Ray Gibson’s hefty experience in planning and zoning is a major reason he was chosen to become Fayetteville’s new city manager and he is ready for the task.
“I’m very excited,” he said in a recent interview. “Fayetteville has set the standards already. It has great hospitals, great schools. There’s a lot to build on. We’ll work together.”
Gibson is quick to praise the work that came before him and said he will continue to make sure staff members are given the recognition they deserve for exceptional work.
“This isn’t about one person,” he said. “I strongly believe in giving credit where credit is due.”
Gibson joins other city officials in expecting an upturn in the economy to spark development requests in Fayetteville and said his experience in that area was surely an asset in getting the job. “Part of the discussion was my strong planning background,” he added.
Among his planning and development jobs is a five-year stint as director of the Henry County Department of Planning and Zoning. When he was there, the county had about 60 requests a month, said Fayetteville City Councilman Mickey Edwards. “That’s frightening. We have been stagnant for so long, that we felt like if it did take off like everybody thinks, that he would be invaluable.”
Gibson, 42, currently serves as administrative and community services director for Stockbridge, but also served as the city administrator there before taking the position of city manager in Cochran, Ga.
He has a degree in Urban Studies and worked in many planning and development positions before moving into city administration. He also has worked in his native Canada, Massachusetts, Vermont and in Dalton, Ga.
“I like the weather (in Georgia) and I hate shoveling,” said Gibson, whose wife, Sonja, is a Georgia native. “People are a lot nicer in the South.”
Gibson was vetted through the Georgia Municipal Association and personally recommended by Mike Bush, Fayetteville director of Finance and Administrative Services, Edwards said. “You just have to rely on people’s recommendations,” Edwards added. “He (Bush) spoke very highly of him, said he is easy to work with.”
All the candidates were very experienced, Edwards said. “If we had taken the worst one, we would have been in great shape, the quality was that high.”
Gibson, who will earn $95,000, will replace current City Manager Joe Morton, who has held the job three different times.
Morton served as Fayetteville City Manager from 1994-1998 and as Peachtree City Assistant City Manager and Director of Financial Services from 1998-2000.
He returned as Fayetteville City Manager in 2000 and served in that capacity for nearly a decade and a half. Morton retired nearly two years ago, but returned to the position on a part-time basis.
