Decatur’s new city manager begins Jan. 1

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Decatur’s new city manager begins Jan. 1

Decatur’s commission approved Andrea Arnold’s contract, which runs through Jan. 1, 2021, and includes an annual base salary of $170,000.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Arnold becomes Decatur’s third city manager since 1972. She was selected from a pool of 109 candidates from 21 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 40 from Georgia. She’s worked for the City of Decatur for 21 years and has been an assistant city manager since 2004.

Peggy Merriss, who presided over her final commission meeting on Dec. 17, has been Decatur’s manager for 25½ years - the longest tenure since the city converted to the council-management form of government in 1924. Until now she has been the city’s only woman manager.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com