The Cumberland County Commissioners on Monday asked their state legislators to bring home $128.5 million for projects that include a new E.E. Smith High School, a regional aquatics center and a countywide water and sewer system.

Their request follows a similar request last week from the Fayetteville City Council, which asked for $12 million to fund seven programs and projects.

The General Assembly is supposed to pass a new state budget no later than June 30, to take effect July 1. The state budget in recent years has included billions of dollars earmarked for local projects, local governments, nonprofit organizations and other beneficiaries. For example, in 2021, the legislature sent $412 million to Cumberland County for individual programs and organizations. In 2023, it sent $127 million.

The Board of Commissioners met with four of Cumberland County’s six legislators: state Sen. Val Applewhite and state Reps. Diane Wheatley, Charles Smith and Mike Colvin. The other two, state Sen. Tom McInnis and Rep. Frances Jackson, had schedule conflicts and were unable to attend, commissioners said.

Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere said the county does not expect the state to pay for 100% of the costs of the projects it is working on. The county seeks to use a mix of local money, state money, federal money and grants, he said.

Here are details of what the county commissioners asked for:

  • $65 million for a new E.E. Smith High School. The total cost to build the new school is estimated at $130 million, deViere said. The money is part of more than $800 million in repairs, renovation and new construction that the Cumberland County Schools say they need, deViere said.
  • $5 million for the Gray’s Creek public water system project. Wheatley questioned this request because she and McInnis previously obtained $12 million for the Fayetteville Public Works Commission for the water system. “We got that money, we made sure that the grant held everything that they said they needed. And there’s still not a ditch or shovelful of dirt that’s come out of the ground that I can see,” she said. County Manager Clarence Grier said the additional $5 million is due to inflation plus new plans to install sewer lines along with water lines.
  • $50 million toward development and construction of a countywide water and sewer system. DeViere said the total estimated cost is between $1 billion and $1.4 billion. “This is a critical step for us,” he said. “This will help us at least begin to build it out, and understand from a planning standpoint what we need to do.”
  • $2 million for an aquatic center that could operate year-round for recreational swimming and attract visitors with regional competitive swimming events. Cumberland County would contribute another $2 million to the project, deViere said.
  • $2 million to purchase an emergency services vehicle called a mobile incident command unit. “The current vehicle is reaching its end of life,” Commissioner Henry Tyson said. A new, larger vehicle would be helpful in a crisis, he said, and help first responders communicate effectively and reach residents quickly.
  • $500,000 for a digital dispatch system for the county’s volunteer fire departments to help them more quickly and more efficiently dispatch first responders and resources to fires and other emergency incidents. The county would contribute another $100,000.
  • $4 million for youth mental health and substance use treatment services. The programs will help with suicide rates, said Commissioners Vice Chair Veronica Jones. People seeking mental health services currently face waiting lists, she said.

Other requests

The commissioners also asked for policy items:

  • A change in the state’s formula for teacher pay so Cumberland County can pay teachers more.
  • Support to build passenger rail service between Fayetteville and Raleigh, and Fayetteville and Wilmington.
  • Support to have the planned Interstate 685 connect to Interstate 95 via Fayetteville instead of via Dunn in Harnett County.
  • Modify annexation laws to reduce the financial cost that volunteer fire departments suffer when an area they serve becomes part of a city or town. Volunteer departments are funded in part with special property taxes, and when a piece of property becomes part of a city or town that has its own fire department, the volunteer department loses that tax revenue.
  • Efforts to prevent gun violence.
  • Improvements and expansions to the state’s mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services to shrink the waiting list of people seeking these services.

The legislators said they will consider the requests, and they have asked the county to rank them in priority. DeViere acknowledged that the cost to help western North Carolina rebuild following the Hurricane Helene disaster last year may affect how much money Cumberland County will receive. Gov. Josh Stein asked the legislature to allocate more than $1 billion in disaster aid.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.