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Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones will receive a $38,400 performance bonus, but his total compensation remains the same as last year, under a deal unanimously approved Wednesday by county commissioners.
The board approved the money as part of the manager's annual performance review. His pay package also includes, among other things, $215,655 in base salary.
Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts said Jones “has done a very, very good job, an excellent job as manager in a very difficult year.” She cited Jones' work addressing budget cuts because of falling tax revenues and his work on the Critical Needs Task Force to help address social services needs in the community.
Roberts said commissioners, who first discussed the evaluation in closed session, had a “difficult conversation” because of the current economic condition.
Commissioner Dumont Clarke, who sat on the board’s compensation committee, said Jones’ performance in the past year earned him a larger bonus. He said he’s being paid about 10 percent less than what his performance score called for.
But both Roberts and Clarke said Jones asked that his pay be kept level this year. “That was his request,” Roberts said. He “wants to be treated like all the other county employees.”
County employees did not receive any merit raises this year, but the county is supposed to offer some market-based pay adjustments starting in January.
Jones is eligible for a bonus, or “pay at risk” of up to 30 percent of his annual salary based on a series of criteria, including how well the county performs on annual goals and a management plan approved by commissioners. Based on his current salary, he could have received a bonus up to about $65,000 this year.
Jones has not received the full bonus since commissioners approved the new pay structure in 2004.
Some commissioners had previously argued that the money – which they termed “pay at risk” – wasn't a traditional bonus. Rather, they said it was a portion of Jones' pay that was based on meeting previously-outlined county goals.
