Chris Carter Succeeds Father on Dallas Council

The l filled its final seat Monday with the son of the man who last sat in it.

Ward One Councilman Kelly Carter having . At Monday’s Dallas City Council meeting, Mayor Boyd Austin Jr. announced the appointment of Carter’s son, Chris Carter, to his late father’s position, an appointment unanimously approved by councilmen.

“It’s a good opportunity to serve,” Chris Carter said after Monday’s meeting. “I’m a lifelong resident of the county and the city, and it’s very important for me to serve the citizens.”

Chris Carter represents the third generation of his family to serve the city. His grandfather, the late Clarence D. “Buck” Carter, also was as a city councilman, having served in the 1960s.

“As third generation, it’s very bittersweet, especially coming in the middle of my own dad’s term as council,” Chris Carter said. “I had planned to run after he decided to retire.”

Carter will serve the remaining two years of his father’s unexpired term, after which he says he will pursue reelection.

“I really want to get in and learn more,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn, a lot that I learned from my dad, and there’s a lot that I want to learn myself.

In other council business, councilmen approved a memorandum of agreement between the city and the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District that will have the city continue to participate in the district’s residential toilet rebate program. City Manager Kendall Smith says the city is setting aside $1,500 for the rebates, which are awarded to those who replace their less-efficient toilets with approved low-flow toilets.

“The city through the water district will give you a reimbursement for the cost of the commodes. What we’re trying to do is get people to change the old water-hogs for water conservation,” Smith said.

More information on the program can be found here.