Greensboro City Council member Mike Barber says new City Manager Rashad Young is short on cred:
Barber — who pushed for the removal of the former city manager — said Young does not have the credentials for the gig and is not worth what council members have agreed to pay him.
The choice to hire Young seems to be pandering to special interest groups in an election year, Barber said last week.
“I believe some of those council members’ sensitivity to special interest groups has guided this process much more than what is best for Greensboro,” Barber said.
Unless something was lost in translation, Barber’s referring to the $175,000 salary that Young will draw when he officially takes over. But remember that Mayor Yvonne Johnson and council member Robbie Perkins —- according to the Rhino —– pushed for a salary of $210,000. I find it totally believable —–despite Perkins’ denial —– that the council hired Young with the blessing of the influential George Simkins PAC. But the huge salary offer indicates a payoff to make sure Young doesn’t buck any of the council’s PC initiatives. Not that he would anyway, based on what I read.
But —- as I noted last week —- Greensboro citizens can vote in a brand new mayor and council to work with Young. Then things would be really interesting.
Update: In the interest of being fair and balanced, I’ll report that I just talked to someone who says that $210k isn’t nearly enough to keep government employees 1) busy and 2) motivated.