Editor’s note: Randal Mathews is the chair of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners and represents Ocracoke Island. He and Hyde County Manager Kris Cahoon Nobel for the last few years have been working to secure for Ocracoke more much-needed funding from the North Carolina General Assembly. That legislature still has not passed a comprehensive budget for this fiscal year that should have been approved in June due to disagreements between the House and Senate versions. Instead, lawmakers passed a “mini-budget” which provides stopgap funding, but no increases.
By Randal Mathews
The budget process in Raleigh is always complex. Appropriation proposals in the committee conferences are always more than the funding that is available. That’s normal. What shouldn’t be normal is the continued lack of a budget each year especially since a single political party controls the senate and the house. You would expect bipartisan wrangling most of the time but not when one side has a super majority.
Appropriations that underfund our DOT and the Ferry Division year after year have a cumulative effect on communities like Ocracoke that depend on our highway accessibility. It slowly chips away at our ability to maintain the main industry of tourism.
Tourism on Ocracoke Island is dependent on reliable access. There are probably no other communities in our state that are so dependent on the cooperation of so many government agencies especially at the federal level.
For dredging we depend on the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to maintain safe and navigable channels.
Our Ferry Division and its fleet of 23 vessels are our lifeline.
For access through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, we depend on the National Park Service (NPS)
Our main highway through the park is dependent on the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
The US Coast Guard has an important role and authority marking our channels and making sure the ferry fleet is safe for riders and ferry employees.
We depend on the viability of the easement through the park for power and communications, so Tideland EMC and Brightspeed Communications have an important role in maintaining public safety.
Our legislators need to be aware of these facts and that travel to Ocracoke Island is and always has been restricted as our road effectively closes every night for several hours. Imagine closing the only road going into Wilmington every day. It restricts commerce and increases health risks to our citizens. Our EMS responders have limited options for patients when accessibility is limited. There is never any guarantee that medevac services will be available as those services have liabilities and limitations. Our only road affects our ability to remove solid waste in addition to limiting off island school activities.
I know that most islanders accept the fact that there are challenges and sacrifices that come with living on Ocracoke Island. The best examples of this are the natives who seem to share a special resiliency to occasional hardship that seems to be in the genetic code passed down through more than two centuries of surviving on an island.
We must work hard raising awareness and advocating for sustainable and reliable access whether it’s residents, businesses, vendors and especially local government. It will need to be a continuous full-time effort that doesn’t end with the latest crisis.
I urge all residents and concerned citizens to reach out to our legislators, attend local meetings if possible, and support the board members who serve our community while we fight the good fight. We all have a vested interest in this wonderful community, and a unified voice will make a difference.
Agree, thank you Randal!
Well said. I am an off islander with the love of Ocacoke for well over 28 years. To be honest it saddened me to see the modernized Ocracoke. From the golf cart traffic jams to the food trucks, jacens was fine with me, to the hords of tourists during the summer. The millions of dollars sent to Raleigh each year. Do not let my island die.
And Hear Hear too!
Here Here!
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