Cary town manager is leaving with a 6-figure severance. Read the contract.

Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall, who resigned Saturday, will leave his job with a severance totalling $198,832, equal to six months pay.

The town had no choice, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said, despite what he called “over-the-top” spending, a lack of transparency and “an unhealthy work environment.”

That severance is contractual, Weinbrecht explained..

“If we broke the contract, there’s a disparaging clause in the contract,” he said. “If we violated that or if he did not sign that, then he could sue the town and say anything he wanted and make up the stuff, who knows. To protect the town, to protect our citizens, to protect us going forward, we needed him to sign that contract, and part of the separation was part of that contract.”

Stegall was hired by the Cary Town Council in 2016, making $210,000 when he was first hired. He is listed in state pension system records as making $366,054 last year.

The agreement, given to Stegall on Nov. 25, requires Stegall to return all town property, including a town cell phone, town credit cards and keys. It also states the town owns the copyright to the book “Top of the Arc,” which lists Stegall as the author.

Here are Stegall’s employment contract and separation agreement:

This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 2:39 PM.

Anna Roman

The News & Observer

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Anna Roman is a service journalism reporter for the News & Observer. She has previously covered city government, crime and business for newspapers across North Carolina and received many North Carolina Press Association awards, including first place for investigative reporting.