By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com
Its official title is Senate Bill 105 – “Base Budget Appropriations for Current Operations of State Agencies” and within its 628 pages is the State of North Carolina’s spending plan for the next two years.
Sanford, Broadway, and Lee County fared very well in the $25.9 billion state budget signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper on Thursday, the first comprehensive spending plan that the state has had in place during the past three years.
“Congratulations to everyone in North Carolina and especially here in Sanford,” said Mayor Chet Mann during the City Council’s meeting last week. “Sanford will be a big recipient of funds for some really outstanding projects that we have been wanting and working at doing, and I am thrilled that this has happened. I’m really excited for Sanford because the money that is in the budget for them will really benefit this community. A lot of hard work has been put into them and now the reward is going to come.”
Among those projects Mann spoke of is a directed grant of $100,000 in non-recurring funds that will be provided to Outreach Mission of Sanford, which operates both men’s and women’s shelters in the city. Outreach Mission has been in existence for over 30 years and assists those who experience homelessness in the community. The funds will assist the homeless shelters in their general operations budgets through June 30.
The Raleigh Executive Jetport at Sanford-Lee County will receive a $9 million appropriation in non-recurring funds for capital improvements, to be provided through the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The Jetport is one of the largest general aviation airports in the state and has 184 aircraft stationed there as of November 1.
Mann said that the budget also contains $34 million in funding for expansion of the city’s water plant, something “that will put Sanford in a considerably great seat moving forward in serving our community and in economic development.”
And there is more for items that increase the livability of the communities among those who call it home.
The Railroad House Historical Association was named as the recipient of $100,000 in funding for capital improvements to the Railroad House. Nearby Depot Park will receive $500,000 in funding for capital improvements there and the city will get $10,000 for a mural project.
The Town of Broadway will be provided $50,000 toward its Veterans Memorial and Lee County was awarded $80,000 for unspecified capital improvement projects.
The budget covers a wide range of spending priorities aimed at helping the state’s economy continue to get back on its feet after the COVID pandemic and addressing years of educational funding levels that fell below the national average.
One of its highest-profile items is a five percent pay raise for most state employees and an average five percent pay raise for teachers over the next two years. Additionally, most teachers would receive a $2,800 bonus from federal funding in their paychecks.
State employees will receive bonuses as well, again by using federal funds: $1,500 for state employees who make less than $75,000 and $1,000 for state employees who make more than $75,000. Law enforcement, correctional officers and staff, and 24-hour residential or treatment facility employees will receive a $1,500 additional benefit.
Tax cuts are a centerpiece of the budget’s fundraising priorities, too. It increases the zero-tax bracket to $25,500, cuts the personal income tax rate to 4.99 percent in 2022 and to 3.99 percent by 2027, increases the child tax deduction by $500 per child, and eliminates the state income tax on military pensions altogether.
Negotiations over the budget had dragged on for four months as Cooper continued to press for expansion of Medicaid and Republican leaders persisted in refusing its inclusion. In the end, Republicans agreed to form a study commission to look at the issue and make its findings to the legislature by the end of 2022.
Cooper said he believed the good contained in the budget outweighed the bad and he chose to sign it into law, vowing to work on what he called its missed opportunities.
“This budget moves North Carolina forward in important ways,” he said. “Funding for high-speed internet, our universities and community colleges, clean air and drinking water and desperately needed pay increases for teachers and state employees are all critical for our state to emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever.”
The Governor said he “will continue to fight for progress where this budget falls short but believe that, on balance, it is an important step in the right direction.”
The budget is a two-year spending plan that includes the allocation of another $27 billion in funding for the next fiscal year that begins July 1, 2022, although legislators typically tweak the second year of the budget based on revenue projections and funding priorities that arise before the original plan is completed.
It would be really good to drill down into what the water utility is planning to do with its $34 million. Anything to address the PFAS issue? Maybe move the water intake pipe upriver from the wastewater outflow pipe so we aren’t drinking our own waste (with its greatly-concentrated PFAS contamination?)
You really don’t understand water treatment do you?
You think the water in the Deep River is clean and drinkable without treatment?
Why would you draw water from something is naturally dirty and often nearly bone dry?
High Point, Randleman, Asheboro, Randolph County Landfill, Ramseur, and Gulf all discharge into the Deep River which is a low flow river until it reaches NC 42 at Gulf.
The Rocky River is the toilette for Liberty and Siler City.
Lots of metal work and chemical work and furniture work served by the Deep. It’s a bad place to take water from to drink.
Greensboro, Alamance, Burlington, Pittsboro, dump into the Haw River. It too can have a low flow and the discharges from those areas are well know to be less than good for you.
The Haw flows into Jordan Lake.
New Hope River no longer exists as it was flooded for the Jordan Lake. New Hope Creeks drain Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham into Jordan Lake which is a huge water impoundment.
60 years ago the Sanford City Council in its best wisdom placed the City’s water treatment plant below the confluence of the Deep, Haw, and New Hope where the amount of water running past the straw is stupendous.
This is why people in Lee County have clean water to drink instead of drinking iron water or polluted Deep River water. The City could do a better job explaining this to people. But no one ever said that Chemists and Engineers are the best communicators.
The point is unless you live in Blowing Rock, Newland, or Mars Hill, you are drinking someone’s “hopefully” treated sewage and runoff. In fact the long term health of the lower Deep River is fully dependent on a well functioning City of Sanford WWTP converting sewage to clean and oxygenated water to inject into the River across from the old Coal Fields.
Jonesboro Boy: If nothing else, the last 20 months should have taught you that most people in Lee county don’t believe in science.
My experience in Lee County is that you have to go to the Volunteer Fire Houses and a number of the Churches out in the County to explain things to the decision makers and opinion shapers in those communities.
The far right nut jobs in certain parts of the County you just ignore. The far left “mean wells” but otherwise bat brained you have to ignore them too although it is tempting to speak to them.
Over the decades I have found that most people have no idea how personal Water and WWTP operators take clean water. You also have a lot of City Managers and Public Works/Engineers who make it matter of personal pride.
Sanford is damn lucky in this regard but it’s based on solid water and sewer decisions made in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Compare the amount to help the homeless and less well resourced to funds given to vanity projects.
And why the one time grants and one time bonus instead of pay raises? It isn’t like food costs, housing costs and health care costs that will be bought with those funds will be getting less expensive next year.
The state had $6 billion in one-time use funds. Bonuses are non-recurring expenses. It’s best to use one-time funds to pay bonuses rather than recurring debts.