A year after he was hired, Cumberland County Manager Clarence Grier is getting a 5% pay raise now, and another 5% in July.
This brings Grier’s $270,400 salary to $283,920 now and to $298,116 in July, according to the county. Grier was hired Nov. 28, 2022. He began working on March 1 following the retirement of previous County Manager Amy Cannon.
The county Board of Commissioners, with two absent members, voted unanimously Monday morning in favor of the pay increase after meeting behind closed doors for about 15 minutes.
Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, a Republican, made the motion for the pay raise. He said it’s challenging to hire and retain good leaders, and following Cannon’s retirement after 32 years with the county, including eight as the manager, “We didn’t know where we were going to go.”
“Well, I will tell you I’ve been extremely impressed with the work of our new manager Mr. Grier,” Keefe said. “He’s been very responsive, we have a lot of projects going. And leadership matters. We appreciate you making the commitment to Cumberland County.”
The county recently did a compensation study, Keefe said, and based on that, he called for the pay boost.
Grier is a Campbell University graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration. He also is an inductee in Campbell’s Sports Hall of Fame for his performance there as a basketball player in the 1980s.
After a brief professional basketball career, according to his LinkedIn account, Grier began a long career with local governments. This includes six years as the deputy county manager in Guilford County and two years as the deputy city manager in Roanoke, Virginia, before he joined Cumberland County.
Grier is a certified public accountant.
Keefe and Democratic Commissioners Glenn Adams, Toni Stewart, Jeannette Council and Marshall Faircloth voted for Grier’s pay raises.
Republican Commissioner Michael Boose and Democratic Commissioner Veronica B. Jones were absent.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
