Not me saying it, but former Guilford County Commissioner Paul Gibson, who tells the Rhino he voted against ‘equity salary adjustments’ for 15 county department heads:
When Gibson was asked about the argument that the raises had to be granted or the county would open itself up to a lawsuit, Gibson had a two-word reply: The first word of his response, “bull,” is repeatable in The Rhinoceros Times; however, the second word is not.
“None of these department heads are going to sue us,” Gibson said. “Is Mark Payne really going to sue us because he doesn’t get a $5,000 raise?
Gibson is referring to County Attorney Mark Payne, who told the Rhino as much. Certainly can’t imagine Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen, Elections Director George Gilbert or Tax Director Ben Chavis suing the county, either. Sheriff BJ Barnes said he didn’t know he had a salary adjustment coming.
Seems to me the new Republican-majority commission needs to step up and rescind the raises until there’s a full public accounting. Let Assistant County Manager Sharisse Fuller explain to taxpayers federal law requiring the so-called ‘salary adjustments.’
