ASHEVILLE — For the six months she worked this year before retiring, former Buncombe County manager Wanda Greene received more than $500,000 in pay through a retention incentive she gave herself, a retirement payout and her regular salary, according to employee records released Thursday.

Greene's annual base salary was $247,110, but records show she made more than double that in half the time.

In addition to her salary, she also paid out the rest of a retention incentive she gave herself and at least 10 other employees and took advantage of a retirement benefit that gives out half a year's salary to eligible employees.

The information was released Thursday in response to a public records request filed by the Citizen-Times and other local news media.

Greene, who led the county for 20 years, is under federal criminal investigation. Details have not been disclosed, but U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose called it "a law enforcement matter" when her office confirmed the investigation in mid-August.

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The county on Thursday did not say Greene's actions were illegal. Officials declined to comment on whether Greene's pay was part of the investigation.

"We can't speak to that," county attorney Michael Frue said.

Records show that in addition to $309,348 paid out between retirement and the retention incentive, Greene also in 2017 received nearly $68,000 for unused paid leave and about $7,400 in longevity pay. Pay in addition to her annual salary totaled $384,526.

Thomas Amburgey, Greene's attorney, declined to comment Thursday.

The retention incentive program was instituted in 2015 under a budget ordinance, officials said. It was meant to combat the unexpectedly high number of people who took advantage of early retirement, a program that commissioners voted Tuesday to stop at the end of this year.

Those who received the incentive would be paid one year of their salary to encourage them to stay. The recipients were chosen by Greene, Human Resources and Community Engagement Director Lisa Eby said Thursday.

Eby became human resources director in August under a reorganization led by new County Manager Mandy Stone. She did not receive a retention incentive.

Under the program, Greene was paid $241,790 over 18 months.

Other employees who received a retention incentive were Stone, Assistant County Manager Jon Creighton, Sheriff Van Duncan, Clerk to the Board and Public Relations Director Kathy Hughes, retired tax director Gary Roberts, Air Quality Director David Brigman and Identification Director Patricia Freeman.

Greene's sister, Irene Wolfe, also received the incentive. Wolfe, whose annual salary was $106,051 as financial services manager, took a "voluntary reassignment" four days after the investigation was confirmed. She became an accountant and took a $30,000 pay cut, bringing her current salary to $75,650.

Wolfe has received $104,145 through the retention incentive program since 2016.

Three commissioners addressed the findings during a Thursday meeting with reporters: Ellen Frost, Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and Robert Pressley. Chairman Brownie Newman briefly attended the meeting while Pressley stepped out to avoid a quorum.

Beach-Ferrara, who's serving her first term on the board, said after the meeting that commissioners take allegations of wrongdoing seriously.

"There's an opportunity for a new philosophy for how we manage the county as an organization, how county resources are managed," she said. "I think the public should be concerned when they see these numbers."

She added, "We have a total responsibility to ensure that every tax dollar gets spent to serve the community."