Small Town, Big Responsibilities: Town Manager Patrice Toney On Her First Year in Carrboro

GOVERNMENT

When Patrice Toney became Carrboro’s town manager, she left an assistant-manager job in a city ten times as large. That doesn’t make running Carrboro easier — just different.

Toney began work in Carrboro in May of 2024, after working as assistant city manager of Winston-Salem. The population of Winston-Salem is roughly 253,000, Carrboro’s 21,000.

Size matters

“Winston-Salem has a significantly different organizational scale and structure,” Toney said in an interview. “I focused on operations, project oversight and internal systems.” While Carrboro’s issues are as complex as Winston-Salem’s, her role here is more hands-on and her actions have greater impact.

“To be assistant city manager in a larger community, you have departments, there’s more internal oversight,” Toney said. “As manager, every decision carries a broader implication. You’re not advising only — you’re setting the tone.” Ultimately, she’s accountable for the entire city government and its effect on the community, plus she answers directly to the town council.

“I’ve learned that as a leader coming into an organization how important it is to pace change as much as lead it,” Toney said. “Progress is not just about what we do but how we do it.”

While Winston-Salem’s city government pays attention to voices in the community, Toney said, it’s a different vibe from Carrboro. “In this kind of local, small community, more people are engaged. The community’s voice is integrated at every stage of policy making.”

Carrboro town manager Patrice Toney

Wins and challenges

The best thing about working in Carrboro? “It’s the people, the vibe, the energy. We have deeply engaged residents that are passionate, we have talented staff, the Carrboro community stands on and leans into its values.”

Toney said there’s a shared commitment to equity and inclusion that shows up every day in Carrboro programs, neighborhood actions and in conversations she has with Carrboro’s people.

The biggest challenge? “Balancing our bold aspirations and the constraints of limited resources.” The aspirations include Carrboro’s efforts to fight climate change; completed capital projects that require ongoing spending on maintenance; and the constant challenge of finding or creating affordable housing. “Small municipalities face fiscal limits, requiring creativity.”

Carrboro needs even more creativity now, in the aftermath of Chantal, which among other things flooded the town’s Public Works facility and the vehicles parked there. Toney said rebuilding after that and other damage done will require realigning and reallocating the town’s financial resources. Still, “Challenge and opportunity go hand in hand” and she’s confident the town staff will find solutions to the challenges ahead. Along with recovering from Chantal, those include managing growth, finding affordable housing, navigating Carrboro’s budget constraints and renovating town hall to make it ADA compliant.

As for the past year, Toney says she’s proud of everything Carrboro’s accomplished. That includes the town launching its Office of Sustainability; opening the Drakeford Library Complex, the town’s largest public facility; completing upgrades at Baldwin Park playground and renovating the Martin Luther King Park pump track; and winning an All-American Cities Award.

She’s also proud of the town sticking to its principles: “In a time when equity and diversity seem not to be honored, Carrboro stands on those pillars in a national light.”

Toney said one thing people don’t realize is that “the town manager’s work is 24/7. It’s a lot of listening, anticipating, empowering, and strategizing about what happens behind the scene. It’s less about pronouncements than building bridges.” The bridges stretch between town staff and the town council, community voices and planning, between community and council expectations. “It’s a tremendous privilege and I honestly approach it every day with a sense of gratitude for this opportunity.”

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press