BATON ROUGE - Appointed Mayor of St. George Dustin Yates spoke Monday at Press Club about the progress of the new city's transition, but also what's coming in the future. 

Yates highlighted the progress of the city transition over the last couple of months. 

"I think everything is moving very smoothly, I thank my council for that," Yates said.

One thing Yates highlighted was the need for a city manager. He explained St. George is working toward a council-manager form of government that would spread power among city leaders. 

"Running a city most certainly isn't a one-man job but everything in any type of organization whether its city government or something else it all comes back to leadership, and you want somebody in that leadership role that actually is qualified and experienced in running the day to day operations of a city," Yates said. 

A major talking point when St. George finally became a city, was developing new school districts. Yates said that as the city is still in the process of forming a government, establishing a school system will have to wait. 

"I was appointed to start a city, not a school system, regardless of what we think of the school system. I think most people in East Baton Rouge Parish, if not all of them, think we could do better. The City of St. George I'm sure at some point in the future wants to be a part of that solution," Yates said.

He said all of these things will create a better future for the city.

"I think doing what we're doing here, establishing the charter, establishing not just the nuts and bolts of our government but establishing a culture, that's important," Yates said.

Yates predicted that it would be the spring before all of St. George's government is up and running.