The Fayetteville City Council on Wednesday will evaluate City Manager Doug Hewett and City Attorney Karen McDonald during a special meeting.
The meeting will follow the agenda briefing that is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. The purpose of the meeting, according to a release from the city, is to discuss personnel matters regarding an evaluation of Hewett and McDonald.
The meeting will be conducted in closed session, the release said.
Hewett has served as city manager since April 2016. Prior to that he was interim permitting and inspections director for Fayetteville. He has nearly 20 years of local government experience in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, the city said.
Hewett could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.
Hewett just delivered a recommended $249.17 million budget for fiscal 2022-23 that the City Council approved unanimously on June 14. The budget keeps the property tax rate at 49.95 cents per $100 valuation, and the residential solid waste fee stays at $225 for a single-family residential unit. Also, there are no changes to the stormwater fee of $6 per month.
"There's a list of things he has done," Mayor Mitch Colvin said Tuesday. "We'll get into that tomorrow."
A former public information officer for Halifax County and the city of Wilmington, Hewett first came to Fayetteville in May 2004 as management services director. That role, the city said on its website, focused on strategic planning and public relations for the city.
Hewett was promoted to assistant city manager in April 2007, a position he held until January 2012. That was when he became a city manager in Florida.
McDonald has served as Fayetteville’s city attorney since August 2002. She grew up in Fayetteville and graduated from Pine Forest High School.
She is responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to the City Council and city employees regarding matters that arise during the course and scope of their employment, the website states.
"McDonald is a member of several legal and civic organizations and is licensed to practice law in the states of North Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas," the city said.
She was the city’s first assistant city attorney. At that time, her duties included the enforcement of city code violations.
From 1998 to 2000, McDonald worked as a staff attorney for the Cumberland County Attorney’s Office. Following a two-year stay in Little Rock, Arkansas, she returned to Fayetteville, where she was appointed city attorney by the City Council.
Michael Futch covers Fayetteville and education for CityView TODAY. He can be reached at mfutch@cityviewnc.com. Have a news tip? Email news@CityViewTODAY.com.
