There’s being prepared, and then there’s flouting the state's open meetings laws.

Just prior to a Roanoke Rapids City Council meeting this week, City Manager Phyllis Lee expressed surprise at the arrival of two out-of-town newspaper reporters, reports Matt Ehlers.

In a friendly way, she inquired: “Why are you here?”

When told that council was expected to remove Randy Parton’s name from the theater the city built for him, Lee responded: “It’s not on the agenda.”

An hour later, the council rechristened The Randy Parton Theatre as The Roanoke Rapids Theatre. Immediately after the meeting, theater officials handed out a press release crafted by French West Vaughan, a Raleigh public-relations firm.

Dated the day after the meeting, it began with this statement: “City officials agreed last night to change the name of the Randy Parton Theatre to the Roanoke Rapids Theatre...”

It included this quote from Lee: “The people of Roanoke Rapids built this theatre. It’s time to put our good name on it.”

And to think — a name change wasn’t even on the agenda.

The Albemarle Mental Health Center overpaid its top employees, according to a state audit.

The auditor's office criticized the mental health office in northeast North Carolina for paying director Charles Franklin Jr. $282,663 last year. His assistant, who does not have a college degree, made about $143,000 — more than Gov. Mike Easley.

The average pay for directors of regional mental health agencies was about $115,000 last year, the audit said.

The local mental health board that set Franklin's salary refused to talk with a reporter, instead sending a statement through a Raleigh public relations firm, French/West/Vaughan. 

In addition, the audit said board members wasted money on unnecessary conferences, including $12,476 at the Biltmore Estate in 2005. (N&O)

Bonus for Dome readers: Guess who Albemarle's lobbyist was...