Raleigh, N.C. — City Manager Russell Allen will get a 4.75 percent raise in the coming year.

The City Council voted in a closed session this week to extend Allen's contract by one year – it now runs through the end of fiscal 2011 – and to boost his annual salary from $210,000 to $220,000.

The move comes as Raleigh faces a nearly $20 million shortfall in its budget.

Allen, who has been city manager since 2001, declined to comment Friday on the raise. He said that his budget proposal to the City Council wouldn't include a property tax increase.

A City Council member told WRAL News that the closed-door discussion about this raise was "lively," but noted that Allen is one of the reasons Raleigh continues to be considered as one of the nation's best places to live and work.