The WNC Desk · An independent project of Step Up AVL

Briefs and data on what's happening across Western North Carolina.

Plain-language briefs on the numbers and decisions shaping life in the Asheville area and Western North Carolina. A companion to Step Up AVL's housing and food work, broader in scope. Share any of them by link.

6 briefs · updated 2026-07-07

State budget & policy

North Carolina What the 2026 legislature did on homelessnessThree North Carolina bills moving together in one July week: longer court-ordered treatment, a statewide camping ban, and a repeal of local parking minimums. 2026-07-07 North Carolina What the new state budget does for Western North CarolinaNorth Carolina's first budget since 2023, read for WNC: money for a Medicaid food-and-housing pilot and Helene recovery, and a cut to the legal aid that fights evictions. 2026-07-07

Local budget & taxes

Buncombe County What the county funds for housing and food, and what it turns awayWhat the FY2027 budget puts into affordable housing, food access, and the safety net, and the requests it leaves unfunded. 2026-06-30 City of Asheville Where your city tax dollars go in FY2027Where the city's $275.8M budget goes, what changed, and what the property-tax increase costs a typical homeowner. 2026-06-29 Buncombe County Where your county tax dollars go in FY2027Where the county's $484.4M general-fund budget goes, the rebound from last year's austerity, and what the tax increase costs you. 2026-06-29 Asheville area What an Asheville homeowner actually pays in FY2027City, county, and schools property tax combined into one stack, and what it costs by home value. 2026-06-29