Republican leaders in the General Assembly are discussing whether to cut off the money large cities get for street paving projects.
Since 1951, communities have gotten state money to maintain local roads through the Powell Bill.
According to the Department of Transportation, most of that money goes to resurfacing over 20,000 miles of municipal streets that aren't part of the state highway system. It can also be used to fill in potholes, ice roads before snow, maintain bridges, and build bike paths and sidewalks.
The Senate's budget proposal eliminates cities with populations above 150,000 from planned spending.
That would save an estimated $50 million a year, which the legislation says should go to "support disaster recovery" instead. The House's budget proposal leaves the spending intact, budgeting nearly $186 million annually.
North Carolina's seven largest cities — Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, and Cary — would be impacted.
Leaders in some of those cities are expressing concern about the potential multi-million dollar cuts.
Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin member said in April the funding has "been vital." The city unanimously passed a resolution in opposition.
So did Winston-Salem, where City Council member Robert Clark said the loss of over $8 million a year would be "astronomical."
"Those things that get defunded in Raleigh in one cycle often find themselves being defunded for a much longer time than we originally anticipated," Winston-Salem's budget director Scott Tesh told the City Council.
The new fiscal year begins July 1, and legislators hope to agree on a budget by then.
