'Slap in the face;' Asheville Reparations Commission balks at proposed timeline changes

ASHEVILLE - In a process already rife with change, the reparations commission is again potentially tweaking both its timeline and model, a conversation that raised some concern from commission members who said they were owed their promised two years.

The new proposed schedule, heard Jan. 9, anticipates the project's end in October 2023, months later than the plan's first iteration created back in 2021, due to the repeatedly delayed seating of the commission, but earlier than the current trajectory of the project.

"This is a little aggressive," said project manager Christine Edwards while presenting the new timeline. "But I heard you loud and clear when you said we’re not doing enough right now. And so that was one of things that I wanted to build in was an opportunity to see recommendations sooner."

Previous coverage:What does reparations mean? 8 months into process, Asheville still finding its way

Related:TEQuity backs out of Asheville reparations project management, Charlotte firm takes over

Though Chair Dwight Mullen was quick to call this a "first reading" of the timeline changes, Commissioner Keith Young was the first to say that "there is a lot wrong, in my view, of this timeline."

After repeated delays, the board first sat in April 2022, months after the intended start date. According to early project news releases, the commission members were intended to be seated for two-year terms.

"On first glance, this is not it," Young said of the proposed timeline. "The aggressiveness of getting things done is great, but short-changing us on such a monumental effort is a slap in the face."

This comment in the Jan. 9 meeting was met with an audible, "Oh, wow," from Edwards. Then, "Thank you for your feedback."

Edwards is the new reparations project manager. Her Charlotte-based firm Civility Localized took over the $365,583-contract in November after consulting firm TEQuity backed out of the project.

"I definitely hear you loud and clear. I will probably have to talk to the city and county about the project management, but I think that makes sense. It makes sense. If you all were seated in 2022, then wrap up and close out in 2024 makes sense to me," Edwards said.

Though "short, medium and long-term recommendations" has long been the language used to describe the work of the Community Reparations Commission, the verbiage pivoted in the presentation from Edwards.

"Prioritization is no longer based on short, medium or long-term time ranges, but rather on feasibility and community impact," read the presentation.

Asheville's historic 20-member board is tasked with making recommendations to the city and county for repairing damage caused by public and private systemic racism.

Rather than recommendations taking the project through to "close out" in April 2024, which is the current timeline — a year later than TEQuity's initial contract, which was scheduled to last until April 2023 — submission of the written report and reparations project closeout was proposed for October 2023.

Edwards said she would take all feedback into account, and encouraged commission members to email her comments to further develop the timeline.

Vice Chair Dewana Little said she intended to have the final timeline voted on by the full commission, with time for further discussion, at its Feb. 20 meeting.

Assistant County Manager DK Wesley also spoke up during the Jan. 9 meeting.

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“The intention of the city and county is to take however amount of time that you all need to make recommendations," Wesley said. “That’s definitely our intention. To make sure that we can move as fast as you all want to move … or take as much time as we need. We’re not tied to two years. It can be three years, you can take whatever you need. But we also hear that there are some immediate needs, and things that need to happen as soon as possible.”

Edwards' presentation also restructured the coming months and the commission's work, with a template intended to help the commission's Impact Focus Areas develop recommendations that will go to the full commission and, if passed, to City Council and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

The Impact Focus Areas, or IFAs, are small breakout groups of the commission targeting criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness and housing.

Currently, two recommendations have been made by the commission: the first for funding in perpetuity and the second requesting an official third-party audit of both local governments to ensure harms being done to Black residents are stopped.

Neither recommendation followed the proposed template process.

The 2023 proposed project timeline, as presented by Edwards Jan. 9:

• Jan. 1-31: Reaffirm resolution and commission role.

• Jan. 1-May 31: Develop recommendations within the Impact Focus Areas.

• Feb. 1-May 31: Community input and engagement.

• Feb. 1-July 31: Recommendation vetting and refinement.

• Feb. 1-Aug. 30: Present recommendations for commission voting. This work will be done in three "rounds." The vote will be conducted via majority vote, and recommendations that pass will be sent to the governing bodies for approval and adoption.

• Sept. 1-Oct. 31: Submit written report and project closeout. Recommendations passed by the commission will be compiled and presented to the city and county and shared with wider public. The project manager will lead the development of the Reparations Action Plan.

Further guidance on the recommendations includes a notice that they should be "fairly broad," and not connected to any particular group, organization or existing initiative that serves a private interest.

'Stop the Harm' recommendation to go to City Council, Board of Commissioners

Also at its Jan. 9 meeting, the commission revisited its "immediate recommendation" made Dec. 5 by a unanimous commission vote.

The recommendation, the commission's second, is titled, "Stop the Harm: the Cessation, Assurances and Guarantees of Non-Repetition of Institutional Processes that lead to Racially Disparate Outcomes."

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Reparations: Commission requests Buncombe, Asheville audit to stop harm of Black residents

It lays out the request for an "official audit" to ensure city and county compliance with federal and state laws, regulatory bodies, codes of conduct, court orders and consent decrees, and called for the city and county to "cease harms that continue to injure and, in turn, intensify disparities."

It also asked that measures are taken to end harms due to "intentional and unintentional policies, programs, practices and procedures."

According to a Jan. 9 update given by Assistant City Manager Rachel Wood, the county commission and City Council's Equity Engagement Committee will receive briefings on the draft resolution authorizing staff to work with the reparations commission to develop an audit scope of work and begin the process of selecting a firm to conduct the audit on Jan. 17.

City Council will consider adoption of the resolution Jan. 24. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider adoption Feb. 7.

In March, Wood said the city and county hope to finalize the scope of work, and in spring will finalize and advertise solicitation and select a firm. She said the audit could be completed by the summer.

Wood said the funding to conduct the audit would come from previously approved city and county reparations resources, but until the scope of work is defined, they will not be able to name a price tag for the effort.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Will Asheville reparations commission see its timeline change, again?