News-Record.com

This happened early Wednesday morning, waaaaaaaay past our deadline:

GREENSBORO – City Council unanimously agreed to give Manager Mitchell Johnson a $4,250 raise early Wednesday morning.

Johnson, who just finished his first year as manager, will earn $174,250 a year. The salary boost came after a lengthy private discussion among council members about his performance.

The raise is 2 ½ percent, which is the average for city employees.

“The performance that you have displayed, I think, has really risen to the occasion,” Mayor Keith Holliday said.

Johnson, who supervises the police chief, has been at the center of a scandal in the police department.

Most of what the public knows stems from the report produced by the Raleigh-based consulting firm Risk Management Associates. It concluded that former Chief David Wray had “crippled” the force by giving black officers stiffer punishments than white counterparts in similar situations and by intimidating white captains who opposed some of his decisions.

Wray resigned in January after Johnson changed the locks to Wray’s office — a move that drew criticism from Wray’s supporters.

Johnson later learned that certain community leaders had been recorded secretly by a police department employee, something Johnson previously denied had taken place.

Most City Council members have been steadfast in their public support for Johnson’s handling of the situation, saying he performed admirably under tough circumstances.

Johnson, 46, also created a city budget that raised taxes. And he saw passage of five bond projects that will expand city government, including building new fire stations, libraries and various parks projects.