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Charlotte Mayor-elect Anthony Foxx says the new City Council should discuss whether it should award bonuses next year to the city manager and city attorney, though Foxx declined to say his position on the issue.
In the last month, council members have voted to give City Manager Curt Walton and City Attorney Mac McCarley bonuses for work done in the past year, decisions made after Walton cut merit-based bonuses and raises for city employees due to the recession.Walton's decision affected bonus payments and raises for the current fiscal year, which started July 1.
Some council members have said Walton and McCarley are exempt from that decision because the bonuses they received were for work done in fiscal year 2008-09, which ended June 30. Their formal evaluations - which took place in the last month - were done several months late.
But a number of council members are undecided on whether Walton and McCarley should receive bonuses next year, or share the financial pain felt by other employees.
"I don't know yet," said Republican council member Warren Cooksey, who voted to give bonuses to Walton and McCarley. He said the council should decide quickly whether it will award bonuses next year.
Both Walton and McCarley did good work for the city, council members said.
Walton will receive a base salary of $200,312 in the current year, plus the $16,000 bonus for last fiscal year. McCarley will receive a salary of $175,781 for the current year and a $15,000 bonus for last fiscal year. Their total pay - salary and bonus - for 2008-09 was the same as it was for the previous fiscal year..
Foxx, a Democrat and currently a council member, will be sworn in as mayor Dec. 7. Democrat Patrick Cannon will also become a council member that day, replacing Republican John Lassiter.
Walton and McCarley have said it's too early to speculate on whether they would accept a bonus for 2009-2010.
The city's Human Resources director, Tim Mayes, for the fiscal year ending June 30 received a $14,955 bonus in addition to his salary of $149,555. He won't be receiving a raise or a bonus this year .
He said in an e-mail last week to the Observer that council members and the city manager and city attorney have had an informal agreement that the bonus payments are a "standard part" of their compensation package. Cutting the payments would be "inappropriate," he said.
Republican Mayor Pat McCrory and Democrat Michael Barnes voted against both packages. Democrats Foxx, James Mitchell and Warren Turner voted against McCarley's package Monday.
Turner was absent for the vote on Walton's compensation.
Foxx said he voted against McCarley's compensation package not because he objected in principle to awarding the bonus. He said instead he didn't feel McCarley had done as good of a job as Walton.
"It's my expectation that we will have some early dialogue with our management about bonuses," Foxx said. "I understand the perception issues and realities of the revenue issues."
Republican Edwin Peacock said he doesn't like that the council has made it appear as though the city manager and city attorney will almost automatically receive a bonus. Any bonus should be more discretionary, he said.
Peacock said he voted for the bonuses because "you can't give a guy high marks and take it away. What signal does that send?" When asked about other employees who likely received high marks but won't receive a bonus, Peacock said that was a difficult situation.
Cannon said the new council should talk soon about its pay plans for the city manager and city attorney for 2009-2010. He said the city "should be conscious that people are treated equally across the board."
Last year, about 2 percent of the city's 6,700 employees received one-time payments in addition to their salaries.
After debate, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones received a $38,400 bonus from county commissioners Nov. 4. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Supt. Peter Gorman turned down a pay raise this year due to the economy.
