Liquor talking

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Cheers, anyway

Well, we know the members of local Alcoholic Beverage Control boards are upstanding citizens of the community (and typically politically connected), so it can't be the liquor talking. But somehow, a number of local boards gave raises and bonuses to their executives in 2008 despite, in some cases, lower profit margins and even money-losing operations. This tin-ear sort of management reflects the strange, even wacky nature of the way alcohol sales are managed in North Carolina.

Salaries for local administrators vary widely and weirdly. The New Hanover County ABC Board paid administrator Billy Williams $245,000 in salary and bonus last year, and his son, Bradley, the number two guy there, got $127,000. Craig Pleasants, general manager for Wake County, got $142,000 including salary and bonus and longevity pay. The general manager in Orange County made $83,649.

Political connections, or the "good ol' boy network," have been a part of the whole ABC operation, which is a bizarre contraption in itself. The state

New Hanover ABC to slash chief's pay

The local North Carolina liquor board that paid its administrator nearly $280,000 a year to manage its stores plans to pay less than half that amount to his replacement.

New Hanover County's Alcoholic Beverage Control board is days away from advertising for a successor to administrator Billy Williams, who is retiring late next month after nearly 42 years, The StarNews of Wilmington reported Thursday.

Williams is a high school graduate and former liquor store clerk who became the highest-paid ABC administrator in the state. His yearly salary and bonuses reached $279,615, including a $30,000 bonus and longevity pay. He said this week state officials estimated his retirement pay would total nearly $100,000 a year.

ABC officials' pay rises, even if profits don't

Officials in charge of liquor stores in cities and counties across North Carolina received raises and, in many cases, bonuses last year regardless of their profit margin. In a few cases, raises were doled out even when the operations lost money.

Salaries, bonuses, personnel guidelines, ethics rules and other policies vary from one local Alcoholic Beverage Control board to the next, a further example of North Carolina's unique and oft-criticized patchwork system for liquor sales.

Asheville's ABC board, which has a profit margin that is half of Wake County's, saw its numbers drop last year. Profit slid from $1.77 million to $1.64 million. But CEO Curtis Canty's salary was up from $114,000 to $119,000, plus a $22,000 "incentive" bonus. He also used a car owned by the board.

Tightening the reins on ABC boards

North Carolina's patchwork system for selling liquor grew out of the days after prohibition, when the powers that be worried about controlling who could buy liquor.

Today's state leaders, from Gov. Bev Perdue to top legislators, say that what's needed now is tighter control over who is selling booze.

Local Alcoholic Beverage Control boards, which run the liquor stores across North Carolina, find themselves under state officials' magnifying glass because of embarrassing episodes involving boards on opposite sides of the state: a lavish dinner for local ABC board members in Charlotte paid for by a liquor company and eye-popping salaries for top ABC administrators in Wilmington.

State to review ABC board pay

A wide range in pay for local managers of North Carolina's ABC boards and the reluctance of boards to make that information public has drawn the attention of the governor.

The Star-News of Wilmington reported Sunday that its inquiry into salaries at New Hanover County and other ABC boards prompted the chairman of the state ABC commission to take the matter to Gov. Bev Perdue's office, which then ordered a closer look.

"The governor has directed us to examine the issue statewide, because it is critical that there is transparency and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars at all levels of government," Chairman Jon Williams said in a statement.