Craven County Government

Craven County Government, operating through its County Manager's Office in New Bern, North Carolina, is a U.S. local government entity that acts as a federal grant recipient and occasional federal contractor, delivering public transit operations, community health services, law enforcement support, and animal shelter services to federal agencies and programs. The county competes under full-and-open solicitations with no SBA set-aside designations.

Craven County's federal footprint is heavily weighted toward grant work (60% of recent awards are prime grants or grant sub-awards), with recurring roles as a recipient under federal transit, health, and justice programs. The county's largest prime grant recipient role centers on public transit: it receives annual formula grants from the Federal Transit Administration (CFDA 20.507) for operating assistance to the Craven Area Rural Transit System (CARTS), including a $1.25 million FY2026 award on January 16, 2026, covering driver salaries, vehicle maintenance, and operating supplies through March 30, 2032, with the FTA providing 50% of eligible expenses and Craven County matching the remaining 50% through local funds. Earlier transit grants include a $134,047 Section 5307 American Rescue Plan allocation in June 2023 for COVID-19 operating assistance and a $25,000 ADA complementary paratransit formula grant in July 2024. On the health side, Craven County is a recipient under the Health Resources and Services Administration's Community Health Centers program (CFDA 93.224), holding a $2.356 million project grant awarded September 1, 2023, supporting comprehensive primary, preventive, dental, and behavioral health services through August 31, 2026, with additional funding for hurricane recovery and COVID-19 response infrastructure. The county also received smaller project grants for bridge access COVID-19 vaccination and other public health initiatives from the Bureau of Primary Health Care. In justice and public safety, Craven County received a $970,757 Bureau of Justice Assistance project grant on October 1, 2022, for jail-based and re-entry programs serving individuals at high risk for substance abuse, with embedded social workers and recovery housing support running through September 30, 2026, and a separate block grant from BJA in October 2023 for law enforcement badge printer equipment completing in September 2025.

The county holds a single federal prime contract: a $45,000 firm-fixed-price purchase order from the U.S. Marine Corps awarded June 22, 2022, for animal shelter services in New Bern under NAICS 812910, extending through June 21, 2027. The source indicates this award reflects the county's capacity to provide municipal services to federal defense operations.

Federal grant sub-award work accounts for 40% of recent awards and flows primarily through the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Craven County acts as a sub-recipient on TANF, Title IV-E Foster Care, Title IV-E Adoption Assistance, child support services, WIC nutrition programs, maternal and child health services, family planning services, vaccine-preventable disease prevention (Immunization Action Plan), public health emergency preparedness (PHEP), jail-based COVID testing, and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. It also receives sub-award allocations from FEMA for emergency management planning and from the Department of Public Safety for disaster recovery equipment and training.

Customer concentration is distributed across multiple agencies reflecting the grant-heavy model. The Federal Transit Administration leads by award count (11 awards), followed by the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (8 awards) and the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (8 awards). The Bureau of Justice Assistance accounts for 7 awards. The U.S. Marine Corps anchors potential value by its single contract ($107,000 combined value across three awards, though the source shows one contract of $45,000 directly), but the FTA, USDA, HHS, and DOJ collectively represent the operational revenue base. Award activity has grown modestly—from 10 awards in 2022 to 16 each in 2024 and 2025—though the source reports only 3 awards in the current 2026 review window. Three awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months and together represent $45,000 in combined potential value, signaling minimal recompete exposure near-term.

The county's equipment lease footprint—28 awards under NAICS Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings and 26 under PSC Lease/Rental of Office Buildings—suggests substantial county facility management and real estate operations supporting federal occupancy or county functions that serve federal programs. A single government-wide basic ordering agreement (GS04B43027) carries 27 task orders valued at $56,000 combined, indicating routine federal ordering against a master lease or office-space vehicle.