Decatur’s commission approved a raise for longtime City Manager Peggy Merriss Monday, increasing her base salary from $162,000 to $170,000. Based on a survey of metro city managers’ base salaries, this ranks just below the 75th quartile.
Merriss was hired by the city in August 1983, 10 days after her last graduate class at the University of North Carolina. She became city manager in May 1993, replacing Curtis Branscome, who held the job for the previous 19 years.
Merriss’ tenure, which spans four mayors, is currently one of the Georgia’s longest in the same city, though still short of John Bennett, Rome’s city manager for 30 years before his 2014 retirement.
Merriss admitted she’s entertained offers over the years from cities of varying sizes.
“Either the timing wasn’t right,” she said, “or the community support didn’t match what we have here.”
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