Mecklenburg County Manager Mike Bryant told county commissioners Tuesday night that so far, impacts to the county from the federal government shutdown have been minor.
Most programs funded by the federal government that the county helps administer are funded at least for the next couple of months, and although county residents might see delays in applying for benefits like Medicaid, those benefits aren’t stopping. Bryant also said the county has historically been repaid for lost funds after prior shutdowns. But, he added, that could change if the shutdown stretches out longer than historical precedents.
"So if history repeats itself and we don't have another budget within the next 30 or 40 days we should be OK, but if it goes beyond that, that's when we have to have some internal discussions and come back to you and have a different conversation," he said. Bryant added:
"Today we feel like we're gonna be OK. It goes well beyond 60 or 90 days we'll have to have a different conversation, so receive this today as information only, not a concern that we're gonna have any layoffs, any cuts or anything like that. We're not at that place today."
One exception is the Women, Infants and Children subsidized food program, or WIC. That program runs out of funding in one week. Bryant said if that happens, the county won’t be able to step in and make up the gap for the 26,000 low-income women and children in Mecklenburg who receive WIC benefits.