RALEIGH — Nearly $6 million of the state’s 2022-2023 budget will be coming to Richmond County — pending Gov. Roy Cooper’s approval — due to efforts by Rep. Ben Moss.
Moss, R-Richmond, issued a press release Wednesday announcing nearly $10 million allocated for the Sandhills and Pee Dee regions he represents — or will represent.
“When the Speaker appointed me to serve on the Appropriations Committee, I vowed that I would fight for the priorities of the Sandhills region and deliver meaningful results,” Moss said in a statement. “We’ve secured nearly $10 million in state funding as an investment to ensure the people of Moore County and Richmond County are receiving a real value for their hard-earned tax dollars.”
According to the release, the largest amount of locally allocated funding will be $4 million for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Richmond County.
In the budget passed in November, the county received a $750,000 grant for similar projects as well as $9 million for infrastructure projects in relation to Rockingham Speedway.
While the perception was that — at least some of — the funding would be going toward improvements at the track, County Manager Bryan Land told the Richmond County Board of Commissioners earlier this month that “(e)xtending water, wastewater and possibly adding the pedestrian bridge will exhaust the entire $9 million — without any upgrades to the facility itself.”
The next largest chunk of change — $1.75 million — will help fund the Hendrick Center for Automotive Training at Richmond Community College. Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Moore, helped secure $1.5 million for the project in last year’s budget.
Local volunteer fire departments will also be receiving another financial boost, with $100,000 for capital improvements and equipment purchases.
The previous state budget included $10,000 each for the Cordova, Derby, East Rockingham, Ellerbe, Hoffman, Mountain Creek and Northside fire departments as well as for the Hamlet, Rockingham and Ellerbe rescue squads.
The Place of Grace Campus, Richmond County’s church-run homeless shelter, is also slated to receive $100,000.
Other regional allocations highlighted by Moss include:
- $2.5 million to the Moore County Airport for improvements
- $1.2 million to Moore County Partners in Progress to advance economic development opportunities
- $200,000 to Moore Free and Charitable Clinic, a nonprofit dental clinic in Southern Pines
- $50,000 to provide $5,000 grants for Montgomery County’s fire departments
Moss currently represents Richmond and Montgomery counties, as well as the eastern sliver of Stanly County. However, legislative maps were redrawn last year, lumping Richmond with southern Moore County. Moss defeated Rep. Jamie Boles last month in the Republican primary for that seat.
Although other media outlets have reported that the governor has been non-committal regarding the budget, Moss’ press release states that Cooper has agreed to sign it.
