NCRGEA and State Treasurer Work Together to Keep Health Benefits for Workers and Retirees
July 25, 2023 News & Observer by Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi
via web: www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article277504593.html
Division of Broadband and Digital Equity has developed a draft five-year plan outlining how the agency will invest BEAD funding across North Carolina.
June 26, 2023
Governor Cooper Announces North Carolina Will Receive More Than $1.5 Billion in Federal Funding to Expand High-Speed Internet Access Across the State
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded North Carolina more than $1.5 billion to fund high-speed internet infrastructure under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded North Carolina more than $1.5 billion to fund high-speed internet infrastructure under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
“State and federal partnerships are critical to helping us close the digital divide and we are grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for this historic investment to expand high-speed Internet access in North Carolina,” said Governor Cooper. “Through this program, we will continue to make tremendous progress in making sure every household and business in our state is connected.”
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT’s) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity has developed a draft five-year plan outlining how the agency will invest BEAD funding across North Carolina. The draft plan has been posted online and is available for public comment via email to NCDITpartnerfeedback@nc.gov until Monday, July 17 at 5 p.m. The division will submit the five-year plan to NTIA by July 29 as part of the process for North Carolina to access its allocated BEAD funding.
“We continue to work tirelessly to achieve the best return on our investment as we allocate federal resources to address unserved and underserved locations across North Carolina,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Jim Weaver. “We appreciate the strong partnerships that have helped us identify needs throughout the state so that we can take strategic steps to reach every North Carolinian.”
The broadband division recently announced that its challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map aided in surfacing 115,000 additional North Carolina homes and businesses that do not have access to high-speed internet, adding more new unserved locations to the map through this process than any other state. These additions increased North Carolina’s funding allocation from the BEAD program.
The BEAD program received funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet For All initiative. More information about the initiative and the state’s other Internet For All funding can be found on this fact sheet.
To learn more about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Equity and Governor Cooper’s plan to close the digital divide in North Carolina, please visit www.ncbroadband.gov.
Changing the General Assembly Takes Time and Patience: How You Can Help
Congratulations! You are a member of the largest association of retired government professionals in the United States. Now more than a half century old, we were then, and are today, the primary voice and advocate for North Carolina’s local and state governmental retired public servants.
As you may well remember, when we founded in 1972, our country was headed into troublesome times. Gas prices and inflation were gearing up for history making highs, we were fiercely engaged in the Cold War, and societal unease was tense across the country. Yet we remained focused on our purpose: you.
Fast forward to today, and while the past may be prologue, our focus remains the same: you.
What does that mean for you? In addition to our life impacting benefits, we have a daily presence at the North Carolina General Assembly, boards of trustees overseeing our retirement systems, and other bodies relevant to retiree matters. Our bipartisan, four member lobbyist team and NCRGEA executive leadership work with elected and appointed officials, fighting to protect the quality of life that you rightfully earned.
As our purpose is you, you are what matters most to our elected officials. You are the constituent, the fellow church member, the neighbor our elected officials are charged to serve. You are also the women and men who are the girders of a safe, well educated, prosperous, and clean North Carolina. You kept our roads maintained, educated our children, put the bad guys away, helped people in perilous times, and made our environment safe. You are, truly, the backbone of what is today one of the most desirous states to live, work, and play.
With the NCRGEA, you have a family of almost 67,000 fellow retired public servants. We are mighty in scope and in size, and can have a unified, bellowing voice with our elected officials. We look forward to continuing to serve you and fight for your quality of life.
Our elected officials need to know you. Here is how you can better engage in the legislative process as a retiree advocate; click below to download or enlarge the infographic:
Lake Case Update: June 2023
June 15, 2023
NCRGEA continues its work to advance, promote, and protect the benefits, interests, and well-being of North Carolina’s retired state and local public servants in the Lake Case. Click the video at left to hear a report from ABC11 News in Raleigh.
As Executive Director Tim O’Connell explains in this video: “To take care of them in the retirement years, based upon a contractual promise, is being a good steward for North Carolina.”
The North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees’ Association opposes Senate Bill 743
NCRGEA opposes Senate Bill 743.
