Representative Mark Brody announces new funds allocated to Anson County

Nov. 27—WADESBORO — County Commissioners welcomed state representative Mark Brody to their board meeting held on November 21 to discuss new funds from the state that will be allocated to programs and projects that will benefit Anson County.

"This was the largest budget North Carolina has ever put together," Brody, who has represented Anson and Union County in the NC House of Representatives for over a decade, remarked. "Even though it was that, we ended up with a surplus again, and the surplus was quite large."

"Right now NC is sitting at about $5 billion in reserve and in conjunction with that, our outstanding public debt is now $3.5 billion," Brody said. "We now have enough, theoretically, in our reserve budget to pay off our debt. If that were to happen, and it is one of the things I am trying to promote for next year, we would be the first state in the Union to pay off our debt without having to sell assets. Paying off our debt means that all the money we spent on interest can go back into whatever we want to do throughout the state."

Education is another area where new funds will benefit Anson County directly that Representative Brody was excited to share.

According to Brody, the state has allocated "four million dollars for a teacher salary supplement, so Anson can get real close to Union and Mecklenburg. Those of you know those places like to try to steal teachers from every place by offering the supplement, so hopefully this will help. I think Anson is somewhere around $5,000," Brody said.

In addition to funding incentives for new teachers, the state approved $709 million towards middle school construction across the state.

"I have talked to the school superintendent (McLean) and Anson County is eligible, now they have to apply, to get additional money for the middle school that they have. The state has increased the maximum to $52 million dollars for a middle school and those things keep going up in price. Once I hear if they signed the contract, I don't know if they are still eligible," cautioned Brody.

"On the school luncheons, just to give you an update, since COVID, the federal government initiated program supplements for kids that are eligible for the partial food supplement through (National School Lunch Program)," Brody explained. "Now that COVID has ended, we picked up the tab and continued it."

Brody also recognized a $25 million increase in financial aid for community colleges.

There is also a 4% cost of living bonus for retired state employees.

"We did do tax relief again and by 2026, which is not all that far away, we will have dropped down to 3.9% in taxes," Brody continued. "The first day I appeared before Anson County we were at 7.5%, so we have made significant reductions in that, while at the same time creating a surplus."

Cognizant of the continued rise in mental health concerns, Brody proudly shared an allocation of $400 million to expand behavioral health programs and an additional $80 million for mobile crisis treatment and facilities.

Brody acknowledged the need to assistant food banks who are see increasing demand for their services. About $12 million dollars have been allocated to food banks around the states, a small amount that will aid local entities in Anson.

At the end of his address, Brody presented the commissioners with a $11,150,000 check to Anson County.

"Ten million dollars of it went to the sewer and water line that will connect Marshville-Eastern Union County to Anson County. I think it will benefit Anson County because now Eastern Union County will be a customer of Anson County sewer and water," Brody said.

The next big growth area predicts Brody is "going to be Eastern Union County and Western Anson County... be ready for it, it is going to come, however you deal with that... I know Anson County is in a great spot to organize growth, set it up the way they want it, and still at the same time have the advantage of growth but be able to enjoy the natural beauty of Anson County. You have the best of both worlds and I think eventually people are going to catch on... especially with the expansion of the [74] bypass. It is basically a line on a map now, but the line on the map is getting a lot more attention," warned Brody.

He also announced $50,000 that will be distributed to each of the volunteer fire departments. "It makes them eligible now to get matching funds from additional grants offered by the state for volunteer fire departments," Brody added.

"The 50,000 will help each department buy the needed equipment that is required by the state to operate a fire department," said Commissioner Jamie Caudle (also the volunteer fire chief for the Peachland Fire Department) after the meeting. "Just one instance is the gear that we wear. A new set today to outfit a firefighter is roughly five thousand per firefighter. Each department is required to have a minimum of fifteen personnel on their roster. Every member has to have a set of gear. That gear only lasts ten years. No matter if it is ever used in a fire or not. It could be brand new in the bag and is still not useable for fire fighting. The average cost of a fire truck today is $700-800, that is a large payment to make annually. That fifty thousand will go a long way on covering some of these costs."

Steering away from business for a moment, Brody proudly announced, "I know the town of Wadesboro is it own municipality, but we put $300,000 towards their water park. They have wanted to have this water park for the longest time. I informed them of it and they say they now have enough now to do it."

Brody was also excited to announce that the Hope Pregnancy Resource Center will receive $400,000 in funding.

"I personally want to say thank you for what you do for Anson County we appreciate all the support you give us from legislation," reiterated Caudle.

"I definitely want to say thanks as well," added Commissioner JD Bricken. "You have been great to work with, you sure have been helping Anson County, and we really appreciate that."

"I appreciate everything that you have done because that water and sewer money particularly is going to go to good work," shared County Manager Leonard Sossamon.