SALISBURY — In what Salisbury Mayor Tamara Sheffield said was a belated process due to the unprecedented turnover in the Salisbury City Council membership, the members of the council voted to give Salisbury City Manager Jim Greene and City Attorney Graham Corriher salary increases of 4.5 percent and three percent, respectively.

Both of the raises were made retroactively to July 2024, which is when both of the raises should have been effected, said Sheffield. The vote came on Tuesday, March 4, after four closed sessions consisting of performance evaluations for both Greene and Corriher.

“I would like to say that both of these gentlemen have performed exceptionally, not just for council but for all of the citizens in Salisbury, as well as representing us very well across Rowan County and the state of North Carolina. So we want to thank them,” said Sheffield.

The 4.5-percent increase given to Greene effectively brings him in line with the city’s nine percent salary adjustment that was given to all city employees as part of the current year’s budget, said Sheffield. The budget laid the nine percent as the total of a 1.5-percent cost of living adjustment, a 4.5-percent range adjustment increase and an average merit increase of three percent.

“We’re not sure why, but our city manager did not receive that full range adjustment,” said Sheffield.

The increase brings Greene’s total salary to $266,417.43, confirmed Assistant City Manager Kelly Baker in an email on Monday. The city also gave Greene family insurance coverage similar to what had been offered in prior city managers’ contracts.

Corriher received a three-percent merit increase, said Sheffield, after the city council performed his performance review. Baker confirmed that the increase will bring Corriher’s total salary to $190,544,28.

After the closed meeting, the members of the city council voted unanimously to approve the salary increases for both Greene and Corriher.