Charlotte city attorney received payouts of more than $230k after departure
Charlotte paid now-former City Attorney Patrick Baker more than $230,000 after he reportedly was forced out of his job last year, public records show.
WFAE reported in October that Mayor Vi Lyles and a majority of the Charlotte City Council voted in closed session to “end” Baker’s employment, in part due to Baker’s decision to fulfill a public records request from the NPR affiliate. Weeks of closed session meetings to discuss “personnel matters” followed the story, but the city never publicly announced any action or a departure.
The City Council ultimately voted 8-3 after no public debate at a December zoning meeting to hire Anthony Fox as interim city attorney on a six-month contract while conducting a search for a new permanent hire. The city didn’t say at the time whether Baker resigned, retired or was fired with or without cause.
Baker told The Charlotte Observer he officially retired.
His contract, obtained by the Observer through a public records request, required a lump sum severance payment worth six months of his salary and a payout for any unused vacation days or sick leave if he was fired without cause. The terms called for no severance if he resigned or was “terminated for good cause.”
Pay stubs, obtained by the Observer through a public records request, show he received a payout of $85,733.83 for unused sick leave and vacation days on Jan. 17. He received an additional payment of $151,893.30, about 50% of his yearly salary, the same day. The classification for that payment was redacted on the documents provided to the Observer.
Asked to confirm if the payments were a severance package, city spokesman Lawrence Corley said he couldn’t answer because the information is “personnel confidential information not subject to disclosure.”
Baker, 57, was hired in March 2019 after 22 years with the city of Durham. His final salary in Charlotte was $297,143.36, according to the city’s records. His compensation package also included a $4,800 yearly “automobile allowance,” contributions to a 401(K) and a cell phone.
He was an “at will” employee, meaning he could be fired “at any time, with or without cause,” according to his contract.
Charlotte’s city attorney leads a staff of more than 40 people and is responsible for providing legal and policy representation and guidance to the mayor, City Council and city staff. It’s one of three city positions that report directly to the City Council.
Baker, who was a regular presence at City Council meetings to provide legal guidance, was absent from public meetings in the wake of WFAE’s story. But, pay stubs show, he continued to work in his position until the end of the 2024 calendar year.
His last day with the city was Dec. 31, Corley confirmed.
Fox’s tenure with the city, according to a copy of his employment agreement obtained by the Observer via public records request, began Jan. 1. He’s being paid about $168,450, the agreement says.
Fox is a different person from former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a comment from Patrick Baker received after the story’s initial publication.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
