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Cumberland weighs shifting federal middle-mile broadband grant lead to Salem County amid cost concerns
Summary
Commissioner Victoria Loads said Cumberland County received federal middle-mile funds but is considering handing lead administration to Salem County after engineering costs and change orders raised local funding concerns; a special commission meeting is scheduled to decide next steps.
Cumberland County Commissioner Victoria Loads said the county is reviewing a federally funded middle-mile broadband project and is proposing that Salem County take over as lead agent to limit additional county expenditures.
Loads said Congressman Jeff Van Drew helped secure federal funding for a middle-mile broadband buildout intended to expand internet access in Cumberland and Salem counties. "When $39,000,000 comes your way from the federal government to say, hey. We're gonna give you this opportunity to expand infrastructure," she said, describing the funding as an opportunity to extend internet service to underserved communities.
County officials — Loads said, speaking on-air — have faced higher-than-expected costs and multiple change orders as engineering and implementation work progressed. To avoid additional direct county expenditures, Commissioners planned a special meeting on Monday at 3:30 p.m. to discuss making Salem County the lead agent and letting Salem finish the project. "So the proposal for Monday's special meeting is to make Salem County the lead agent and let them finish the project," Loads said.
Loads said the engineering plan for the Cumberland service area is already complete so Cumberland residents would remain on the build map even if Salem becomes the lead. "The engineering plan has already been completed, for the houses and the areas that that middle mile needs to service. So our Cumberland County residents are served," she said.
Why it matters: Cumberland and Salem are among the state’s most underserved counties for broadband, and the COVID-19 shift to virtual learning and work exposed gaps in household connectivity, Loads said. Keeping the project moving to "end mile" deployment is intended to expand access for residential users, schools and businesses in bayshore and rural areas.
Context and stakeholders: Loads described coordination with federal and county officials, consultants and engineering firms. She said the county voted in favor of participating earlier but did so with a "watchful eye" over potential cost overruns. Loads described counties and municipalities as having different billing and ownership structures (municipalities can directly bill customers; counties typically cannot), which complicates operational choices for long-term broadband management.
Next steps: The commission scheduled a special meeting to consider transferring lead responsibility to Salem County; outcome depended on that meeting. Loads said she had discussed the plan with Congressman Van Drew and Salem officials and characterized the potential transfer as a way to avoid further Cumberland taxpayer exposure while preserving service to the county’s residents.
Ending: Loads said both the engineering foundation and intergovernmental conversations are in place but that the project still requires final decisions and execution to reach households with service. She emphasized that transferring lead agency duties would not remove Cumberland residents from the project map; rather, it would shift administrative responsibility.