NC House Includes 2% COLA for State Retirees in 2023 Biennium Budget
By Tim O’Connell, Executive Director of North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees’ Association | March 30, 2023
On behalf of our association’s close to 66,000 members, we want to thank the efforts of both the executive branch and our House legislative leadership for including a 2 percent recurring cost of living adjustment for state government retirees and retired educators. If fully approved, the recurring adjustment will be distributed one percent per biennium year. Government retirees are the unsung heroes of our North Carolina, building a state that remains prosperous, safe, clean, and desirable for families to lead healthy, high-quality lives.
Today, the State House of the North Carolina General Assembly released its anticipated budget, an almost $30 billion budget providing raises for active state government employees and educators and rainy day funds to protect against our challenging, unbridled current inflationary economic environment.
While we have made tremendous progress, we at the NCRGEA will continue to fight for these dedicated women and men, both our local and state government retirees and stay a resource for executive and legislative leadership in providing this most critical relief.
Our elected officials recognized the plight of retirees and have also provided raises to help our future retirees have a better quality of life in retirement.
Letter to the Editor | State government retirees drowning in inflation
Tim O’Connell, Executive Director, North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees Association – March 9, 2023
More than 320,000 local and state government retirees are drowning in inflation. With a likely probability of another multi-billion-dollar surplus for the state, it’s time to do the right thing and provide inflation-fighting cost-of-living adjustments for these dedicated women and men.
The fact that everything costs more today is common knowledge. Over the past decade, individual purchasing power has declined by 29 percent. The basket of basic goods bought 10 years ago for $100 now costs $129. During this same period, cost-of-living adjustments totaled just 2 percent for state retirees and less than 1 percent for local government retirees.
This widening gap of lack of cost-of-living adjustments related to inflation hurts not only the retirees but the entire North Carolina economy. This is particularly true in North Carolina’s rural counties, where a higher percentage of retired public servants live compared to urban counties.
And yet retirees are good for the state’s economy. The National Institute of Retirement Security reports that in North Carolina, public pensioners support more than 49,477 jobs across all 100 counties and across a breadth of industries, from hospitality to healthcare to real estate. The value of this to the North Carolina economy is $8.1 billion a year and excludes the $1.2 billion this group pays in taxes to the state and federal government. The continued stagnation of cost-of-living adjustments will reduce this impact if not addressed.
While retirees remain grateful for the one-time bonuses the North Carolina General Assembly and Retirement System Trustees have provided over the past decade, such appreciated efforts will not abate the issue of short and long-term inflation. With the average retirement payment of approximately $1,650 monthly for retired public servants and the current 29 percent reduction in buying power adjusted for inflation, North Carolina has not seen this significant disparity in nearly 50 years.
Public sector retirees are forced to make hard decisions at the grocery store and at the pharmacy, and some struggle to maintain their own homes. Governmental retirees are our neighbors, friends, and parents. They educated our children, maintained our roads, cared for our loved ones, provided our families with clean drinking water, and were the first responders who put in long and often dangerous hours to keep our communities safe.
As we look at ways to bolster the resiliency of the North Carolina economy, serious consideration must be given to how it can be done in a way that provides dignity and quality of life to governmental retirees. As our legislators and elected officials make decisions in what is projected as another year of surplus revenues, they cannot forget our retired public servants.
New Tool Allows Members to Better Advocate for Their Retirement Needs
NCRGEA Partners with FastDemocracy
In an exciting new development, NCRGEA has partnered with FastDemocracy to offer members the ability to follow the Association’s advocacy efforts and what is happening in the North Carolina legislature. Pensions, retiree healthcare, broadband — any issue that is a priority to our members will be tracked and then shared on our website for you to see.
What’s New?
- Bill Tracker Page – on our website, we now have a page that displays the specific bills being
- tracked by NCRGEA. When we see a bill of interest, we will add it to our list. Members will be able to explore this list, including information about the bills and sponsors, notes added by the Association, etc. There are also video tutorials located on the page for using this function.
- Find My NC Legislator — not sure who to contact when NCRGEA asks for help in advocating for an issue related to public employees? With our FastDemocracy partnership, there’s no need to wonder any longer. Use the legislator search function to type in your address and find your State Representative and Senator.
Both pages are located under the Advocacy section in the NCRGEA website‘s dropdown menu.
Our Commitment to Members
NCRGEA is committed to representing its members and empowering them with the tools needed to advocate effectively for their retirement needs. We will continue to explore technology and any other tools needed to bring us all together in pursuit of a common goal — protecting you in retirement after a lifetime of dedicated public service.