Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones is getting another raise, this time pushing his base salary to about $511,690 — but unlike years past, the city stayed quiet about it. The Charlotte City Council approved the 2.5% bump, worth more than $12,000, during a closed session in August 2026, and as of Monday, Mayor Vi Lyles still had not made the kind of public announcement that typically follows these decisions.
That silence is drawing scrutiny. According to WSOC-TV, citing the Charlotte Observer, attorneys say the law does not clearly answer whether final salary votes like this one must occur in public. Under UNC School of Government guidance, public bodies can legally hold closed sessions to evaluate an employee's performance or qualifications under North Carolina General Statute § 143-318.11(a)(6), but no statute requires salary votes to occur in open session, and the guidance describes arguments on both sides. Employee salary records are public under a separate statute, G.S. § 160A-168. Legal experts have noted arguments both for and against taking final binding action on compensation in closed session; the law does not clearly require such votes to be public, while employee salary changes must become public record.
A Break From the Usual Pattern
The timing stands out because Lyles has a history of publicly announcing Jones' raises at subsequent council meetings. In November 2024, she announced a 5% salary increase that pushed his base pay to nearly $475,000, continuing what had become an annual, mayor-led public ritual following council approval. Council had previously approved a salary hike for Jones in 2022.
This latest increase is notably smaller than those earlier raises, per the same WSOC-TV account. On November 28, 2022, the council voted 9-3 in open session to raise Jones' base pay to $434,511, along with $32,200 in deferred compensation, a $5,700 car allowance, and a $3,100 expense allowance — a package that made his base salary higher than those of city managers in larger cities including Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, and San Jose, according to WCNC. Phoenix, despite having a larger population, paid its manager $370,000 without comparable perks, the station noted.
Already Charlotte's Top Earner
Jones was already the city's highest-paid employee well before this latest raise. In 2025, his base salary of $480,229 — a 6.3% increase from 2024 — far outpaced the city's second-highest earner, Aviation Director Haley Gentry, who made $305,145, according to data reported by the Business Journals.
Jones' compensation has climbed steadily since he took the job. When he was appointed city manager in 2016, his total starting compensation package was $329,000, compared to predecessor Curt Walton's $258,000 total compensation a decade earlier, according to WFAE.
Raises Collide With Worker Frustration
The closed-door approval also lands just months after Charlotte municipal workers staged public protests over a proposed city budget that slated a 14.6% pay increase for the mayor and a 9.7% raise for council members, while capping general city employee raises at 4%, WCNC reported in May 2026. Essential utility workers had pushed for a 7% wage increase at the time, according to the same report.
That budget friction unfolded against the backdrop of the city's enormous operational scope. Jones presented Charlotte's proposed FY 2027 net budget of $4.49 billion in May 2026, including a $1.04 billion General Fund and a proposed 1.89-cent property tax increase dedicated to public safety, per the City of Charlotte. That budget prioritized police and fire compensation alongside mobility infrastructure investments.
Jones' pay also compares to other top regional executives. Neighboring Mecklenburg County Commissioners approved an 8% raise for County Manager Dena Diorio in 2023, bringing her total yearly compensation to nearly $506,000, including a $25,000 cash bonus — a package that mirrors the broader trend of rising pay for top local government executives across the metro area, per the Charlotte Business Journal.
Statewide Debate Over Closed-Door Decisions
North Carolina open government advocates have raised broader concerns about local government bodies conducting policy, budget, and compensation discussions outside public view. As WHQR reported, advocates argue that private deliberations erode public trust and conflict with open meeting principles, even as state law prohibits informal assemblies intended to sidestep those same open meeting requirements.
WSOC-TV's Joe Bruno is slated to interview Jones on October 18 about the future of CATS, as well as what comes next for Bank of America Stadium and the Eastland Mall site — an interview that will likely draw continued attention to how the city manager's compensation was handled behind closed doors this time around.
