At the end

of last week's Peachtree City Council meeting, which was a somewhat warm

and cordial affair considering the mood of city politic of late, Councilman

Murray Weed declared, "I feel a tremendous need for a group hug."

It never happened.

But the sentiment was sincere, perhaps.

In the first

meeting since The Citizen reported on growing division among councilmembers,

it was mostly business as usual. At least one councilman confided that

an unspoken "truce" of sorts had been declared out of respect

for new city manager Bernard J. McMullen, who was officially hired Thursday

at an annual salary of about $110,000.

But that didn't

stop the barbs from flying, if more good-natured than in the past. Councilman

Steve Rapson prepared a report on the history of votes taken by the council

that showed the panel agrees unanimously on city business the vast majority

of the time, and in fact disagrees more often on issues revolving around

the business development. But Dan Tennant interjected that a diverse council

which doesn't disagree on at least some of the issues is "not a bad

thing," and Annie McMenamin agreed.

Mayor Steve

Brown accused Tennant of going behind his