City employees will say farewell to Pete Connet and welcome Paul Sabiston next Thursday at the Jo Story Senior Center.

Employees are paying for the luncheon from their own pockets, Mayor D.N. Beale said this morning. The luncheon will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Beale said an event introducing new City Manager Sabiston to the entire community is being planned. Sabiston begins his job Monday. Interim City Manager Connet will stay to brief him.

Connet bid council farewell at its Tuesday night meeting.

Beale said the city was glad to have Connet. “He’s really a nice guy. I’m sure Smithfield (where he previously worked) was glad to have him.”

Sabiston has been in Shallotte nearly five years and was town administrator in Mexico Beach, Fla., before that.

The city manager will earn $95,000 a year and will receive a monthly car allowance of $350 and 35 cents per mile for business travel outside Halifax County. He will receive a PDA/Blackberry device from the city and will be reimbursed up to $9,000 for moving expenses with the understanding he gets two estimates.

The city will pay temporary living expenses of $500 per month until he obtains a sale and closes on his existing home not to exceed six months. He is required to obtain permanent residency within the city limits within six months.