Gwinnett Daily Post

LILBURN - Lilburn's City Council officially named Bill Johnsa city manager Monday, and he immediately began working.

With a quorum of herself and two council members early Monday, Mayor Diana Preston gained approval of Johnsa's $95,000 salary and a contract that includes vacation time, communication devices and use of a city vehicle. The meeting lasted only about five minutes, she said.

Preston, who stepped in for the city's day-to-day operations when the former city manager resigned last February, said she was glad to have Johnsa working immediately on city projects such as a proposed new city hall, a trail system and redevelopment.

The city will host a welcome reception for Johnsa, the former Dawson County manager, from 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 13 at City Hall.

Johnsa worked for the county as a probation officer from 1986 to 1995 before becoming the trial court administrator for the Northeastern Judicial District in Gainesville. From 1999 to 2005, Johnsa was the longest-tenured Dawson county manager, overseeing an annual $22 million budget and a staff of 200 full-time employees and 100 part-timers.

For the past three years, he has worked as chief operations officer for his family business, Floor South.

Johnsa, of Flowery Branch, is the husband of Lisa Johnsa, Gwinnett County's finance director who is currently working on an agreement between cities and the county for an upcoming sales tax extension vote.