The N&R reports Greensboro Coliseum director Matt Brown —already the city’s highest-paid employee —-has not received not only a $51,000 salary hike but a one-time bonus for the same amount.
Brown’s raise and bonus are revealed only after the N&R’s public information request, but City Manager Denise Turner Roth and Mayor Robbie Perkins are acting like it’s all routine and above board:
Roth said the salary increase is recognition that Brown manages not just the coliseum, but an aquatics center, exhibition halls, an auditorium and an amphitheater.
“I know that this is a large number. It’s a larger than typical salary for some city employees,” Roth said.
“Ultimately it was a reflection of the work that he has taken on, the position itself and what we know from an industry perspective that it’s the right thing.”
…“If Matt were operating in a private sector environment, he’d get three times what we’re paying him,” Perkins said. “You’re hiring talent.”
The mayor acknowledged that a salary of more than a quarter-million dollars per year is high for a city employee, “but not a lot for the job he is assigned to do.”
Perkins noted that in a recent work session, the council received an in-depth report about the coliseum complex’s role in the local economy, which showed it to be at least a break-even deal for city taxpayers.
Read the comments beneath the N&R article and you’ll quickly see how badly Roth and Perkins misjudged public sentiment on this issue. But just for the helluva of it, I’ll play devil’s advocate and say that Brown’s $263k salary comes up short compared to the $288k for 8 months work at DHHs for Joe Hauck, who also happens to work for Greensboro-based New Breed Logistics. New Breed’s CEO is Louis DeJoy, who is married to —you guessed it —-DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos.
Geez.
