Canton Names New Assistant City Manager

CANTON, GA — The City of Canton announced recent staff promotions including the creation of a new assistant city manager position this week.

Nathan Ingram will transition from the chief financial officer for the City of Canton to the new assistant city manager position. The new assistant city manager position will oversee the operational components of the City of Canton, including finance, human resources, technology, municipal court operations, and special projects.

Ingram has served as the chief financial officer for the city for the past eight years. He joined the team following a decade of service as an auditor for a private CPA firm, which included extensive auditing work of local government finances. Ingram graduated from North Georgia College and holds a license as a certified public accountant.

Melissa Forrester received a promotion from accounting services manager to finance director.

Forrester joined the city over 11 years ago, serving in the positions of accountant, budget analyst and most recently as accounting services manager. She holds a degree in accounting from Kennesaw State University and a master’s in business administration from Reinhardt University. Forrester also holds a license as a certified public accountant.

The City of Canton operates an annual budget of $53 million. Additionally, in the Canton Police Department, Captain Wendell Turner received a promotion to deputy chief of police following the promotion of Stephen Merrifield from that position to chief of police in January.

Turner has over 27 years of law enforcement experience to include almost six years as the director of public safety for the City of Statesboro, where he managed police, fire, and 911. Turner joined the Canton Police Department four years ago as a captain over the support services bureau. He has a bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University and a master's in public safety administration from Columbus State. He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.

“We have a fantastic team at the City of Canton, and it is always an honor to promote from within when there are such highly skilled individuals in our organization,” City Manager Billy Peppers said. “The mayor and council have been supportive of our organizational changes, and we certainly look forward to continuing to serve our community in an efficient and effective manner.”