CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte City Council approved a 2.5 percent pay raise for City Manager Marcus Jones in a closed session in August, lifting his base salary to about $511,690, local reporting confirmed this week.
A city spokesperson said the raise was approved in August. The bump is worth more than $12,000 and is smaller than some prior increases, but it still expands the base pay of the city highest-paid employee.
In past years the mayor typically announced Jones raises at a later public meeting. As of Monday that public announcement had not been made for this round, drawing fresh scrutiny of how the vote was handled.
Attorneys have previously told local reporters that private pay-raise votes may conflict with North Carolina open-meeting expectations, though guidance also notes closed sessions can cover employee evaluations. Employee salary records remain public once set.
Charlotte operates under a council-manager form of government, with a mayor and seven district representatives on the Charlotte City Council setting policy while a professional city manager runs day-to-day operations. City Manager Marcus D. Jones has held the role since December 2016.
Jones presented the proposed FY 2027 net budget of $4.49 billion in May 2026, including a $1.04 billion General Fund. Earlier compensation packages for the manager included deferred pay and allowances that already ranked him above managers in several larger cities.
An interview with Jones is slated for Oct. 18 covering CATS, Bank of America Stadium and the Eastland Mall site, which will keep attention on city leadership pay even as the closed-session raise moves onto the public salary record.
