Six months after retiring as Decatur city manager, the Georgia Municipal Association inducted Peggy Merriss into the Municipal Government Hall of Fame. She received the award during the GMA’s recent annual convention in Savannah.
Also inducted were Mike Starr and Eva Cohn Galambos, both posthumously. Starr, who served as president of the Georgia Cities Foundation since its 1999 inception, died in April. Galambos, who died in 2015, was the founding mayor of Sandy Springs from December 2005 until January 2014.
Coincidentally Merriss confirmed that the Sandy Springs council is voting this week whether to appoint her as that city’s interim city manager. She would replace John McDonough, Sandy Springs’ only city manager since its incorporation 13 years ago, who is leaving for a job in Greenville, S.C.
If approved, Merriss’ contract would start next month and run through the end of the year.
On being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Merriss said, “this was a huge honor.” She added that her nomination originated with longtime staffer Linda Harris and Mayor Patti Garrett. She added that former Mayor Bill Floyd and former Mayor Pro Tem Kecia Cunningham sent letters of support.
According to a GMA press release the Hall of Fame “honors municipal officials who exemplify the best in public service, and who, throughout their careers, have made extraordinary contributions to their communities and Georgia’s cities.”
Merriss worked 35½ for the city of Decatur including the last 25½ as its longest-serving and first woman city manager. Her numerous accomplishments include overseeing two community-driven strategic plans and the rejuvenation of the city’s downtown into a thrumming residential/retail district.
“When you look at cities that are successful,” Merriss said during an interview two years ago with the AJC, “there has to be a unified vision, not only among the staff, but among the elective leadership. You have to determine strategies, build a plan and you can’t stand still. You’ve always got to be asking what’s the next opportunity.”
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