He was already the city of Charlotte’s best-paid employee. Now, he’s getting a raise.
The Charlotte City Council voted Monday night to give its highest paid employee a raise.
City Manager Marcus Jones, who accepted the job in 2016, will be paid $434,551 per year, a 14% raise. Jones, Charlotte’s first Black manager, currently earns about $380,000 per year, or $182 hourly, according to the city’s salary database.
The raise was approved in an 8-3 vote. Council members LaWana Mayfield, Renee Johnson and Braxton Winston voted against the raise.
Mayfield said a salary of nearly a half-million dollars is impractical for government work in a city the size of Charlotte.
“This particular amount is very difficult with all the challenges we’ve heard from the community,” Mayfield said. “I think council is showing a level of being tone deaf to the issues we have.”
Earlier in the meeting, council members discussed funding for transportation and affordable housing.
How does Jones’ salary compare?
Jones’ raise takes him past Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio’s annual base salary of $398,452.91. Diorio received a 5% pay raise in September.
Of city managers in the five most-populous North Carolina cities, Jones’ salary is the highest, according to the most recent data reported by North Carolina news outlets.
The city manager in Charlotte is responsible for the city’s day-to-day operations and hiring and firing employees.
▪ Charlotte: Marcus Jones, $434,551 base salary
▪ Raleigh: Marchell Adams-David, $275,000, according to The News & Observer in October 2021
▪ Greensboro: Taiwo Jaiyeoba, $280,000, according to WFMY News 2 in December 2021
▪ Winston-Salem: Lee Garrity, $212,487, according to the Triad Business Journal in March 2022
▪ Durham: Wanda Page, $255,000, according to The News & Observer in March 2021
Charlotte city clerk receives raise
The Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to raise City Clerk Stephanie Kelly’s salary to $152,362 per year, which is an increase of 11%. Kelly became city clerk in 2008 after serving as deputy clerk.
Kelly currently makes about $137,000 annually, or $65 hourly, the city’s database shows.
The raises come after Mayor Vi Lyles and the council met Nov. 14 and 21 to conduct performance evaluations for the city clerk and city manager, respectively, with assistance from the city’s Human Resources Director Sheila Simpson.
Their raises are both larger than the 8% salary hikes hourly employees received — 4% raises in two intervals — when the city’s fiscal year 2023 budget was approved in June. All hourly, salaried and public safety workers received a 2% salary bonus and salaried employees who don’t work in public safety received a 4% merit pool raise.
