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Mecklenburg County commissioners Chairman Jennifer Roberts said Wednesday she has asked the county attorney's office to look into whether top administrators ordered changes to a salary study used to help set employee pay.
The allegation is contained in an anonymous letter Roberts and Commissioner Bill James recently received. James said he grew concerned after he called the firm that conducted the 2005 study.
James said an executive with Fox Lawson & Associates told him that consultants were asked to change a summary in the original draft report that said top county administrators were “overpaid” compared to those in other counties.
“An individual in a position to know said the allegation in the letter is true,” James said.
Commissioners voted four years ago to increase salaries and update job classifications. In 2005, data showed just over half of county employees made salaries below market rate, officials said.
The letter asked commissioners to investigate the study findings and refers to recent reports of misspending at the county Department of Social Services.
It reads: “look at the salary history of top management. Ask John how he changed the Fox Lawson Study before you or the public ever saw it.”
County General Manager John McGillicuddy told the Observer that neither he nor other officials influenced Fox Lawson in a way that would make the report more favorable to upper management.
“The process was very similar to what we do with other consultants,” McGillicuddy said. “I don't believe we pressured Fox Lawson to do anything.”
McGillicuddy said county administrators received a draft of the study from Fox Lawson and then asked consultants to compare salaries in Mecklenburg to government employees in larger counties.
“They looked at smaller counties and we asked if that was an apples-to-apples comparison,” McGillicuddy said.
He said county administrators also asked for salary comparisons between Mecklenburg government and the private sector.
McGillicuddy said Fox Lawson initially had trouble obtaining data for private-sector workers. Unlike government employees, the pay of most private sector workers is not subject to open records laws.
Officials wanted the information since “we compete with the private sector” for job applicants, McGillicuddy said.
The county Board of Commissioners reviewed a draft of the study, asked questions and made recommendations before it was finalized, he said.
The Observer requested the final report from the county Wednesday, but a copy was not made available. A county spokesman did not say why. County Manager Harry Jones was not available for comment.
James Fox, a partner with Fox Lawson, said he has recently been contacted by a Mecklenburg commissioner and an attorney.
“I am going to look at the draft report and the final report,” Fox said. “I don't know if the allegation has any substance.” He declined further comment.
The accusation follows months of controversy over county salaries and spending:
Earlier this year, the Observer reported that officials continue to pay former DSS Director Richard “Jake” Jacobsen $167,936 a year and provide him with a county-owned vehicle, though he no longer works for the county. Jacobsen is executive-in-residence for UNC Charlotte's Institute for Social Capital.
Later, county officials acknowledged that they could not fully account for $162,000 in DSS donations meant to buy gifts for needy children. That includes a $10,000 check made out to an employee. Police are investigating.
In May, an Observer analysis found the number of six-figure salaries on the county payroll grew nearly 33 percent over the last year.
Roberts, the county board chair and a Democrat, said she received the anonymous letter about the salary study in June. James, a Republican, said he got the letter last week and Roberts asked him to check into the accusation.
Roberts said officials are trying to determine whether changes to the report were meant to deceive commissioners or were simply routine suggestions.
“We are pursuing the facts,” she said.
