Administration
City Manager
Assistant City Manager
City Clerk
City Attorney
Contact us
City Manager's Recommended Budget
City Manager
City Manager
The City Manager serves as the chief executive officer for the City of Graham and is assisted by an Assistant City Manger. The City of Graham operates under a council-manager form of government. The Mayor and the Council are responsible for making policy decisions for the City. The City Manager is responsible for carrying out those decisions, providing leadership to staff and overseeing daily operations of City Government.
Roles & Responsibilities
As chief administrator of the City of Graham, the City Manager is responsible to the City Council for administering all municipal affairs placed in her charge by them and has the following powers and duties:
- She shall appoint and suspend or remove all city officers and employees not elected by the people, and whose appointment or removal is not otherwise provided for by law, except the City Attorney, in accordance with such general personnel rules, regulations, policies, or ordinances as the council may adopt.
- She shall direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices, and agencies of the City, subject to the general direction and control of the Council, except as otherwise provided by law.
- She shall attend all meetings of the Council and recommend any measures that he deems expedient. She shall see that all laws of the State, the City Charter, and the ordinances, resolutions, and regulations of the Council are faithfully executed within the City.
- She shall prepare and submit the annual budget and capital program to the Council.
- She shall annually submit to the Council and make available to the public a complete report on the finances and administrative activities of the City as of the end of the fiscal year.
- She shall make any other reports that the Council may require concerning the operations of City departments, offices, and agencies subject to her direction and control.
- She shall perform any other duties that may be required or authorized by the Council.
Assistant City Manager
Assistant City Manger
The Assistant City Manger, Aaron Holland, holds the critical leadership position supporting the City Manager in running the city and is a link to city staff. Support from Mr. Holland shapes all aspects of developing programs and policies, directing operations, managing growth and development, and assisting in developing and managing the city’s budget.
Mr. Holland has over 15 years of public sector experience beginning with his role as a Right-of-Way Acquisition Agent with NCDOT. He served as City Planner for the City of Graham (2004-2007) and Planning Director for the City of Roxboro/Person County prior to accepting the role of Assistant City Manager in 2015.
He earned his Bachelor of Science from North Carolina State University in Science & Technology Studies with a concentration in Industrial Engineering Management. He also received his Master’s Degree in Applied Geography & Urban Planning from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Roles & Responsibilities
As Assistant Manager, Mr. Holland plans, directs, and organizes city operations:
- Assists in preparing city ordinances for approval
- Assists in preparing and implementing city policy
- Develops short and long range goals
- Advises city manager and participates in planning for current and future city needs
- Manages capital improvement projects, prepares capital improvement grants, completes required reporting
City Clerk
City Clerk
The City Clerk, Renee Ward, is the custodian of all proceedings of the City Council and appointed boards and commissions. Additionally, the City Clerk processes ordinances and resolutions for filing, provides information to the public, manages all public records requests, directs the retention for all City records and engages in research projects.
Roles & Responsibilities
As City Clerk, Mrs. Ward performs a variety of administrative tasks for the city manager and city council as well as performs technical human resources functions.
- Executes legal documents by affixing the proper signatures of city officials and attesting to compliance with general statues and local ordinances
- Records and transcribes city council meeting minutes and other actions of the council
- Serves as liaison between the city and the public with respect to such matters as complaints, requests, and suggestions
City Attorney
Graham City Attorneys
The Attorney’s office represents City departments, officials and employees on matters involving City business; prepares and reviews contracts, ordinances and resolutions. Mr. Robert (Bob) M. Ward and Mr. J. Bryan Coleman have served as the City’s legal advisors since March 2019.
Robert (Bob) M. Ward
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A.B. Political Science 1967 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill J.D. Juris Doctorate 1970
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill M.P.A. Master of Public Administration 1984
- North Carolina State University, Ed. D Doctorate of Education 1999 (Phi Kappa Phi)
J. Bryan Coleman
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill B.A. Industrial Relations 1987
- North Carolina Central University J.D. Juris Doctorate 1993
Contact us
Renee Ward, City Clerk
rward@cityofgraham.com
336-570-6700 ext. 3103
City Manager's Recommended Budget
City Manager’s Recommended Budget
Welcome to Graham North Carolina
Welcome to the City of Graham, North Carolina. Our website is designed so that everyone can obtain information about our community, services, and projects. We’ve tried to make it easy to find out what’s going on in the City from a development, economic, or events perspective. There are links for new residents, prospective business owners, or folks just looking to find out what’s going on.
Graham has parks spread throughout the City with different amenities, you can find out more about them here. Our Fire and Police Departments help maintain the wonderful quality of life we’ve come to appreciate! Our Public Works Department can be reached here, and helps keep our city clean and our roads and sidewalks safe. Most importantly, our water and sewer service information can be found here, and allow us to efficiently serve our residents with such a great resource!
If you are new to the area, thinking of relocating to Graham as either a homeowner or business owner, or just looking to get more information about Graham, please contact us. Once again, thank you for vising the City of Graham’s website.
Sincerely,
Megan Garner City Manager
FAQ's
City Council has regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
By visiting the City of Graham – YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZiQPiKHdbS1uuGC47OcyWg
You may call City Clerk Renee Ward at 336-570-6700 or by email – rward@cityofgraham.com
You may also contact the Council by email:
Mayor Talley – jtalley@cityofgraham.com
Mayor Pro Tem Hall – rhall@cityofgraham.com
Council Member Chin – bchin@cityofgraham.com
Council Member Parsons – jparsons@cityofgraham.com
Council Member Whitaker – bwhitaker@cityofgraham.com
You can reach the City of Graham’s Inspections Department by calling 336.570.6705.
To pay your water bill Click here .