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Commissioners back applying for state feasibility grant to study regional options for distressed municipal utilities
Summary
Board authorized pursuing a state MRF (merger/regionalization/feasibility) grant to study four distressed municipal water/sewer utilities (Aurora, Bath, Belhaven, Chocowinity); study would examine shared services, interconnects, governance and consolidation options and is the first step before potential larger actions.
Beaufort County commissioners agreed to pursue state merger/regionalization feasibility grant funding (MRF grants) to study options for distressed municipal water and sewer utilities in the county.
Staff told the board that four of the countymunicipal utilities (Aurora, Bath, Belhaven and Chocowinity) are on the North Carolina Department of Environmental Qualitydistressed units list and that the stateViable Utilities Unit and the Council of Governments have held preliminary conversations about opportunities. The MRF grant (roughly $50,000 per award, per staff) would fund a feasibility study to examine shared management, interconnects, governance options up to the creation of an authority, and other approaches to help utilities remain viable.
Commissioners discussed governance risks and emphasized that a feasibility study does not commit the county to consolidation or takeover. Supporters said the study would identify realistic opportunities for resource sharing and interconnections; skeptics warned that management problems—not studies—are the root cause and that creating new governance structures can replicate current management weaknesses. The board directed staff to apply for the MRF grant if it is offered and to continue conversations with the municipalities and DEQ.
Staff will prepare an application and, if awarded, hire a consultant to complete the feasibility study; the study would be a condition for considering future steps such as shared services or regional governance structures.
