European parliaments have a

name for it: Loss of confidence. Longtime City Manager Jim Basinger last

week read the political signs from the remade Peachtree City Council majority

and gave his bosses a two-week resignation notice Friday.

His departure by Sept. 20 continues

a sweep of the City Hall Old Guard by the new council that began with

the election of Dan Tennant in late 1999 and concluded with the elections

of Steve Brown, Murray Weed and Steve Rapson last fall. The change at

the top also signals a consolidation of power under new majority management.

Council named Colin Halterman

to serve as the interim city manager while the search for a new city manager

is ongoing, a City Hall news release said Tuesday. Halterman will assume

his new responsibilities Sept. 17. Halterman is currently the director

of public services, a position he has held for nearly 18 years.

In a written statement, Basinger

said he decided to retire "after being advised that the (city) council

has not made a decision regarding the renewal of my contract."

Basinger's departure is the

third significant personnel change for the city in previous weeks. Recently,

City Attorney Rick Lindsey also resigned, and he was preceded by Jim Williams,

longtime head of the city's planning and inspection services, who decided

to accept a job as Fairburn city manager.

Basinger's contract with the

city requires notification by Sept. 30 if either party chose not to automatically

renew the deal, which compensated him $100,200 a year.

Basinger was hired 18 years

ago during another Brown administration, that one under Mayor Fred Brown.

Basinger was the city's first full-time city manager. He had recently

retired from the military when he came to Peachtree City. During Basinger's

tenure, Peachtree City has grown dramatically in population while having

one of the smaller employee to population ratios in metro Atlanta.

"There is no doubt in

my mind that the operation of each division will continue to function

at the highest level of proficiency and productivity, because each of

you will continue to do your job to the best of your ability," Basinger

said.

Political rumors had circulated

that Basinger had been involved with a rival political faction in an effort

to discredit the current mayor. The controversy came to a head Friday

when former Mayor Bob Lenox acted as the prosecutor in a magistrate court

hearing on charges Lenox had brought against Brown, accusing him of theft

of city services. The charges involved a city secretary who volunteered

on city time to take Brown's daughter to golf camp while he attended a

meeting with county officials.

No warrants were issued (See

related story on this page).

Brown and Basinger in an unusual

joint press release Monday took pains to distinguish Basinger's role in

that controversy from the decision to resign.

The press release says that

Administrative Services Director Jane Miller first notified Basinger of

the matter being a possible ethics violation minutes before Brown's meeting,

which was with county officials to negotiate the Local Option Sales Tax

distribution formula. At the time, Basinger decided the LOST meeting took

priority, knowing Brown wouldn't have time to make other arrangements

for his daughter.

Basinger had to wait until

after the LOST meeting to broach the issue with Brown, who responded by

picking up his daughter from golf camp so the secretary would not do so.

Later, Brown penned a letter of apology to city residents for his oversight.

In that letter, Brown offered

to repay the city to compensate for the employee's time. He has said since

he wants the city's ethics board to hear the matter and determine how

much he owes.

Also since then, the matter

was fashioned into a criminal complaint against Brown for alleged theft

of city services by former Mayor Bob Lenox. Under cross-examination Friday,

Lenox said he was angered by the report of Brown's use of a secretary

for baby-sitting but could not recall from whom he heard the report.

The complaint was dismissed

Basinger penned a sentimental

good-bye letter to notify city employees of his decision. In the letter,

he thanks city workers for "first-class" customer service.

"Please know and take

pride in the fact that you give our citizens much, much more than a dollar's

worth of service for each and every tax dollar they pay," Basinger

said. "Please also know that I truly appreciate your professionalism,

your work ethic, your dedication to the city, and most of all your friendship.

"... It has been truly

a joy working with each one of you, and I will always treasure the memories.

I will miss you." Reporting by JOHN MUNFORD ([email protected]).

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