At City Hall, finance director Tammie McMichael struggles to balance a $24.4 million annual budget. The town no longer collects MillerCoors' yearly half-million-dollar payment in lieu of annexation — the plant sits just outside city limits — or its $910,000 check for water and sewer service. Following MillerCoors' shutdown notice, Berger, Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein rallied with Teamsters members and others outside the plant. Berger says it was a rare rapprochement in politically divided North Carolina. Workers held signs directed at MillerCoors, "We produced for you, now produce for us by saving our jobs." Republicans who promoted deregulation now favor government intervention, an irony not lost on Berger.