A familiar

face has been appointed by the Peachtree City Council to serve the rest

of the year in the council seat formerly held by veteran councilman Robert

Brooks.

Former Peachtree

City Finance Director Steve Rapson was appointed by council after a lengthy

interview process with him and 11 other candidates in an open council

meeting Tuesday night. Council narrowed the field to four finalists before

selecting Rapson in a one-point margin over resident Fred Wellman.

All four council

members agreed it was difficult picking just one of those four candidates.

Minutes after

Rapson was announced as council's top choice among 13 other candidates,

he told The Citizen he wants to help out with the upcoming budget process

and planning for the city retreat in March.

"My goal

... is to get council to think about where we want to be three to five

years from now, not just about balancing the budget for next year,"

Rapson said.

Rapson also

said he wanted to help instill a "sense of citizen trust" in

the City Council and city government as a whole. He said he wants to be

accessible to city residents and listen to their concerns.

Rapson was

not sworn in immediately. He left after the meeting to board a bus for

Washington where he was helping chaperone local students, including his

daughter, on a trip to the nation's capital.

"I look

forward to working with city staff and all my old friends and former managers,

whom I consider my friends."

Rapson, who

left his position as city finance director for a similar job at the Fayette

County Board of Education, later became the budget manager for Fulton

County government. A 10-year resident of Peachtree City, Rapson is also

a certified public accountant and his wife, Kristi, is the director of

the city amphitheater.

Council members

interviewed after the meeting indicated that Rapson was an excellent choice

for the position based on his previous experience with the city, reducing

the time needed to get him up to speed.

Rapson "can

be a tremendous asset as we discuss several issues that may require creative

financing if we are to address the requests of many citizens," said

councilwoman Annie McMenamin.

Rapson was

one of four finalists selected for a more intensive interview process.

The other candidates were:

Alison Chambers,

23, an employee providing legal support for the Alston and Bird law firm

in Atlanta.

Murray Weed,

35, who served as the county attorney for four years in Lowndes County,

currently employed at the Fincher and Hecht law firm in Morrow and also

a former police officer.

Fredrick Wellman,

35, a project manager for PMSI-Project Mentors and a graduate of West

Point military academy who served in the U.S. Army until April of last

year.

Wellman was

a close second choice, falling just one point behind Rapson in the points

total after council members' ballots were tabulated. Councilman Dan Tennant,

who ranked Wellman as the top candidate, said Wellman was "well informed,

articulate and put forth views that I believe would put citizens' interests

first."

Local resident

Steve Brown announced that he was withdrawing his name from consideration

for the council spot so he could run for mayor. Brown indicated that he

decided to run for mayor after learning that Willis Granger had decided

not to run for that position.

Another candidate,

Christy Dunkelberger, had to leave early after beginning to feel ill,

it was announced.