The Norcross City Council held a special-called meeting before the regularly scheduled Aug. 24 policy work session to appoint former Henry County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews as the new city manager, effective Sept. 11.
Outgoing City Manager Eric Johnson, semi-retiring to Florida in two and a half weeks after six years leading the Norcross government, congratulated Hobson-Matthews later during a policy work session.
“Cheri, you’re going to love this place,” Johnson said. “It has its sense of place, and I’ll say more in a couple of weeks.”
City transition phase
City officials spent the last three months working with a consultant to narrow down more than 200 applicants to a group of highly qualified finalists before settling on Hobson-Matthews.
“The path here has been nothing but delightful,” Hobson-Matthews said. “I have had so many residents, business owners, and community members reach out, and so I am extremely excited.”
She spent more than two decades in the Henry County government, including almost 10 years as county manager. Her parents, husband, daughter, and her future son-in-law attended the special-called meeting along with some friends from Henry County.
“I’m excited to be here, and I’m excited to set the standard,” Hobson-Matthews said. “I’m excited to see what we’re going to bring to the city of Norcross … thank you all so very much, and I’ll be here bright and early in the morning.”
Elected officials also voted unanimously to approve Hobson-Matthews’ new employment and transitional consulting contracts, allowing her to work with city staff for the next two weeks.
The employment contract runs from early September through August 2029. The publicly posted annual salary range is $215,000-$235,000, which is on par with or below most surrounding jurisdictions.
Contract discussion
Before the vote, Norcross City Council member Josh Bare said he wants to ensure the city is not transitioning its leadership a couple of months before a municipal election in a little over three years.
The employment contract, approved by all four council members, calls for annual performance reviews and check-ins.
Council member Matt Myers said the elected officials will know whether they want to renew the contract well in advance of the automatic renewal expiration and will have opportunities to extend it.
“We should probably do our due diligence well in advance of that,” Myers said. “This should force our mechanism to say, ‘there’s no automatic, so we need to go do something.'”
Mayor Craig Newton only votes when there’s a tie, which is more likely with four sitting council members, pending November’s special election.
“Cheri is known as a collaborative, thoughtful, and results-oriented leader who values transparency, accountability, and strong community relationships,” Newton said. “Her exceptional public service is well-known throughout the state, and we’re excited to welcome her to the city of Norcross.”
Community funding requests
During policy work sessions, council members do not vote on agenda items. Instead, the city council holds a regular meeting once a month, typically on the first Monday at 6:30 p.m., upstairs at city hall.
Council members discussed about $37,000 in grant funding after hearing from the leaders of four local organizations, including a Gwinnett County agency, a local high school sports team, and two Latino nonprofits.
The two largest grants were $15,000 each for Prospera, specializing in business seminars, consulting, and technical assistance for Latino entrepreneurs, and Asami-ATL, providing Cub Scout programs for low-some families and children.
This year’s funding would allow 60 children across both of Asami-ATL’s Scouting programs to access the Norcross Women’s Club Library, a city facility on Monday and Tuesday nights, as well as some Saturday mornings.
Prospera plans to use the city’s investment to focus on Norcross-area programming and business support, according to a staff memo.
Norcross officials are also considering requests from the Norcross High School football team for $5,000 to cover helmets and $1,600 from the Gwinnett County Soil & Water Conservation District for its local public school programming.
The city council is set to vote on the requests at its Sept. 8 regular meeting.
Norcross Downtown Development Authority Chair Jim Eyre told council to approve the funding requests to support local families during the public comment period.
“Scouts. They’re asking for in-kind services; give it to them,” Eyre said. “What you guys didn’t see was that when there were a bunch of little kids sitting in here, there were parents one-for-one supporting them out there. That is crucial.”
