Bill James’ Head Explodes
… in 3, 2, 1 – boom.
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Closed-Door Bombshell
Locked behind closed doors Tuesday night with tensions and tempers mounting, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones had just finished explaining why he had pulled and released Commissioners Vice Chairman Jim Pendergraph’s personnel records from when the former sheriff retired in 2007, offering that Commissioner George Dunlap had requested the information last Thursday. The explanation drew […]
Vacation Getaway
Mecklenburg County is on the hook for potentially having to shell out more than $25 million in so-called compensated absences – largely accrued vacation leave and sick time pay, stretching back to 2007 – due workers when they eventually leave county employment. Last year alone, 649 former county employees received a combined total of about […]
Hefty DNC Tab Could Land In County’s Lap
Mayor Anthony Foxx has assured that city finances and taxpayers won’t be pinched by bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte next year. Mecklenburg County, though, might be a different story. “There’s likely to be some additional cost associated with our planning for the DNC,” County Manager Harry Jones related as part of a budget […]
Houdini Harry Escapes Unscathed
After Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones acknowledged misleading the public and his county commission bosses, and wrongfully outing protected personnel information of the county’s former sheriff and current board vice chairman, Jones apologized for his transgressions and walked away without so much as a formal reprimand from commissioners. Jones was on the hot seat Tuesday […]
MeckCo Payout Problems – UPDATE with Pendergraph Response
Adding fuel to the county payout fire, on the heels of revelations swirling around former Mental Health Director Grayce Crockett’s settlement, there’s this nugget dropped late last week. Turns out when Commissioner Jim Pendergraph, a Republican, retired as Mecklenburg Sheriff, he walked away with a little extra in his pocket – almost 150 hours of […]
Reval On Steroids
Most homeowners got a major jolt in the mail this week when they received property revaluation notices from the county. The average single-family house or townhome increased about 15 percent since the county’s last capture the value campaign in 2003, according to the uptown paper. About 63 percent of homes saw their values increase, some skyrocketing […]
Harry Jones Hush Money
Forget about whether County Manager Harry Jones exceeded his authority in authorizing a resignation settlement of more than $60,000 to former Area Mental Health Director Grayce Crockett, without first informing county commissioners. It’s a convenient cover for a more troubling issue, specifically why was Jones so worried about Crockett possibly suing the county, as he […]
Commissioners Punt On Bright Beginnings Grant
After a week’s worth of squabbling about whether to vote on earmarking a $10 million special grant to help save the Bright Beginnings pre-kindergarten program, Mecklenburg commissioners on Tuesday night stepped up to the plate and resolutely deferred a decision until April. The move leaves the fate of Bright Beginnings in tenuous limbo, with the […]
Commissioners Light Up Bright Beginnings Debate
The request to place a $10 million funding grant for Bright Beginnings on the agenda for next week’s board of commissioners’ meeting, submitted by Commissioners Chairman Jennifer Roberts at the request of Commissioner Vilma Leake, two Democrats, set off an e-mail exchange between several commissioners, in addition to an earlier reply from Republican Commissioner Bill […]
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