations. This is a tremendous recruiting and employee retention tool for employers.

6. What further role, if any, should council play in the I-26 Connector debate?

Council should continue playing a major role in the I-26 Connector debate. We represent 72,000 citizens whose voices need continued representation on this issue. The recently announced NCDOT delay in recommending an alternative allows state engineers, our community and council to continue working towards an alternative that accomplishes what I consider eight important goals for Asheville to consider as we move forward:

Affordable: Are funds available to fund the chosen alternative?
Neighborhood impact: Continue pushing NCDOT to reduce impacts in Burton Street and Montford neighborhoods.
Connectivity: Which alternative effectively connects neighborhoods?
Enhancements: Make sure physical enhancements are included in NCDOT’s work. Use value engineering to reduce costs to hopefully include enhancements such as a signature bridge.
Transparency: Insist that NCDOT continues to engage the citizens throughout the process in 2009-10.
Preservation of viewsheds and watersheds.
Noise and carbon pollution: Which alternative generates the least auto traffic noise and carbon pollution?
Right of way allowances: Will NDCOT grant the City/County right of way access to developable land current owned by North Carolina?

7. Describe your vision for increasing affordable housing options in Asheville. How do the existing locations of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville fit your vision?

I have served on Council and the Housing & Community Development committee for nearly a year. My vision for increasing affordable housing in Asheville hinges on seven specific strategies:

Encourage more collaborative partnerships. The five-agency collaboration formed to receive nearly $500,000 of Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP) grant funding (9/8/2009) is a perfect example.
Funding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund at the highest level possible. I fought to preserve $300,000 in the AHTF for FY 09-10. As the economy improves, I will champion for a higher commitment.
Make additional modifications to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that encourage community developers to build more affordable housing units.
Reduce development costs for affordable housing developers.
Implementation of our master plans, especially the Downtown plan, that includes affordable house components.
Increase educational opportunities for our lower income population on how pathways to home ownership really work in Asheville.
Keep our eyes on ARRA opportunities and submit affordable housing related applications in a timely manner.

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