Salem County commissioners voted to accept a state broadband grant and to approve a change order for middle‑mile engineering during their May meeting at the Fifth Street Complex.

The board adopted a package of eight resolutions that included a resolution authorizing acceptance of the New Jersey Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Equity Grant Program award and a separate resolution approving change order No. 2 to the middle‑mile broadband engineering contract (Cumberland RFP No. 23‑45 ENEngineering LLC). The change order increases the engineering contract by $243,002.28, a 6.89 percent increase, according to the resolution text read into the record.

The broadband grant and the engineering change order were presented as linked pieces of the countyffort to expand reliable internet service. Meeting discussion referenced other funding sources the county plans to combine with the equity grant, including a $3,750,000 ReConnect award and a $10,000,000 award mentioned during discussion; the transcript tied those figures to the broader capital plan but did not specify contract-level allocations.

County officials said the combined funding and engineering work aim to extend internet availability and affordability for Salem County residents and to support schools, health care providers and local governments that rely on connectivity. The board approved the resolutions by voice and hand vote as part of the consent to adopt resolutions A1 through A8.

The change order amends a contract created under RFP No. 23‑45 for middle‑mile design and related engineering services shared between Cumberland and Salem counties. The resolution record lists the new amount and percentage increase but does not include a revised contract completion date in the minutes.

Next steps noted in the meeting record include coordinating grant awards and capital funds and proceeding with the amended engineering contract. The record does not show a separate, detailed timeline for construction or final service rollout.