July 13, 2026
By Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
The Transylvania County Board of Commissioners had a special guest at their meeting Monday afternoon: North Carolina House District 119 Representative Anna Ferguson.
She addressed all in attendance to explain what happened to $10 million in previously approved grant funding that had been reallocated by state legislators in Raleigh as part of the recently approved North Carolina budget.
Ferguson said grant funding for three projects, extending sewer service along Azalea Avenue, building a pump station at Brevard High School and construction plans along Calvert Road in Rosman, had been misidentified on the part of the state four years ago and the issue was being corrected now after it was discovered the state budget approved last week had moved that money to other infrastructure funding projects in Western North Carolina.
“It’s a clerical mistake that was made and is fairly simple to correct, so I’m happy to be able to step in and make sure that happens with an abundance of assistance,” Ferguson said, adding that all three projects now would all be fully funded to completion.
“There’s no question about that,” she continued in her remarks before Monday’s Board of Commissioners’ meeting began in full. “We’re simply going about it the correct way so that the General Assembly knows what the money allocated for these projects is.”
The Cherokee native was appointed to fulfill the remainder of Representative Mike Clampitt’s term in Swain, Jackson, and Transylvania counties last April after Clampitt died from cancer complications in March.
Ferguson said during discussions about the reallocation, she was able to obtain an additional $4 million in Hurricane relief funding specifically designated for Transylvania County.
“The original $10 million that had been misidentified for four years was flagged as being pulled back by the General Assembly,” she said. “However, instead of that money which was pulled back and being returned to the general fund, as is the procedure to do, senior staff graciously offered that money to me to keep in my district for Helene recovery funding. When it was offered, I immediately said ‘yes, we would be grateful for it.’”
“This is actually a situation where we have been able to have our cake and eat it too,” Ferguson continued. “All three water projects will be able to be funded to completion. That’s not an issue. And in addition, 4 million additional dollars in Helene recovery was specified for Transylvania County.”
Shortly after Ferguson finished speaking, Vice Chair Larry Chapman asked her to clarify the Commissioners’ role in the unexpected reallocation.
“I just want to reiterate from your opening statement that there was no error on the part of Transylvania County government in this whole situation, despite what the keyboard warriors out there are saying,” Chapman said from the dais.
“With the situation, since I have been in office, there was no error,” Rep. Ferguson said once she returned to the microphone on the lectern in front of the Commissioners. “I can’t talk about four years ago. That was Representative Clampitt, and unfortunately he is not here to be able to tell us. But no, since my time in office, there has been no error on the County Commissioners’ part.”
Before the meeting started, about a dozen members of the Transylvania County Democratic Party stood in the rainy Monday afternoon weather outside the County Administration Building on South Broad Street.
During the time allotted for public comment at the start of the Commissioner’s meeting, local Democratic Party Chair Peter Offen said he welcomed Ferguson’s explanation for her Republican colleagues, but he thought more needed to be said and done to fully resolve the situation.
“I think the opening comment just raises far more questions about if the $10 million was clawed back, but it’s not actually gone and now there’s an additional $4 million. It seems like there is a whole lot of ambiguity,” Offen said as he addressed the Commissioners. “There’s nothing that is really clear about what is going on. I want to start by asking the County Commission to work with Representative Ferguson on making things clear. What was not clear was the press release. What was not clear was the budget. What was not clear was the statement from the Commission or Representative Ferguson about what was happening and why.”
“What I would like is for the County Commission to work with county staff to better identify funding when it is received, where it is going and to act timely on it,” he continued. “You all may have the luxury of sitting on tax money until it wastes away, but Transylvanians don’t have that same luxury. We’re paying it year in and year out.”
Those comments were echoed by Jacob Slope, a recent new homeowner in Pisgah Forest.
Slope carried a cardboard sign that read “YOU LOST OUR GRANT $” when he took part in the local Democrats’ “Rally for Accountability” before Monday’s meeting and read his public comments to the Commissioners from his cell phone.
