Former

Fayetteville city manager Joe Morton is on his

way back home if City Council approves his

contract Monday, and Morton says he's happy about

that.

"I'm

not only looking forward to it - I'm getting

a little excited about it," Morton said this

week after the city tentatively announced his

return to its top administrative post last week.

Morton,

who left the city manager's post two years ago to

take a position as Peachtree City's assistant

city manager, has given Peachtree City three

weeks notice and expects to move back into the

manager's office in Fayetteville April 12 or 13.

He

previously held the Fayetteville position from

1994 to 1998.

He

hadn't thought about returning to Fayetteville,

Morton said, but a city councilman phoned him and

asked if he was interested.

"My

initial reaction was that I didn't think

so," he said, "but I sat down with the

mayor and talked about he advantages and

disadvantages, and there were a lot more

positives than negatives."

City

Council has had only one change since Morton left

town - Mayor Mike Wheat retired and was

replaced by former Councilman Kenneth Steele, who

was replaced by Planning Commission member Bill

Talley.

"I'm

familiar with Bill and worked with him on the

Planning Commission, so that's not a

problem," said Morton. "I think I've

got a good sense of the direction they're looking

for right now and I believe I can help them get

there," he said.

"I

like the vision and goals of the council, the

Main Street program and how that fits into

things... I think it's a pretty good

match-up," he added.

Personal

issues entered into the decision as well, Morton

said. His family still lives in Fayetteville

- his daughter is in school in the city and

his wife teaches there.

He

acknowledged that he is stepping into a somewhat

difficult situation with the resignation of

former city manager Michael Bryant under the

cloud of a sexual harassment investigation.

"There's

been a lot of turmoil lately, from all

sides," he said. "I hope we can get

things settled down."

Morton

has spent most of his career in city government

in Georgia, including four years as city manager

in Cairo and two more as assistant city manager

there. He was also assistant city manager in

Moultrie for several years during the 1980s.

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