COVINGTON, Ga. — Covington Council has chosen to take the "interim" tag from before Tres Thomas' name and give him the permanent position managing the city government’s day-to-day operations.

The council Monday, Dec. 12, voted to appoint Thomas as city manager after he served in the interim role since May 16. 

"As a dedicated and loyal 21-year employee, Tres brings a wealth of knowledge about the infrastructure of Covington to the office of city manager as well as a deep devotion to our community and its citizens," said city spokesman Ken Malcom.  

Thomas was appointed as interim city manager following the May 3 resignation of Scott Andrews — who took a position with Bakersfield, California, city government after three years in Covington.

Before Thomas’ appointment, he worked over a two-decade span in a number of roles with the city.  He began work as the city engineer in 2001, and subsequently worked as assistant public works director, public works director and planning director.

Thomas also previously worked as a project engineer for Pendergrass & Associates Inc. in Conyers, Brownfields Services Inc. in Roswell, Farmer Oil Inc. in Oxford, and Holston Companies in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama and received additional training through the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Southern Poly State University in Marietta.

His certifications and registrations include Georgia Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Surveyors, ASFPM Certified Floodplain Manager, GSWCC Level II Certified Design Professional, and Management Development Program and Public Works Management certifications from the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Thomas was among 51 who applied for the position after the council chose to seek applicants for the permanent position in September. 

The council narrowed the search to four applicants, after which the city conducted background checks and settled on Thomas and Lorri Smith, who is chief financial officer and comptroller for the Georgia Department of Public Safety. 

Smith later withdrew her application for the city manager job and the council chose to interview Thomas.  

The city manager leads the day-to-day operations of Covington’s government, which has a $157.4 million budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year and more than 300 employees. 

Covington’s last two city managers, Andrews and Leigh Anne Knight, negotiated and received an appointment to work under contract, city attorney Frank Turner Jr. told the council in May. 

Before that, city managers of Covington did not work under contract and only served “at the pleasure of the city council,” Turner said.