Vaping on most county-owned property became illegal Monday night when the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to prohibit the practice.
In an unrelated matter, the commissioners voted to spend just over $6 million to give 2,008 employees a one-time cost-of-living payment because they didn’t get a cost-of-living raise when the county passed its budget this past summer.
Vaping ban
In banning vaping on county property, the commissioners cited research and reports from health organizations that vaping is hazardous to people’s health.
The ban applies to most county-owned properties, including the public libraries, the county courthouse, the Department of Social Services, the county Health Department, and other county offices and facilities. It also applies to county vehicles.
The penalty for violating the ordinance is $50.
The ban does not apply to county-owned parks or to the entertainment facilities of the Crown Complex (including the coliseum, the arena, the theater and the expo center).
However, the ordinance says the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission is allowed to develop vaping regulations for the parks, and the Cumberland County Civic Center Commission, which oversees the Crown facilities, is authorized to develop vaping regulations for the Crown’s property.
Cumberland County banned smoking on county property in 2014. Prior to that, smoking had been banned within 25 feet of the entrances to county buildings since 1993.
Cost of living stipends
A memo from County Manager Clarence Grier says that when the commissioners approved their annual budget in the summer, they weren’t prepared to provide a cost-of-living raise for their employees. The county first needed to finish its audit for the 2023–24 fiscal year and get a firm determination of how much money the county had in its savings (called its fund balance), the memo says.
With that information in hand, the commissioners on Monday approved stipends for the employees. The amount varies based on each person’s pay.
Those who earn $50,000 or less will get 5.25% of their annual salary. The percentage declines as salaries rise, stopping at 2.5% for employees who earn more than $200,000.
The county plans to pay the stipends in November, Grier’s memo says.
The $6 million cost to the county government will be reduced to just over $5 million “based on reimbursements for Child Support and the Department of Social Services,” a county news release says.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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