Milton To Hire Former Riverdale Manager.

By DOUG NURSE www.ajc.com

The Milton City Council is scheduled to approve a contract Monday with city manager candidate, Billy Beckett, former Riverdale city manager and former Fayette County administrator.
Terms of the contract won't be disclosed until the contract is approved, said Mayor Joe Lockwood.

Beckett, a 30-year veteran of government administration, also has served a manager in Raleigh County, W.Va.; Franklin County, Va.; and Collier County in southwest Florida. Milton received about 25 applications for the job.

Beckett joined Fayette County in 1985, and served for 15 years.Then, he was Riverdale city manager from 2001 to 2004. Since then he has worked as executive director of the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center, and as city manager of Safety Harbor in Florida.

Milton has been without a permanent city manager since August when Aaron Bovos resigned under fire over missing a deadline to collect about $900,000 in taxes. Since then, Public Safety Director Chris Lagerbloom has been acting city manager.