By Connie Leinbach
At this time, the North Carolina General Assembly still has not passed a budget for the current fiscal year, making it the only state in the nation without one.
The state is currently operating on funding levels from the 2023 budget cycle. During this extended impasse, the General Assembly passed targeted “mini-budgets” to handle immediate, critical needs like Medicaid funding.
Gov. Josh Stein’s budget has a funding line for ferries within the Highway Fund, with an increase of $31.7 million, bringing the total appropriation to $93.638 million.
Against that backdrop, in a rare appearance, members of the North Carolina Board of Transportation on May 5 visited Ocracoke and the upper Outer Banks to view the transportation challenges the region is facing.
The Ferry Division needs at least $85.5 million a year for operations, said Justin LeBlanc, executive director of Ocracoke Access Alliance, which is lobbying for more funding for the ferries and the hot spots along NC12.
The group had more than 70 people, including Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson, 17 of the 20 board members, all 14 district engineers, other NCDOT personnel and county and island representatives, said Hyde County Manager Kris Cahoon Noble, who helped organize the visit.
The group arrived from Hatteras that morning on the Ocracoke Express passenger ferry. After a luncheon at the Berkley Barn, they rode in trams for a tour of Ocracoke village and then departed for the Hatteras ferry.
On the way, they stopped at the sandbag area to view this “hot spot” along NC12, said Tess Judge of Kitty Hawk, the District 1 representative on the board.
When she got onto the board last year, she got to work on getting the full board to visit the Outer Banks.
They take two trips a year around the state, and last June they visited the Hurricane Helene damage in western North Carolina.
“Needless to say, you know what we see on TV when we’re looking at the storms and the devastation, but boots on the ground is a different thing,” she said. “And I’m telling you, I left Western North Carolina with my heart in my mouth. When I go to other areas where I’m able to see what other people are dealing with, and I think that’s exactly what you know the board saw when they were here.”
Hyde County Commissioner Chair Randal Mathews helped host the visit and went with the group to the north end of Ocracoke, and that Judge’s position on the board was key to the board’s visit.
“It’s a pretty special thing to get them here,” he said.
After their visit, Board Chair Tony Lathrop posted the following statement:
“The meetings and site visits highlighted both the importance and complexity of maintaining transportation infrastructure in one of North Carolina’s most unique regions. Conversations throughout the week focused on coastal resiliency, the long-term future of Highway 12, ferry operations, hurricane recovery progress, and the financial planning required to support infrastructure needs across the state.”
Also, the board made a resolution to support Stein’s proposal of $24 million for non-recurring expenses.
According to a video clip on the Ocracoke Access Alliance’s Facebook page, the board specifically asked that the money be new funds, not just moved from another section of the NCDOT budget.
Because the Senate’s initial version of the budget has proposed a toll on the Hatteras ferry while the House’s version does not, the OAA has proposed that if the Legislature wants to toll all the ferry routes, then it should fully fund the Ferry Division for operations and maintenance.
“I think it was great to have them there and to begin to get some champions and allies within there,” LeBlanc said about the BOT visit. “Thank you to Tess Judge and all BOT members for recognizing the important economic and safety impacts the whole state receives with reliable ferry service.”
