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Rapson named CFO for Sandy Springs govt.Tue, 11/01/2005 - 7:12pm
By: John Munford
Peachtree City Councilman Steve Rapson has a new job, but he’s not exactly sure what all the buzz is about. Rapson is no longer chief of staff for Fulton County Commission Chair Karen Handel. Two weeks ago, Rapson started working as the chief financial officer for Sandy Springs, which will become the state’s seventh-largest city when it officially becomes incorporated Dec. 1. Rapson has left his former job with Handel, who is running for Georgia Secretary of State. Rapson said rumors he heard over the weekend may well explain a recent blog posting on The Citizen’s Web site alleging that he was about to get into more ethics trouble. Turns out, the rumor going around town was that Rapson was going to be the Sandy Springs city manager, which would require him to move there. That’s not the case, said Rapson, who posted his home and cell phone numbers on the Web site to answer anyone’s questions about the issue. By Monday afternoon, Rapson had only fielded one such inquiry, leading him to a conclusion about the authors of the online posts who tried to discredit him. “They just want to be able to trash people,” Rapson said, noting the lack of callers wanting to discuss the matter. Rapson insists he hasn’t been keeping his new job secret, having announced it at a recent Peachtree City Kiwanis meeting, and meeting with a variety of state government officials as he works towards laying out the financial framework for a city that will have more than 90,000 people. Rapson said the commute ends up being about 10 minutes more each way from his Peachtree City home than his previous job. Rapson said there are many similarities between Peachtree City and Sandy Springs, particularly in terms of the high education level of residents. There are also a number of top-level officials of private corporations living in both cities, he said. Rapson himself is working for CH2M Hill, the private firm that has been selected to run Sandy Springs government. Police, fire and 911 services will be provided for the first six months through a contract with Fulton County, Rapson noted. Although Sandy Springs will be more than twice the size of Peachtree City, it will start out with about a dozen employees including a city manager, city clerk, judge and others, Rapson said. It’s possible the city may start its own police, fire and EMS service after the contract with Fulton County expires, he added. Rapson said this new position was too good for him to pass up. The only catch? Rapson will be reporting to a seven-member City Council. login to post comments
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