New Snap Requirements Could Stress County Budgets

By Morgan Casey

Border Belt Independent

Using a bluish pen, Bladen County Board of Commissioners chair Cameron McGill signed 18 letters to authorities lawmakers successful precocious January.

One was for N.C. Speaker of nan House Destin Hall. Another for nan authorities Senate’s Republican leader, Phil Berger. Others were addressed to elder chairs of nan committees that woody pinch appropriations and wellness care.

McGill’s signature varied successful size and really consecutive it ran crossed nan bottommost of nan missive arsenic he many times fired disconnected his requests that nan authorities screen administrative costs related to nan national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP aliases nutrient stamps, aliases Food and Nutrition Services successful North Carolina.

Bladen–one of the poorest and most economically distressed counties successful North Carolina—faces much than $397,000 successful caller administrative costs to run nan programme erstwhile a proviso of nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act goes into effect successful October. The added costs travel arsenic nan region trim its fund by 14 percent this fiscal twelvemonth and still had to propulsion $1.1 cardinal from its superior reserves to equilibrium it.

“This could beryllium a large load for us,” Charles Ray Peterson, a personnel of nan Bladen County Board of Commissioners, said astatine a January 20 meeting. 

North Carolina’s different 99 counties besides will consciousness nan crunch. Together, they are expected to salary an further $69 million to participate successful nan nutrient assistance program, wellness officials told nan General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee connected Health and Human Services successful January. The existent summation could beryllium moreover higher, according to Geoffrey Marett, head of nan Craven County Department of Social Services and co-chair of nan defense committee for nan N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services.

Mecklenburg County, location to Charlotte, could spot nan biggest value hike, complete $8.1 million. But Karen Powell, executive head of nan authorities association, worries much astir smaller and agrarian counties that can’t spend their share.

“They person a disproportionate hardship because their taxation guidelines is limited,” Powell said. “They don’t person anyplace other to spell get nan money, whereas bigger counties tin displacement astir a small spot easier.”

The national authorities pays for nan bulk of SNAP, including nan costs of benefits. But nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into rule past summer, reduces nan national stock of nan program’s administrative costs from 50 percent to 25 percent, shifting much of nan load to states. 

The authorities is expected to salary an further $16 cardinal per twelvemonth and walk nan remaining costs onto counties, according to wellness officials. North Carolina is 1 of only 10 states wherever counties are responsible for administering SNAP, according to nan National Association of Counties.

“If it funnels down to counties that can’t grip it, past nan [department of societal services] board person to commencement figuring out, ‘How americium I going to dress up that funding?’” Powell said. “What happens, typically, is they commencement looking to spot wherever they tin cut.”

Those cuts, she said, often commencement successful section payrolls, removing positions that could thief grip nan expanded activity requirements besides passed nether nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

State lawmakers are still examining nan imaginable effect connected counties, said Lauren Horsch, a spokesperson for Berger. Eight months into nan existent fiscal year, North Carolina still doesn’t person a budget.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, projected a “critical needs budget” connected March 9 that includes backing for wellness care, but nary for SNAP.

“If nan North Carolina General Assembly is incapable to allocate nan backing necessary, [the state] will person to extremity offering nan SNAP programme altogether,” James Werner, a spokesperson for nan N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, told The Assembly and nan Border Belt Independent. 

Meanwhile, Bladen and different counties are already readying their budgets for nan adjacent fiscal year. 

“They can’t trust connected ‘Let’s dream and see,’” Powell said. “They’ve sewage to spell with, ‘We’re not going to person it.’”

Stricter activity requirements 

Expanded activity requirements for SNAP recipients that went into effect successful December could besides mean much section costs.

Under nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act, much group must activity astatine slightest 80 hours a period to suffice for SNAP benefits. The authorities says able-bodied adults 65 and younger pinch dependents must meet nan activity requirements. Previously, nan norm applied to those 55 and younger. Adults pinch a kid 14 aliases younger (instead of 18 aliases younger) besides person to work, arsenic do group who are homeless. 

The authorities besides requires SNAP recipients to get reapproved each six months alternatively of 12, which intends much upkeep for caseworkers successful societal services departments that are already understaffed.   

Many counties apt can’t spend to prosecute much caseworkers. Without backing from nan General Assembly, “counties will struggle to support timely, accurate, and accountable transportation of nutrition assistance to North Carolinians,” nan N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services wrote successful a brief to nan authorities wellness and quality services committee past month. 

“Who’s going to suffer there?” Powell said. “The families that request it most.”

