In Guilford County government these days, the top job comes with the top paycheck: Brand new County Manager Victor Isler now makes $315,000 a year – the highest salary on the list of managers, assistant managers and department and division directors in our local county government.

That $315,000 annually puts Isler well above other department heads and assistant managers – even though many county employees have held those positions for years and years, and Isler, who came to work for Guilford County four years ago as an assistant manager, is relatively new to Guilford County government.

After one drops down a good deal from the manager’s salary, there are many directors who come close to breaking the $200,000 mark.

The second-highest earner on the list is Guilford County Attorney Andrea Leslie-Fite, who makes $269,818 a year.

Sheriff Danny Rogers isn’t far behind, with a salary of $217,839.

When Rogers beat longtime Sheriff in the 2018 election and took over that job from the veteran who had held that job for nearly a quarter of a century, Rogers got the benefit of the fact that Barnes’ salary had gone up and up over the years, and, when the Board of Commissioners set the salary for Rogers after that election, they weren’t about to lower that salary and get criticized on racial grounds for giving the then new black sheriff less than the white one had been getting.  (Though there was some discussion at that time as to whether Rogers should get the benefits of the longevity that was reflected in Barnes’ many years of service.)

Several other key administrators on the list – including Chief Financial Officer Donald Warn ($195,361), Chief Information Officer Peter Purcell ($192,990) and Assistant County Manager Erris Dunston ($191,770) – all sit well above the $175,000 line.

At the other end of the list is Veterans Services Director Robert Shelly, whose annual salary is under $100,000 – it’s $96,901 to be exact – making him the lowest-paid department head among those listed.   He’s the only department director making under $100,000 a year.

Parks and Recreation Director Dwight Godwin isn’t far ahead at $103,451, and Child Support/Court Services Director Rosanne Wiley comes in at $105,654.

The list also includes the Assistant County Manager for “Successful People,” which is currently vacant.

Titles like such as that interesting one reflect a broader cultural and organizational shift that happened under former County Manager Mike Halford, who resigned abruptly earlier this summer but who left behind a legacy that included a lot of benefits and perks for county employees he worked hard to get over the years.

During his four and a half years leading Guilford County government, Halford implemented a major overhaul of the county’s compensation system, awarding all county employees generous raises during his tenure, as well as providing additional targeted pay increases for some. Halford also significantly beefed up the employees’ benefits packages.  (Or rather, the county commissioners did at Halford’s behest.)

 Halford often argued that Guilford County had one of the highest ratios of residents to county employees of any large county in the state – a talking point he used many times to defend the raises, addition of benefits, and the expansion of staff in some departments.

Here are the current salaries for the top dogs in Guilford County government:

County Manager – Isler, Victor – $315,000

Asst County Manager – Successful People – Vacant

Asst County Manager – Strong Community – Dunston, Erris – $191,770

Asst County Manager – Quality Government – Jones, Jason – $179,865

Animal Services Director – Ortega, Jorge – $153,316

Behavioral Health Center Director – Mack, Debra – $145,780

Budget & Management Director – Beeninga, Toy – $150,466

Building Inspections Services Director – Crawford, Matthew – $139,170

Chief Financial Officer – Warn, Donald – $195,361

Chief Information Officer/Director – Purcell, Peter – $192,990

Child Support/Court Services Director – Wiley, Rosanne – $105,654

Clerk to the Board – Keller, Robin – $132,330

Communications and Public Relations Director – McElroy, Linda – $157,000

County Attorney – Leslie-Fite, Andrea – $269,818

Director of Integrated Data and Services – Mahood, Alice – $125,000

Elections Director – Collicutt, Charles – $160,274

Emergency Services Director – Albright, James – $179,045

Facilities Director – Hilton, Eric – $162,226

Family Justice Center Director – Johnson, Catherine – $132,034

HHS Deputy Director – Craver, Natalie – $175,000

Human Resources Director – Joyner, Jaime – $173,213

Internal Audit Director – Muhlestein, Chad – $173,085

Juvenile Detention Director – Logan, Marvin Douglas – $142,625

Parks and Recreation Director – Godwin, Dwight – $103,451

Planning & Development Director – Bell, John Leslie – $176,590

Public Health Director – McFadden, Courtney – $190,000

Register of Deeds – Thigpen, Jeff – $163,180

Risk Management Director – Vacant

SBED Director – Thomas, Shaunne – $170,062

Security Director – Daugherty, Vincent – $116,390

Sheriff – Rogers, Danny – $217,839

Social Services Director – Barlow, Sharon – $165,408

Tax Director – Chavis, Benjamin – $185,657

Veterans Services Director – Shelly, Robert – $96,901

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