Raleigh - According to new reports, new information uncovered following the resignation of the three members of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board in New Hanover County shows that the ABC Administrator in the county, Billy Williams, took home a $30,000 bonus last month and has done so for the past three years.
"That said, Williams, who manages New Hanover County's liquor stores, is actually pulling in $279,615 this year, which includes his total salary of $232,200, plus a $30,000 bonus, plus $17,415 in longevity pay that's automatically added to his salary and is not controlled by ABC board members. ... And he's not the only one benefitting from bonuses. ... His son, Bradley Williams, the assistant administrator, has received $20,000 bonuses in that same time period and he's also raked in his share of longevity pay." ("ABC administrators take home even more money, new details show," Wilmington StarNews, 1/5/10)
Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) made the following statement:
"The 11% of North Carolinians that are unemployed would be happy to take home $30,000 a year. Instead, families that are struggling to make ends meet through the holidays and North Carolina's small businesses that are struggling to keep employees on the payroll watch as state officials take home $30,000 year-end bonuses. Governor Perdue must show state government is in touch with the difficult economic realities facing North Carolinians. She needs to launch an investigation into the extravagance and wastefulness discovered in the ABC system and initiate the reforms that are clearly needed." More>>