Wilmington city council to weigh budget, tobacco law and UNCW medical school

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WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wilmington City Council will review the city manager’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 during their meeting on Monday.

The budget presentation kicks off a six-week review process that includes a council work session on May 15 and a public hearing on May 19. Council will hold a first reading on June 2 and vote on final budget adoption on June 16. The budget will take effect July 1.

Council will also vote on the annual action plan for Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds.

Two notable resolutions are on the council’s agenda. One backs a proposed medical school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The other supports Solly’s Law, which would raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 to address youth vaping and nicotine use.

The medical school resolution mirrors one that New Hanover County commissioners will consider earlier Monday at 4 p.m. The UNC Board of Governors will make the final decision in May on whether to authorize UNCW to begin planning the four-year medical degree program.

Solly’s Law is named after Solomon Wynn, a New Hanover High School student who died in 2023 from complications related to vaping. The proposed state legislation would make it a Class 2 misdemeanor to sell tobacco or nicotine products to someone under 21 and require retailers to obtain annual permits. North Carolina is one of seven states where the legal age to buy tobacco remains 18, despite federal law setting the age at 21. State health department data shows one in eight high school students in North Carolina use vape products.

Two Cape Fear Academy students, Be Lanier and Max Hammer, plan to speak at Monday’s city council meeting in support of the resolution. Both are teen council members for the Tobacco 21 Coalition and met with state lawmakers in Raleigh on Wednesday.

Written public comments submitted online before noon Monday will be entered into the public record. The meeting will be available on the city’s website and YouTube channel.