When you pay your state taxes, you expect the people in government entrusted with your hard-earned money to do their jobs, and to do them on time. You show up for work. You pay your bills by the due date. You balance your family’s budget around the kitchen table, even when it’s hard. North Carolinians have every right to expect the same discipline from Raleigh.
For more than 1,000 days, they didn’t get it. Only after the one party controlling both chambers could finally reach an agreement was Governor Stein able to sign North Carolina’s long-overdue budget into law last week, more than a year past its deadline. In the meantime, our schools, courts, and public agencies were left operating on outdated funding levels that no longer reflect the real, rising costs we know families are facing. That delay had consequences, and hard-working, tax-paying North Carolinians deserved better from their state government. We have one political party controlling both chambers of the NC General Assembly with near-supermajorities in each, and they let in-fighting take precedence over the well-being of our state and its people. Government is better when bipartisan leadership creates bipartisan results.
Still, our final state budget delivers meaningful investments for Wilson County, and I am proud to have successfully advocated and voted for them.
Specifically, Wilson Community College will receive $12 million to build a biologics training center, a transformational project that will prepare students for high‑demand careers and strengthen our local workforce. Our county will gain an additional magistrate and three new Assistant District Attorneys serving District 8, improving court efficiency and public safety. Local institutions receive targeted support, including $440,000 for the Contentnea Volunteer Fire Department, $200,000 for the Eastern NC School for the Deaf’s summer camp, and $500,000 for Barton College’s nursing and primary care program. These investments matter. They will benefit families, strengthen emergency response, and expand educational and healthcare opportunities right here at home.
I also supported this budget because it makes important investments in agriculture, teacher pay, state employee raises, and long‑overdue cost‑of‑living support for state retirees. Agriculture remains the backbone of our region, and this budget strengthens that foundation. The Farmland Preservation Trust Fund will receive approximately $48 million, the Tobacco Trust Fund will receive $5 million, and the NC Cattlemen’s Association will receive $100,000. These investments help protect North Carolina’s rich agricultural heritage and give farmers access to additional resources, and support our region as a statewide leader in agriculture.
Educating our community’s children is of the utmost importance. This budget makes real progress to recruit talented educators. Raising average teacher pay by 8%, with the largest gains going to early-career teachers. A starting teacher will see a 17% raise, bringing base pay from $41,000 to $48,000. That’s the kind of number that convinces a talented young person to choose the classroom. The increased bonus for veteran teachers was a big deal too: $1,000 for teachers with 16 or more years of experience and $500 for those with 15 or fewer. The budget also provides a 3% raise for state employees and a 2.5% cost-of-living supplement for state retirees, with bonuses of $1,750 for state employees earning less than $65,000 and $1,000 for those earning more. These steps represent long-overdue recognition of the workers who serve our communities every day.
But this budget still falls short of the needs of North Carolinians. Veteran teacher salaries still include a plateau where base pay freezes for roughly a decade in the middle of their careers. To retain these teachers, we need to be showing them our appreciation for their years of experience. What I commit to is working across the aisle to raise veteran teacher pay and eliminate that plateau, because keeping great teachers in Wilson County classrooms matters just as much as getting them here.
The budget also failed to go far enough for our state retirees. State retirees will get a one-time 2.5% bonus. While it is true that something is better than nothing, we need to do better to show our retirees that their contributions to our state are valued. In addition to being the fair and right thing to do, when we show that we take care of our retirees, we are showing the current and future workforce that they are valued.
When I first ran for office, I pledged to take pragmatic steps toward progress. This budget doesn’t fulfill everything North Carolinians need, but I crossed the aisle to vote for it because it delivers real resources for Wilson County and long-overdue raises for the people who serve us. I’ll keep pushing for the rest, and I’ll keep advocating for strategic use of your taxpayer dollars. That’s what I was elected to do.
Our office is here to answer questions or hear your concerns at (919) 733-5898 or dante.pittman@ncleg.gov.
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