Here's how the $412M Cumberland County will get in the state budget will be spent
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Cumberland County is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in the newly passed state budget, lawmakers say.
The county will get $412 million in local funding meant to improve the area in higher education, pay wages, healthcare, the environment, veteran's affairs, and capital investment projects, according to six members of the North Carolina General Assembly who represent the county.
The two state senators and four state representatives held a press conference Wednesday at Fayetteville State University to discuss the details of the money and their collaborative effort to help Cumberland County.
The lawmakers say as they set aside their political differences, they made it a goal to work together to ensure Cumberland County and the Fayetteville-area received as much financial support as possible in the state budget. The accomplishment, they say, was long overdue.
In the local delegation of state lawmakers are two Republicans, Reps. John Szoka and Diane Wheatley, and four Democrats, Reps. Marvin Lucas and Billy Richardson, and Sens. Ben Clark and Kirk deViere.
“We know that we’ve accomplished something that can really transform and help Cumberland County become what all of us dream,” Richardson said. “We got close to half a million dollars of new money over above what we normally get in the budget in recurring dollars.”
Budget Highlights
Gov. Roy Cooper signed the $25.9 billion state budget into law on Nov. 18. There had been a more than two-year fight over the working budget between Cooper, a Democrat, and the Republican-led state House and Senate.
Highlights of the budget include raises and bonuses for state employees and teachers, more than $1 billion in broadband expansion, and the addition of FSU to the NC Promise program, which lowers the cost of in-state tuition to $500 a semester for schools that participate.
Locally, delegates say the county-wide impact of more than $400 million will touch people all over the county and will have lasting effects on the area’s economic growth.
They said the $412 million coming to Cumberland County includes:
$198 million for higher education
$87 million for capital projects
$64 million for local government
$27 million for veterans and the military
$19 million for environmental and natural resources
$11 million in healthcare
$4 million for economic investment in small and minority businesses
Most specifically, the lawmakers emphasized the importance of capital investments and the millions of dollars in higher education. They held the press conference at FSU since many see it as an economic anchor for the area.
Lucas, an alumnus of FSU, said the nearly $152 million for new capital construction projects, repairs and renovations at the university is a historic investment.
The university will get $63 million for a new College of Education, $40 million for two new residence halls, and $10 million for a new parking deck.
“This is the first budget that I have really actually been immensely proud of,” Lucas said. “We’ve accomplished much more than we’ve ever accomplished since Fayetteville State joined the university system in 1969.”
Fayetteville Technical Community College will also receive funding in the budget with advancements to their new regional fire training center and a new nursing center, according to Szoka.
Additionally, Szoka said he pushed to assist the area’s veterans. Under the new budget and with the passage of House Bill 83, a state income tax would no longer be collected on military retirement pay to veterans who served at least 20 years or were medically retired. “It’s recognizing the service to country that keeps us all safe and it’s a small way to honor service of veterans and to let them know that we are truly the most military friendly state in the union,” Szoka said.
Economic and healthcare needs
Cumberland County is now considered a Tier 1, or economically distressed, county with an average annual wage of about $38,200. Each of the lawmakers stressed the importance of the millions going toward small businesses and capital projects that would boost the economy in the area.
“A lot of these things have been years in coming,” Szoka said. “In my personal opinion, Cumberland County has gotten the short end of the stick for decades. ... When you’re building things, it creates jobs.”
Szoka said with the investments in capital projects like the improvements to local museums, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, parks and recreation, lasting jobs will be created.
Wheatley, one of the newer members of the delegation, talked about the importance of healthcare in the county as it will improve the quality of life in the county.
More than $9.6 million in the budget will go toward the Southern Regional Area Health Education Center on Owen Drive. The center is tied to Campbell University and trains doctors, in hopes they stay in the area. Also, $15 million will go toward Cape Fear Valley Health system's teaching and research center.
“We are invested in our people’s healthcare,” Wheatley said.
Community health centers in the area will also receive thousands of dollars to help with mental healthcare and substance abuse recovery.
The lawmakers said delegates they want to ensure all residents in Cumberland County are well informed about the budget and how the money will help them.
Many of the funds are already in motion such as bonuses for state and local employees, according to Szoka.
“I just want people to know even if they haven’t been engaged that we are working for them,” Wheatley said. “This delegation worked for everybody in this county.”
Investigative Reporter Kristen Johnson can be reached at kjohnson1@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: State legislators say more than $400M coming to Fayetteville area
