‘Seems a little bit sexist’: Beaufort Co. OKs administrator’s contract with $20K raise
Beaufort County Council approved a contract for its new, permanent county administrator Eric Greenway Monday night — with a significant pay bump from previous administrator Ashley Jacobs.
Greenway is now under a five-year contract with a salary of $210,000, compared to Jacobs’ three-year contract at a $190,000 salary.
His contract also includes a yearly car allowance of $9,000, compared to $3,000 for Jacobs, and a $250,000 term life insurance policy, which was not in Jacobs’ contract at all.
“I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: It seems a little bit sexist,” councilmember Chris Hervochon said prior to the vote.
The council approved the contract in an 8-3 vote, with Hervochon, Logan Cunningham and Gerald Dawson voting no.
Greenway was appointed permanent administrator in May. He was initially appointed as interim administrator in November, weeks after Beaufort County Council forced Jacobs to resign one year into her contract. In four years, he’s the sixth person to serve in the county’s highest non-elected position.
Councilmember Mark Lawson said Greenway’s salary was “not that far off” from what Jacobs’ compensation would have been if she’d stayed, and compared the new administrator to an “athletic superstar” whose compensation would look lower over the course of the contract.
“I think Eric is worth it, we want to keep employees, we want to pay them right,” he said.
Jacobs, who began a new job in Wake County, N.C., Monday, is still being paid her $190,000 Beaufort County salary until Oct. 19, 2021, due to the separation agreement she signed with County Council.