The budgets for five local governments — Cape Fear Community College, UNC Wilmington, New Hanover County, the City of Wilmington, and New Hanover County Schools — all included various pay raises and, in some cases, bonuses for their top administrators.
The highest-paid administrator remains Cape Fear Community College President Jim Morton, with a salary of $429,300. While executive and administrative compensation is sometimes tied to the size of an organization — both its budget and number of employees — CFCC has the lowest budget and among the fewest employees of other local government entities.
Morton also received the highest bonus of any local leader at $20,000. Behind Morton’s salary is UNCW Chancellor Dr. Aswani Volety at $396,550. Additionally, public funds subsidize his residence at $244,344 annually — though the University contends that the total amount shouldn't be considered a benefit.
Behind the leaders of New Hanover County’s higher education institutions is county manager Chris Coudriet, who makes $347,747. City manager Becky Hawke earns $295,000 a year, which includes the city council’s passage of the living wage boost, which meant an additional $15,000 for Hawke. Although NHCS Superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes oversees the largest number of employees, 3,264, he earns the lowest salary at $256,927.
In contrast to Morton, Barnes received a $1,000 state bonus, which he returned to the district’s coffers. He also gave back his state-mandated 3% raise. While Barnes’ base salary is close to $257,000, he also receives cell phone and travel allowances and longevity pay, bringing his total payments to $272,944.
In a memorandum to the NHCS board on August 7, Barnes wrote, “I am returning the $1,000 bonus provided to me through the State Budget as a demonstration of responsible stewardship of public resources.”
He also wrote, “My most recent contract addendum, [...] includes my request to decline the State-approved 3% salary increase. Those funds will instead remain in the Superintendent’s operating budget and be directed toward district-approved initiatives that support our students, staff, and schools.”
Morton’s salary, bonus, and approval ratings
CFCC President since 2018, Morton has gotten a 3% raise over the past two years. However, he’s seen larger-than-average increases in years past to reach his $ 429,300 salary: in February 2021 he got a 10% raise, and in July that year another 2.5% bump. His salary was increased by 10% in 2022, and 12% in both 2023 and 2024.
This year, Morton received a $20,000 bonus, and in 2024, he got $25,000 extra. According to the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), the state pays $189,495 of Morton’s salary and covers benefits for that portion. That means the county (both New Hanover and Pender) is responsible for the remainder — essentially paying 56% of Morton’s salary and benefits. These benefits include health insurance, 26% retirement, and longevity pay. Morton’s bonus funds also came from local sources.
Though the fiscal year began on July 1, CFCC spokesperson Marcy Coble said the overall budget, including state, institutional, federal, and grant funds, is “not yet available.” For this analysis, WHQR used last year’s budget figure, which was $135 million.
Morton’s chief of staff, Michelle Lee, has also had a significant increase in salary over the past four years due to changes to her “position evaluation” and “increase in scope of work.” She now makes $197,004, following a 15% salary increase in 2024, and a 6% increase each in 2025 and 2026. County taxpayers pick up $28,837 of her salary.
Since they've approved Morton's raises and bonuses, it seems most CFCC board members feel they're appropriate. Board members don't typically discuss employees below the level of college president; however, there's at least some evidence the board supports Lee's salary.
Back in 2023, as part of the lawsuit filed by former CFCC trustee Ray Funderburk, Bill Cherry gave a deposition and commented on Lee's compensation, which was around $161,000 at the time.
“As a board member, I am satisfied with her salary, but I can see how 'Joe Blow the ragman' walking down the street that has no salary, would consider that a lot of money," he said. (If you're unfamiliar, you can find some notes on the phrase 'Joe Blow the ragman' here.)
CFCC employees got only a 3% raise in the last budget cycle. Legislative increases have hovered around this percentage since 2021.
This past year, the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees touted the following for Morton’s leadership: large gains in full-time equivalency (FTE) and enrollment; new workforce programs such as artificial intelligence, aviation maintenance, and geomatics; and expansion of student support services.
