LUMBERTON — As investigations into excess demonstrated by North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control boards continue, records show that local store managers’ compensation is nowhere near the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in other parts of the state.

The salaries of Robeson County’s six store managers range from $18,240 to $44,906, and their earnings mostly correlate to profitability: Lumberton’s manager earns the most, and the two stores reported 7.53 percent profit last fiscal year; Maxton’s manager earns the least, and the store reported 0.42 percent profit last year, according to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

Pembroke’s ABC store was closed during 2009.

Concerns over ABC transparency were raised in November when it came to light that the ABC Board chairman in Charlotte was treated to at least one lavish dinner by a liquor distribution company, and father and son administrators in Wilmington received large salaries — upward of $330,000 — and bonuses from the New Hanover County ABC Board. Gov. Beverly Perdue has since asked the 163 ABC boards in the state to crack down on board members with tighter regulations.

Robeson County’s ABC boards operate on a municipality system where store managers answer to the local ABC board, and the board reports to the local government. Some parts of the state, like Cumberland and New Hanover counties, operate on a county system where stores are under the county’s jurisdiction; an administrator answers to the county ABC Board and supervises the managers at each ABC store in the county.

In both cases, the ABC Board determines employee salaries, and the general statutes that govern ABC operations don’t regulate salary.

The Lumberton ABC Board has been operating since 1986 and has two stores. Last fiscal year the board reported more than $3.3 million in total liquor sales and 7.53 percent profit — ranked 68th in the state. By law, a portion of the stores’ profits go to mental health and law enforcement monthly, and to the county and city quarterly. Each quarter $50,000 from the Lumberton stores is split so 65 percent goes to the city and 35 percent goes to the county, said Rod Page, who has managed the stores since 2002.

Page makes just shy of $45,000 annually to manage two stores. The Lumberton ABC Board has modeled its pay scale after the city’s pay system.

“We run this store strictly by the statutes the way it’s set up. Each board has its own way of doing things and we’re complying to exactly what’s set by law,” Page said. “I think you’ll find it mostly that way across the state. Most of the boards operate within the parameters set by the statutes, and if you don’t do that you have a problem.”

The St. Pauls manager, Charles Dove, earns $33,500 annually. His store reported 6.59 percent profit last fiscal year, ranked 77th in the state.

In Red Springs, Carl Bounds manages one store that last year reported 4.96 percent profit, No. 105 in the state. He earns $25,000 annually.

Rowland’s ABC store reported 3.59 percent profit last fiscal year, No. 124 in the state, and manager Glenda Hunt Locklear earns $19,800 annually.

Fairmont’s manager, J. Cary Sealy, earns $31,200 annually, and the store reported 1.55 percent profit last year, ranked 143rd in the state.

And in Maxton, Diane Watson manages one store that reported 0.42 percent profit last year, No. 147 in the state. She earns $18,240 annually.

Pembroke’s store has been closed since October 2008 after an audit showed money and merchandise were missing. In November the store received permission to re-open, and Joshua Malcolm, chairman of Pembroke’s ABC Board, has said the board is looking for a manager “with integrity and we’re looking for someone with experience. People can learn how to manage a store, but they can’t learn good character.”

Page said he thinks overall, the state’s ABC system is working.

“The state is being paid a lot of tax money,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with the system — it’s working really well as far as I’m concerned. Most of us feel like it’s a pretty good system.”