Graham’s city council spent an hour and 40 minutes behind closed doors Tuesday night, reviewing the performance of the city’s attorneys, Bob Ward and Bryan Coleman.
When they emerged, the council extended the contract for the attorneys and gave them an almost 15 percent raise, from $102,166 to $117,166, effective immediately.
The vote was 4-1, with mayor Chelsea Dickey opposed. Voting in favor were council members Bonnie Whitaker, Bobby Chin, mayor pro tem Ricky Hall, and councilman Jim Young.
It was the second month out of the past three in which the council was in closed session for longer than it had been in its open meeting – in both cases for personnel reviews.
In June, the council had gone into closed session to review the performance of city manager Megan Garner for one hour and 52 minutes, before emerging to give her a 12 percent raise, from $206,000 to $230,720. Dickey also opposed that action, which passed 4-1, with the same voting configuration.