Trustee Shannon Winslow, also the current chair of The Endowment, said Morton is doing an “exceptional job. The community raves about this college, and you set the bar for professionalism, and it shows.” New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise added, “The amount of money given to the college shows the support of the community,” likely referring to robust giving to CFCC’s foundation, alongside roughly $19 million in grants from The Endowment over the past few years. Other trustees from the May 2026 meeting chimed in with glowing reviews of Morton.
Morton told the CFCC board in May that he has a “relentless obsession with improvement.”
While CFCC has shown strong gains in enrollment, now ranked number one in last year’s enrollment growth, it has historically been in line with what some larger community colleges are seeing for budget and actual FTE. FTE is how community college courses are calculated for state dollar allocations; it’s the main source of funding the state legislature gives CFCC.
However, there have been criticisms of Morton and the college.
WHQR has reported on numerous incidents of faculty lamenting the workplace environment. To date, Morton has yet to conduct an independent survey of his leadership practices, though CFCC’s Faculty Association asked him to do so in 2021. More recently, instructors spoke to WHQR on condition of anonymity that their evaluations are now being tied to how well students perform in their classes, raising concerns about grade inflation.
The board also didn’t consider things like employee retention. According to the latest data from NCCCS, CFCC ranks among the lowest in the community college system.
This year, the college was also one of four community colleges that the state auditor cited for the 2025 Single Audit report. They found that CFCC “did not have internal controls in place to ensure changes in student enrollment status were reported accurately and timely to the National Student Loan Data System.”
Additionally, in the past year, CFCC’s insurance company settled for $265,000 with Funderburk; according to depositions in the suit, Morton’s administration supported the efforts of the board to remove him. CFCC’s local funds had to cover the extensive legal fees to represent them in court over three years.
Earlier in the year, CFCC theater students clashed with the administration when their production was censored; the administration claimed it ran afoul of college policy, but was unable to point to a specific policy that had been violated. And, over the last few months, there was a mass exodus of top nursing administrators and faculty continued the trend of experiential flight from CFCC.
But criticisms aside, the CFCC board seems likely to continue to support Morton, focusing on the college’s successes. There doesn’t seem to be any major shakeups in store for the college’s board of trustees, either. Chair Lanny Wilson was recently reappointed to the CFCC Board for another four years by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners; Dr. Marc Sosne was also reappointed in June by the General Assembly for another four years.
Volety’s increase, residence, and country club membership
Assuming the chancellor’s position in 2022, Volety received an increase of $11,550 as of July 1 this year, bringing his salary to $396,550. In addition to Volety’s salary, per his contract with the UNC System, he is required to live in the chancellor’s residence: the ‘Kenan House’ near the intersection of Market and 17th streets in downtown Wilmington.
Of the $244,344 allocated this year for his housing costs, most goes to maintenance and repairs ($118,841), followed by utilities ($59,125), then landscaping services ($48,202). The university also spent $18,176 on housekeeping.
Sydney Bouchelle, a university spokesperson, wrote in an email that there needed to be context for these annual costs: “These expenditures represent the University’s costs associated with responsibly operating and maintaining a State-owned facility and should not necessarily be characterized in their entirety as a personal benefit to the Chancellor.”
This contract also stipulates that the UNC System will pay for “a membership in one or more appropriate clubs for conducting the official business of the university.”
UNCW pays $768 a month for Volety's membership, though the University initially declined to identify which club it was paying dues to.
“That information relates to the Chancellor’s personal activities, and we prefer not to share those details out of respect for his privacy," a spokesperson said.
They eventually said the country club was Landfall but did not provide documentation.
For the state health plan, UNCW pays $742 a month. The university also contributes 6.84% of his gross monthly salary to retirement. He also gets a vehicle allowance of $750 per month.
Hawke gets a 'living wage' increase; Coudriet market adjustment
As county manager, Coudriet did not receive a bonus, but he received a 3.54% market adjustment on July 7, bringing his annual salary to $347,747. He has a $75 cell phone stipend. His car allowance is $9,464 per year.
Hawke, who started the job in May 2025, recently received a living wage increase effective July 1, along with all other city employees. The increases for those making more than the Area Median Income, including Hawke, were capped at $15,000. Her salary is now $295,000. WHQR put in for Hawke’s overall compensation package — and will update the story when we have it.
