Monroe City Council to pay former city manager severance

MONROE, N.C. — Monroe city leaders will pay their former city manager tens of thousands of dollars in severance money.

The City Council met in a special meeting Wednesday to discuss John D'Agostino's firing last week and how it plans to move forward.

The firing came as a shock to many. D'Agostino had only been on the job four months.

At the time, city leaders criticized his performance and announced they would not pay any severance money. They reversed that decision Wednesday, saying it was the right thing to do.

Council members voted to award D'Agostino nearly $105,000 in severance pay and benefits.

D'Agostino is the fifth city manager to resign or be fired from the city of Monroe since 2000.

Earlier this year, city officials spent tens of thousands of dollars on a study from a law firm to investigate why city managers don't last long in city hall.

Mayor Bobby Kilgore said he's tired of shelling out the cash.

"We formed a committee to do a search for an interim city manager at this time. We don't need to be spending any more money, if we've got capable people," he said.

Two assistant city managers are acting as interim manager until an official interim manager is named.

Eyewitness News is investigating how much the upheaval has cost taxpayers over the last decade.

WSOC