“Although I have only been living here a couple of years, I have seen the quality of leadership displayed by our County Commissioners continually be strikingly poor,” Slope began before taking them to task over complaints ranging from building delays for a new County Courthouse to the lack of competitive wages for county employees when compared to those in other counties. “Stop delaying issues. Stop sitting on your hands and saying no one is at fault. You are at fault, and I hope that in the future your constituents hold you to that by voting you off this board.”
To provide clarity and transparency to the reallocation, during the main part of Monday night’s meeting Transylvania County Manager Jaime Laughter led the Commissioners and the audience present through a 30-minute overview of infrastructure grant funding.
She began by recapping how the state budget released in late June included $4 million for Blue Ridge Community College’s Transylvania County campus as well as local Emergency Medical Services and Fire Department funding and an additional $6 million for other immediate infrastructure needs, but made room for that funding by removing funding for three local projects (Azalea Avenue water/sewer connections, Brevard High School water pump, and Rosman’s Calvert Road construction) by $9.85 million and reducing a Department of Environmental Quality administrative allocation by $150,000.
Download the county’s timeline on the reallocation of infrastructure funds since 2023
“Transylvania County was unaware of the reduced allocations until it was released in the draft budget and it could not be changed at that time,” Laughter said. “The basis of the decision was information about need and no deadlines were put on the grant. We of course have correspondence confirming this on our website. This was not the result of any missed deadlines or any issues of grant compliance. That’s something we have seen some misinformation on out there about. State representatives responded quickly and are working now to assure that the critical needs represented in those projects are funded.”
Laughter added that engineering for the new water pump at Brevard High School was already underway when the budget reallocation was discovered and that work will continue due to the imminent need for repairs at the school site.
The same was true for water and sewer line extensions in the Rhododendron/Azalea Avenue community, although that project is funded through Dogwood Health grant funds which had already been received last month. Discussions have been had between county officials and the city of Brevard regarding if it would better to have that grant money paid directly to the city for the construction costs because of the affordable housing project the extended lines would serve in that community.
The Calvert Road construction project, however, cannot move forward at this time as the town of Rosman must first confirm a memo of understanding with Transylvania County officials regarding matching funds.
“At last update, they are committed to finding the funds, but to our knowledge they do not have those in hand,” Laughter explained.
At the close of the meeting, Commissioner Chapman thanked those who had attended the meeting and voiced their concerns. Commissioner Jason Chappell shared his appreciation to Rep. Ferguson and State Senator Kevin Corbin for their fast responses to the surprising reallocation from Raleigh.
“When the information came out and we were made aware, many of us were reaching out and they reached back,” Chappell said. “I’ve been around for a long time and that has not always been the case. I appreciate looking for ways to correct situations that arise. They’re called technical corrections for a reason. Those issues arise. I appreciate the receptiveness on all the issues.”
Commission Chair Teresa McCall also expressed gratitude for how the county leadership responded to the reallocation situation.
“These past couple of weeks have been intense, to say the least,” McCall said before thanking County Manager Jaime Laughter and her staff for their work in a difficult time of uncertainty. “I have been on the phone more with the county manager and with our state folks more in the last week and a half than I have probably in the last six months. A lot of work, a lot of research has taken place and I appreciate all that you do and that your staff does every day. Pulling all the facts together helps not just us, but the citizens of this county.”
McCall also thanked Ferguson and Corbin for their cooperation in attempting to resolve the reallocation funding, then she thanked all who spoke Monday night, even if at times they were critical of the county’s response.
“We may not agree and we’ll just have to disagree, but when there is misinformation and when there is fabrications of the truth that comes out, it gives us the chance to present facts,” she said. “So facts matter, but I thank you for coming out tonight. I thank you for your interest and in the citizens of Transylvania County and in doing what is right. That is what we all want to do. I appreciate the engagement.”