A federal rollback in a food stamp supplement program to pre-pandemic levels will negatively affect the senior population the most, according to the head of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services.
Interim DSS Director Brenda Reid Jackson reported on the effects that a curtailed food stamp program will have on Cumberland County to its governing board.
The Board of Commissioners met at 9 a.m. Monday at the county courthouse.
Jackson told the commissioners she wants to make DSS clients aware of the recently enacted federal appropriations legislation that ended pandemic-era food program subsidies. Jackson stressed that neither the county nor the state have a say in federal decision.
“Families enrolled in Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) received additional benefits each month since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 federal public health emergency. But as of March 1, 2023, households that had been receiving additional FNS benefits (called ‘emergency allotments’ or ‘supplements’) each month will see a reduction in benefits because of this federal act,” Jackson told the commissioners.
The results of the cutback are devastating, according to Jackson.
“It will have a significant impact on our senior citizens,” she added.
Jackson provided three examples:
- A household with one elderly adult that was getting $23 per month in benefits before the pandemic received a maximum of $281 during the pandemic. The amount returned to the original $23 monthly allotment as of March.
- A household of three with one parent and two children that was receiving $150 per month in benefits before the pandemic was increased to the maximum of $740 during the pandemic. It would get the original $150 allotment in March.
- And, during the pandemic, households that were receiving the maximum allotment for their size also received an additional $95 supplement. These supplements ended this month as well.
An additional food assistance program known as P-EBT is designed to help families with children who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school or in child-care centers. The program is scheduled to send in May, according to Jackson.
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The board also heard a report from Rawls Howard, the county’s director of planning and inspections, on a grant-funded historical architectural survey.
Howard told the commissioners that on Sept. 13, the county contracted with Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson Inc. (JMT), a Maryland-based cultural resources consulting firm, to conduct an architectural survey of historic buildings and landscapes throughout the county and some of its municipalities.
The survey will identify structures at least 50 years old throughout the unincorporated areas of Cumberland County and will include the towns of Godwin, Falcon, Wade, Linden, Stedman, Spring Lake, and Eastover.
The city of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and the town of Hope Mills are not included because they have their own independent surveys.
The county will use the data to plan for the preservation of its historic resources. The field work for the survey is planned for between 2023 and 2024, according to Carolyn J. Gimbal, an architectural historian with JMT.
Gimbal told commissioners that the survey crews will be out taking photos and collecting historical data on structures. Gimbal assured the board that if photos need to be taken on private property, the owners will be consulted either in person or by letter. She said the photographs cannot be used for tax purposes and will be archived in Raleigh.
The money for the survey comes from the National Park Service and is administered by the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office. The grant totals $90,000 and is fully reimbursable with no local match required, Howard told commissioners.
Howard said the survey will help capture the county’s history and will help property owners who qualify and wish to take advantage of tax credits for historic restorations. He added that the county has never done such a survey and probably is one of the only urban counties its size that has not.
Opioid settlements
In other action, Jennifer Green, director of the county Health Department, asked the board to authorize the county manager or county attorney to enter into opioid settlement agreements with Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Allergan, and Teva, for additional funding.
Green told the board that state Attorney General Josh Stein recently negotiated $21 billion in new settlements with those companies.
These “Wave Two Settlements” could bring additional resources to Cumberland County to battle the opioid epidemic. According to Green, the state and local governments could receive at least $600 million from the Wave Two Settlements. That amount does not include the more than $750 million the state already is getting from Wave One Settlements.
Finally, the board voted to fill three vacancies on the Civic Center Commission. At its Feb. 20 meeting, the commissioners nominated Raqi Barnett, Joshua Choi, Sheba McNeill, Gregory Parks, and Joe Gillis for the seats. On split votes, the board voted to reappoint McNeill, Parks and Gillis to one-year terms.
The Civic Center Commission had requested an exception to the current term-limits policy and allow McNeill, Parks and Gillis to serve an additional one-year term because of their involvement with the construction of the proposed arts and entertainment center.