Charlotte releases contract showing what it’s paying just-hired top attorney
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte hired Andrea Leslie-Fite at $345,000, placing her among the top-paid employees.
- Her predecessor, Patrick Baker, was hired in 2019 for $254,000.
- Leslie-Fite is an at will employee who can be fire with or without cause at any time.
Charlotte’s new attorney became one of the city’s top paid employees when she took office last month.
Andrea Leslie-Fite has a base salary of $345,000 plus benefits and allowances, according to a copy of her contract obtained through a records request. That’s higher than her predecessors.
Patrick Baker was the last permanent attorney whom the city reportedly forced out in October 2024, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. He was making $291,443.64 after five years with the city. Anthony Fox served in an interim capacity for about 10 months while the city searched for a replacement.
When Charlotte tapped Leslie-Fite for the job, she was serving as the attorney for Guilford County and the president of the North Carolina Association of County Attorneys. She previously worked as the Queen City’s senior assistant attorney.
What’s in the Charlotte city attorney contract?
Charlotte agreed to pay Leslie-Fite up to $60,000 to relocate from Guilford County and required her to make the move within the first six months of her contract. Up to $24,000 of that money can go toward moving expenses such as transporting her belongings, storage fees and temporary housing. The other $36,000 could go toward selling her home.
The city attorney leads a staff of more than 40 people and provides 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.
The city can adjust Leslie-Fite’s salary at any time based on performance, budget approvals and availability of funds, according to her contract. Her first opportunity for a raise, though, will be the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
In addition to her base salary, Leslie-Fite will receive a $5,700 annual automobile stipend, a cell phone and mobile computer, a 401(K) with an employer contribution worth 3% of her salary and the same medical and employee benefits as other city employees.
The city will also pay for professional organization dues, subscriptions and travel expenses for conferences to support her professional growth. Should she be named in a lawsuit relating to her official work, the city will pay for her legal fees.
Leslie-Fite will have 15 days of vacation per year, plus 12 additional sick days.
Notably, she is an “at will” employee whose job can be terminated at any point, with or without cause.
If she is terminated without cause, the city will pay her six months’ salary, or $172,500. She’ll also receive payouts for unused vacation and sick time and six-month’s value of her city-paid employee benefits. She won’t be entitled to this payout if she resigns or is terminated for cause.
That provision played out in real time under the previous attorney’s contract.
WFAE reported last fall that Mayor Vi Lyles and a majority of the Charlotte City Council voted in closed session to “end” Baker’s employment. That decision was in part because Baker fulfilled a public records request from WFAE.
The city gave no explanation at the time on whether Baker had resigned, retired or was fired.
Baker later told the Observer he officially retired. Records show the city paid Baker more than $230,000 as he left office, including for unused sick leave and vacation days, the Observer previously reported.
How does Leslie-Fite’s pay stack up to other Charlotte leaders?
Leslie-Fite’s starting salary is more than $90,000 larger than Baker’s, which represents a 36% pay increase. The city hired him at about $254,000 in 2019 after 22 years with the City of Durham. Leslie-Fite’s annual automobile allowance increased by about 19% over Baker.
Baker received four raises during his tenure, bringing his salary at the time of his departure last year to $291,443.64, still significantly lower than his successor.
The Observer’s salary database from last fiscal year would place Leslie-Fite as the second highest-paid employee behind only the city manager, Marcus Jones. His base salary is more than $480,000, or almost $230 an hour.
Baker was the fourth highest-paid employee at the time of his departure.
Fox, who served in the interim between the two permanent attorneys, received a monthly pay rate of $28,075.02. Council initially offered him a six-month deal in December 2024 that earned him about $168,450 before extending his contract, the Observer previously reported.
The contract included a provision that if he stayed in office through Oct. 31 — which he did — he would be paid through the end of the year.
Taken together, Fox’s salary during the interm period is just short of $337,000. However, he received an additional $75,000 retention bonus, which would bring his one-year pay well above Leslie-Fite’s.
