Graham’s city council spent more time behind closed doors Tuesday night than they did in open session.
The closed door confab was apparently to consider the annual performance review for city manager Megan Garner.
A potential discussion of the lawsuit between Graham and Mebane was struck from the agenda for the closed-door session, leaving only an unspecified personnel matter.
So after an hour and 47 minutes in open session, council members left the council chambers to reconvene in a nearby conference room.
When the council emerged after an hour and 52 minutes behind closed doors, council member Bonnie Whitaker made a motion to provide a 12 percent raise for city manger Garner, from $206,000 to $230,720.
Her motion passed 4-1, with mayor Chelsea Dickey dissenting. In addition to Whitaker, voting for the motion were mayor pro tem Ricky Hall and councilmen Bobby Chin and Jim Young.
Hall then made a motion to adjourn, which was adopted unanimously.
After the meeting, Dickey told the newspaper she felt Garner’s salary already fell in the proper range for cities Graham’s size, based on a chart that city council members apparently considered while in closed session.
[Story continues below chart with salaries of city managers in cities with between 10,000 to 25,000 population, according to the N.C. League of Municipalities.]
Garner will also be eligible for the 3 percent COLA that she included in Graham’s budget for all city employees. That will bring her annual salary to approximately $237, 642, effective July 1.
