Cary Leaders Hold Annual Retreat Amid SBI Probe Into Former Town Manager

Cary town leaders held a two-day annual retreat during the week of Feb. 20–21, 2026, days after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced it would review how Cary police handled a 2016 drug investigation in which police records show a vehicle belonging to former Town Manager Sean Stegall was present outside a motel where officers believed drug sales were occurring.

Mayor Harold Weinbrecht opened the retreat by framing it as a moment to rebuild public confidence and to expand public access to town decision-making. “We have lost trust. Trust takes years to build and a second to destroy, and whether it's your fault or not, that trust is gone. And to build trust, you have to have transparency,” Weinbrecht said, and pledged a “wide open budget process this year.”

The retreat, which included conference sessions and financial briefings already scheduled on the Town of Cary calendar, was presented as a planning forum rather than a venue for final decisions. “It’s a time and place where we set the direction for the year and coming years,” Weinbrecht said, adding that Cary’s newly seated council, five council members with a total of eight years of experience, as he described it, would be engaging in in-depth discussions. “If you’re expecting to see detailed answers at the retreat, you’re probably not going to see much of anything like that,” he warned.

State investigators’ announcement came the day before the retreat, when the SBI said it will review how Cary police handled the 2016 drug investigation. Police records from that investigation documented a vehicle registered to Sean Stegall parked outside a motel where officers believed drug sales were taking place; the SBI statement described the review as focused on the police handling of that probe.

Cary officials highlighted procedural transparency during the event. For the first time, the town livestreamed and recorded the retreat so residents could view sessions at a later time, and organizers posted a link on the Town of Cary website for live viewing. Town leaders also emphasized that the retreat agenda had been set in advance, with conference sessions and financial briefings the core items under discussion.

Weinbrecht returned repeatedly to the theme of openness as the town moves forward. “I want you to see everything we're doing,” he said, and later added, “We want you to know everything we're doing, everything we're saying, everything we're discussing, because we're not hiding anything. We'll tell you and give you anything that we have.” The retreat closed with council members signaling continued discussion of budget priorities and governance practices in the weeks ahead.