Town of Benson paid $9,768.97 toward Kimberly Pickett’s MPA, later demanded money back; Pickett contends a subsequent town manager contract eliminated the repayment obligation
BENSON — A year after the Town of Benson demanded that former Town Manager Kimberly Pickett repay money the town spent toward her graduate degree, none of the money has been repaid.
And Pickett says she does not owe it.
Records obtained by The Johnston County Report detail a previously unresolved dispute over nearly $10,000 in taxpayer-funded tuition provided to Pickett while she worked for Benson. The town contends a five-year repayment provision was triggered when Pickett left Benson in June 2025. Pickett argues a later employment contract she signed when she became town manager made the earlier agreement null and void…