However, this doesn’t mean Brookshire will lose his job at that time — only his employment agreement, as explained afterward by City Attorney Hugh Campbell.
The net effect of Thursday’s vote by the Board of Commissioners is “no contract as of April 1,” Campbell said.
The action came as a Jan. 31 deadline approached requiring the board to give Brookshire 60 days’ notice if it intended to terminate the contract, which ensured him the equivalent of a year’s salary and other considerations should he be terminated without cause.
Failure to supply such notice meant the contract would have been renewed automatically when it expired on March 31, under a provision included when the city and Brookshire first entered into the agreement in 2005.
Although three citizens had urged that the matter be discussed in open session during a public-comment period at the start of Thursday’s meeting, officials proceeded with a scheduled closed session to address the agreement. Some commissioners and citizens have questioned the contract in recent weeks.
“The people’s business should be conducted in front of the people,” said one of the citizens, Paul Eich, who called Brookshire’s employment agreement “a golden parachute.”
However, Mayor Jack Loftis cited North Carolina law that encourages the holding of closed sessions to discuss terms of an employment contract. The city attorney confirmed that.
Despite the adjournment to the closed session for some 80 minutes, many citizens attending the meeting remained in the audience when officials emerged, and there was applause among them when the unanimous vote came.
A motion by Commissioner Jon Cawley that the city manager’s contract not be renewed was greeted by no open discussion among the officials before the 5-0 decision.
“I didn’t know whether or not to expect (a unanimous decision),” Cawley said after the meeting. “I’m not sure anybody expected that.”
Cawley stressed that he wanted to make sure the public understands the issue was about the employment agreement and not the city manager’s performance. “In making the motion to not renew the contract, I really don’t want that to be interpreted to mean I want any change in personnel,” he said.
After the vote, Brookshire abruptly left the room, and was found at his desk in another part of the building. Afterward Brookshire offered no comment, other than to say “I have nothing to say.”
New Industry
Also at Thursday night’s meeting, Brookshire announced that a new company might be coming to Mount Airy which would employ 50 people.
He said that while the jobs it would bring aren’t that plentiful, the company’s location here would represent a significant financial investment. No details about the nature of the industry were released.
Brookshire pledged that the city would actively pursue the prospect in the hopes it will become reality.
In addition, the Board of Commissioners:
n Awarded a $4.01 million contract to Triangle Grading & Paving Inc. of Burlington, the low bidder for a project to complete the final two phases of sewer extensions to the recently annexed Cross Creek/Laurel Court areas. Before that vote, Cawley referred to the fact that two local firms came in second and third in the bidding and asked if any consideration could be given to awarding them the job instead to boost the economy here.
He was told by Campbell, the city attorney, that the board is required to award the contract based on the lowest bid.
Brookshire also responded to the issue. “You’re dealing with public dollars, and your responsibility is to accept the lowest bid,” he said.
Based on Thursday’s discussion, there are certain cases when the lowest bidder can be rejected if problems are found with that company. “We’d have to have good reason,” Loftis said. However, a reference check showed Triangle Grading & Paving has a successful track record with similar projects.
n Voted to award a $3.25 million construction contract to North State Environmental Inc. The Winston-Salem firm will restore the banks of the Ararat River and develop recreational facilities along its path, including the city’s second greenway.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com, or at 719-1924.
Post a Comment
