NC county commissioners vote to give themselves an 82% raise
New Hanover County commissioners approved a significant pay raise for themselves in their $457 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Posted — UpdatedCommissioner Jonathan Barfield said that the approximate stipend has been $17,000 for a while. But next year, the stipend is increasing to $31,000 – meaning commissioners gave themselves an 82% raise.
Commissioners are usually part-time positions, but Barfield said because of the amount of work he puts into the job, the pay needed to increase.
“For me, it’s not a part-time position," He told WECT News. "The amount of hours that I put into working on behalf of citizens is definitely not part-time. It’s part-time pay, but it’s not part-time work."
Residents spoke out against the pay increase during Monday's meeting, including Rep. Ted Davis Jr., a Republican.
"A real rub in the budget is your proposed salary increase, especially after increases in the value of taxpayers’ property due to revaluation," he said. "This is like putting salt on a wound.”
