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The town of Cary has been in the spotlight since late November, when Town Manager Sean Stegall was put on administrative leave without any explanation from the town. Stegall resigned Dec. 13, 2025, amid reports of questionable spending. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer.
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Cary officials are laying most of the blame at the feet of their former town manager after the release Thursday of an over-2,600-page report from the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office that dives into a plethora of the town’s questionable expenditures.
Town officials did not know the report was being released Thursday, according to Cary spokesperson Carolyn Roman.
Former Town Manager Sean Stegall resigned as town manager in December, three weeks after he was placed on administrative leave, The News & Observer previously reported.
The town had previously agreed to pay Stegall a lump severance of almost $200,000, provided he return town property and give access to his town-related text messages, according to the report. Stegall refused and has not been given his severance.
Council member Sarika Bansal, reached Thursday morning, said she did not know the report was coming out until The N&O informed her.
Bansal said the town has budgeted for two new internal auditor positions this year to address spending concerns, but she doesn’t yet know if those positions have been filled or even advertised.
A written response from the town of Cary, included in the auditor’s report, blames Stegall for questionable purchase and decisions.
Stegall introduced private-sector thought processes to the town, Cary’s statement says.
“Cary continued to thrive, and the former Town Manager made many positive contributions to the community,” it says. “Yet over time, and especially toward the end of his tenure, he made questionable decisions” including:
But some of the spending happened in sight of the council.
The report points to $1,600 spent on 10 Cary-branded Ray-Ban sunglasses that were given to the council.
“I didn’t think they were $100 or whatever it was they cost, and I was told it was a part of marketing because we rebranded, and it had our new brand on it,” Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said in a news conference Thursday night.
He and other town council members said that while purchases like that happened, it was hard to see the whole picture of mismanagement.
He added that “we’re going to fix all that.”
But Weinbrecht said the bigger problem was the town’s underinvestment in things like police and fire response services under Stegall.
Read more NC State Auditor releases audit on Cary spending. Read the full report
The town budgeted for 21 new police officers this year — the first time town officials say they’ve added police in a decade.
The town outlined in the report a number of measures it’s taken, some at the recommendation of the report.
Previously, more than 60% of town employees had access to town “p-cards” or procurement cards, which function like a town debit card and are often used by government employees to expedite purchasing.
The town said it’s reduced the number of p-cards held by staff by 25%.
Interim Town Manager Russ Overton said the town will take steps to cut that number down further.
Weinbrecht said that Overton and other senior staff were among the first to speak out against Stegall in a closed session with council last year.
“Our interim manager does not have a p-card,” Weinbrecht said. “Our town clerk does not have a p-card. So they’re already by example reducing the number of p-cards.”
The town has also updated many of its procedures on how to use and distribute the cards, according to its statement.
The report makes other recommendations for spending procedures and calculating the town’s financial reserves. The town said it’s making progress on many of those, with timelines for implementation set for early to mid-2027.
Bansal said in the news conference that it’s going to take time to implement many recommendations for better financial oversight.
“It’s not a quick fix, it’s a police recommendation, there will be a public hearing and there is a whole process for the council before (it) gets adopted,” she said.
The town also budgeted for a new budget director position alongside the two new two internal auditors to address spending concerns.
Cary commissioned its own report, conducted by outside law firm Womble Bond Dickinson.
That report covers similar ground to the state’s, but outlines more recommendations the town can take to address its spending practices.
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This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 12:55 PM.