Bladen County’s letters to authorities lawmakers item concerns astir “higher caseloads, higher correction rates, financial penalties, aliases unmet needs.”

More than 6,200 group successful Bladen County received SNAP benefits successful February, 21 percent of nan county’s population, according to authorities data. Jill Sampson, head of societal services for nan county, said she is monitoring caseloads to find if much workers are needed. 

Neighboring Columbus County is already emotion nan burden. The county’s Department of Social Services was struggling to “timely” recertify SNAP benefits amid an summation successful cases, head Dwella Hall reported to nan Columbus Board of Commissioners astatine its February 16 meeting. 

Columbus County is expected to salary much than $416,000 successful caller SNAP administrative costs, bringing its full to astir $1.25 million.

Faced pinch a fund shortfall, Columbus County commissioners trim spending by 12 percent and eliminated 24 unit positions this fiscal year. They utilized astir $1.5 cardinal successful reserve costs to equilibrium nan budget. 

If a important number of counties struggle to support timely use delivery, North Carolina’s correction complaint could worsen, Craven County’s Marett said, forcing it to support paying for a information of nan benefits delivered. Error rates measurement counties’ and states’ accuracy successful delivering nan correct dollar magnitude of benefits.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act mandates that immoderate authorities pinch an correction complaint complete 6 percent salary for a stock of its benefits. Using North Carolina’s 10.21 percent correction rate from nan national fiscal twelvemonth 2024, nan U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, would require nan authorities to salary for 15 percent of its much than $2.8 cardinal successful distributed benefits, authorities wellness officials said. As of August 2025, wellness officials reported that nan state’s correction complaint is 7.05 percent, which would require it to salary for 5 percent of nan total.

“It takes group to do nan job,” Marett said. “When nan occupation keeps expanding, you’re going to request much resources to get it done, and that ever tends to beryllium nan portion that’s not put into nan equation erstwhile you person immoderate awesome argumentation shifts.”

‘Unfunded mandates’  

Cumberland County is expected to spot nan state’s fourth-highest summation successful administrative SNAP costs, almost $3 million. Kirk deViere, chair of nan county’s Board of Commissioners, said officials must rethink spending plans.

“There’s a bid of–I dislike utilizing nan word–but unfunded mandates that are going to get pushed down from nan feds done nan authorities down to us,” he said during a February 3 committee meeting. “As we spell into our fund cycle, we’re going to person to intelligibly understand those because we’re going to person to scheme for nan worst-case scenario.”

Samuel Croom, nan Bladen County manager, said region officials are starting to scheme really to screen other costs if nan authorities doesn’t measurement in. Some projects, including infrastructure upgrades, mightiness person to beryllium delayed, he said. 

“We conscionable person to beryllium bully stewards of what’s there,” Croom said.

Marett said he has spent months moving connected really to fresh Craven County’s expected $672,000 summation into nan societal services budget.  

“We effort to set our sails to nan upwind arsenic quickly arsenic imaginable to support going successful nan guidance we consciousness we request to spell successful for our clients,” he said.

Meanwhile, nan N.C. House is considering a connection to limit section property taxes, which are a immense gross generator for counties. 

In February, nan House Select Committee connected Property Tax Reduction and Reform heard a presentation from nan Tax Foundation astir mounting an yearly headdress connected maturation successful full spot taxation gross connected existing properties. The instauration is simply a conservative-leaning nonprofit based successful Washington, D.C.

Berger, who could suffer his authorities Senate spot aft trailing challenger Sam Page by 23 votes successful a Republican superior this month, besides announced plans to propose a 12-month freeze connected spot revaluation changes. Berger said he wants nan authorities to adopt spot taxation reforms.

“North Carolinians are shouldering nan load of monolithic increases successful section budgets,” Berger said successful a news release. “It doesn’t matter to our citizens if a taxation is paid to nan authorities aliases a section government; it’s their money coming retired of their pockets.”

Rural counties already person immoderate of the highest spot taxation rates successful nan state, according to nan North Carolina Department of Revenue. Scotland County has nan highest complaint astatine $0.99 per $100 of a property’s valuation. Bertie and Hyde counties rank 2nd and 3rd astatine $0.93 and $0.92 per $100 of a property’s valuation, respectively.

Croom said Bladen County is utilized to moving pinch scarce resources, but cuts mightiness beryllium necessary.

“If nan extremity consequence is to springiness taxation alleviation to citizens,” Croom said, “then people we would person to look astatine nan services we provide.”

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