With the General Assembly now a month past a budget deadline, North Carolina Budget Director Lee Roberts is calling for state agencies to prepare for a government shutdown.

It’s never happened before and Roberts said Thursday it’s extremely unlikely, but in a memo to state agencies obtained by WNCN News, he’s asking them to prepare to cut back to providing only essential services.

“It’s now been five months. Our fiscal year ended,” Roberts said. “We’re one of only five states where the legislature has not completed its budget for the year.”