Audit finds Charlotte lacked transparency in $305,000 CMPD chief settlement

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A new report from the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor said the City of Charlotte needs to be more transparent and reconsider how it uses public money, after a $305,000 settlement was quietly paid to CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings.

The audit, released on Friday, was launched after concerns from residents and the local media about how and why the settlement was handled behind closed doors.

The money was paid out several months ago as part of a separation agreement with Jennings, who has since publicly announced his retirement. The report revealed that the Charlotte City Council discussed the settlement in closed-door meetings and never formally disclosed the payout amount in its public meeting minutes, something required under state law.

It wasn’t until the state auditor’s office got involved that the details were shared publicly.

The $305,000 settlement included:

• $175,000 in severance pay
• $45,699 in a retention bonus
• $45,284 in extra vacation days
• $14,017 in a retroactive pay raise
• $25,000 to cover Jennings’s legal fees

Most of the money, roughly $280,000, came from the city’s General Fund, which is normally used for day-to-day expenses like salaries and city services, OSA said. Only the legal fees were paid from the Risk Management Fund, which is meant to handle unexpected costs like lawsuits.

The city says it used “operational savings” to cover the cost and did not include it in the official budget.

Concerns and recommendations

The audit didn’t find illegal activity, but it did raise red flags about transparency and budgeting practices. The report made three recommendations:

1. Be more transparent with settlements
   The city should clearly report the amount and terms of any employee settlements in its public records, even if some personnel details remain confidential.
2. Release closed-session minutes sooner
   The minutes from the meetings where the settlement was discussed are still sealed, more than four months later. The city is being urged to release them in a timely manner so the public can understand what happened.
3. Rethink use of public funds for settlements
   The audit questions why most of the money came from the General Fund instead of the Risk Management Fund, which is designed for unexpected costs like legal settlements.

Read the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) special report below: