Don’t spend tax dollars in Buncombe
To the Editor:
The Haywood County Board of Commissioners has been transferring $75,000 annually, since 2018, to Buncombe-Asheville Chamber of Commerce for a “Joint Economic Development” initiative to attract businesses and jobs to Haywood County.
After requesting documented proof of the initiative's outcome from our board’s chairman, and a Freedom of Information Act request to the county manager, no documented evidence has been provided showing that our $650,000 investment to date has led to a single new business or job in Haywood County.
The Mountaineer published an article about this joint agreement which states, “The team approach between the chambers has worked well, landing $2.3 billion in investments and 17,000 jobs for the region, meeting documents stated. While none of the investment was directly in Haywood County, in two and a half years, the county has had 27 site visits and been a finalist in three projects.”
So, despite Haywood County's hundreds of thousands of dollars to Buncombe-Asheville, only Asheville has benefited from the program. Haywood County has seen no new businesses, revenue, or jobs from the $2.3 billion and 17,000 jobs Asheville has attracted.
The article suggests that regardless of our contribution, Buncombe-Asheville’s Chamber of Commerce would have continued implementing its economic development plan to attract businesses to its area and draw Haywood County workers to fill jobs created by those businesses. The difference? Haywood County would not be financially contributing to a program that benefits only Asheville.
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Remember, a city’s chamber of commerce prioritizes growing businesses and jobs within its own area. Any company expressing interest in relocating, the Buncombe-Asheville Chamber of Commerce will naturally persuade them to settle in their city, not in Haywood County. Ms. Hy-att’s report shows this has been the actual outcome of this program.
Our county commissioners' failure to invest our taxes in our county’s economic development wastes our resources and forces our residents to travel to Asheville for jobs or relocate out of Haywood County.
In my view, our board of commissioners is not being transparent about these expenditures or behind-the-scenes deals that are not in the best interest of our taxpayers.
L.E. Cossette
Waynesville
