Okaloosa County BOCC — November 4, 2012 — Colin Baenziger — reading text

consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the president-elect. At the association's annual meeting in June, GFOA members voted for a slate of nominees for president-elect and five new members-at-large, each of whom is profiled below. [Note: We have included only the information for Christopher Morrill who was appointed as an at-large board member.] CHRISTOPHER P. MORRILL Assistant City Manager--Management and Financial Services City of Savannah, Georgia Chris Morrill has been a GFOA member for 17 years. He is a member of the GFOA Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning and also served on the GFOA Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy from 1994 to 1999. Morrill has been an instructor for various GFOA training seminars including Budgeting for Budget Analysts, Capital Budgeting, and Best Practices in Budgeting. He also reviews budgets for the GFOA's Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation Program. He has spoken on issues including economic development at GFOA annual conferences as well as at Florida and Georgia GFOA conferences. He has also written articles for the Government Finance Review. Morrill shares his expertise internationally He was a municipal finance advisor to the South African National Treasury and a Peace Corps volunteer in public finance in Ukraine. He is a Fellow of the Kellogg National Leadership Program. In Savannah, he instituted annual five-year financial planning and five-year capital planning, reducing the tax millage rate by 27 percent in 10 years. -40-  Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) July 19, 2008 CITY MULLS HIKE ON TAX REVENUE, RISING FUEL COSTS GAS PRICES, LOWER REVENUE BEHIND SAVANNAH'S CONSIDERATION AGAINST ROLLING BACK PROPERTY TAX FOR FIRST TIME IN A DECADE Author: ERIC CURL, 912-652-0312, eric.curl@savannahnow.com High city fuel costs and less consumer spending mean some Savannah property owners will pay more in property taxes this year. City Manager Michael Brown recommended during a City Council workshop Thursday that the board not roll back the property-tax rate as it has done for the past 10 years. "We could reduce it, but there are several reasons not to," Brown said. "We're recommending you stick with what you got at the moment." Maintaining the tax rate at its current level of 12.5 mills - or $12.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value - means the owner of a $125,289 home will pay $19 more than in 2007 due to increased property value, said Assistant City Manager Chris Morrill. Those same property owners would only pay $9 in additional property taxes if the tax rate was rolled back to the recommended level. Savannah officials contend the extra money is needed because the city is facing a projected $1.1 million shortfall in sales-tax revenue and about $800,000 in unexpected fuel costs. Much of the revenue decline comes from a drop in food, automobile, home and lumber sales, Morrill said. A larger-than-expected increase in property- tax revenue is enough to cover the difference but only if the tax rate is kept flat. Commercial and residential properties that are not primary residences could see more of an increase because they're not protected by the Stephens-Day Homestead exemption, which essentially freezes a home's taxable value but factors in consumer price index fluxuations. There have been some positive developments during the year, Morrill said. Property-tax revenue is expected to increase 3 percent more than the city originally anticipated, which would bring in an extra $1.9 million. More than 60 percent of the growth in property value, about $228 million, comes from new development as opposed to reassessed values of existing property. "This is the type of growth we want," Morrill said. The implementation of energy savings programs in city buildings last year, such as new heating and air-conditioning controls and weatherized buildings, has resulted in a reduced power bill, Morrill said. "It's the first time I can remember we are actually spending less on electricity," he said. Hotel and motel tax revenue appears likely to come in even or slightly above the budgeted amount. "Savannah has been amazing the last five years," Brown said. "A lot of these (hotels) are running around with 70, 80 percent occupancy." Still, the tax rate needs to stay where it is to cope with the ongoing "recession," Morrill said. Mayor Otis Johnson said he was concerned Georgia lawmakers could limit the amount of property-tax revenue the city takes in after making unsuccessful tax reform measures this past legislative season. "So I think we have to take a very conservative approach to what we do," Johnson said. "The question is will we ... get caught up in the trend of the day and want to get on the rampart and say we cut taxes. If we cut taxes, what are we going to cut in services?" -41-  Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) May 1, 2008 LNG NEVER PAID FIRE FEES SAVANNAH OFFICIALS WANT TO COLLECT MORE THAN $500,000 IN UNPAID BILLS Author: SCOTT M. LARSON, 912-652-0397, scott.larson@savannahnow.com The El Paso Corp. made more than $1 billion last year, in part from the liquefied natural gas plant it owns on Elba Island. But the company refuses to pay nearly $500,000 the city of Savannah claims the company owes in fire protection fees from the last three years, plus $178,000 due in October. "I can't imagine $178,000 to protect the community that they are located in would be a real financial hardship for the company," said Assistant City Manager Chris Morrill. In fact, in its 30-year existence on the island, the multi-national corporation has never paid for fire protection. It never has paid for the eight calls to which Savannah Fire & Emergency Services has responded since 2001. But the city still covered the plant, including a freebie on Sept. 24, 2001, to rescue four people working at the site who got trapped in a basket 80 feet in the air. Now, the plant is in the middle of a fire protection controversy. After the city went to the company about the past due bill, El Paso decided to sign a contract with Southside Fire & Emergency Services. "I'm not sure what their thinking is, but I can tell you if they want real fire protection for an industry, the city of Savannah is the only entity that can provide that level of service," Morrill said. "So it must be about money." El Paso spokesman Bill Baerg would only say that Southside is a better fit, although city officials say Southside doesn't have the same capabilities. Fire aside, the plant and others like it are concerns for environmental activists and politicians alike. Area activists argue that the plant poses a serious fire and explosion threat. Liquefied natural gas is a natural gas cooled to minus- 260 degrees, but it won't burn in its liquid state. Industry officials say that means it won't explode and level houses for miles as opponents claim. The Elba Island facility opened in 1978 but closed two years later. It re-opened in 2001 and has never had any incident with the 200 ships that have delivered cargo there since. The U.S. Congress is worried about terrorists attacking liquefied natural gas ships. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Coast Guard to enforce security zones around arriving tankers. El Paso's Savannah site is approved to nearly double to 15.7 billion cubic feet by 2012. -42-  Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) March 26, 2008 LOGO UNITES CITY SERVICES LOCAL DESIGN FIRM CREATES UPDATED BRANDING FOR CITY ON MODEST BUDGET Author: EMILY GREEN, For the Savannah Morning News You've probably seen it around town. The subtly scripted "Savannah" prominently placed in black beside a tilted, abstract version of the city's historic green squares. The city of Savannah's new logo is gradually showing up on everything from maintenance vehicles and parking meter receipts to letterhead and envelopes. "It was important that the design be timeless, not trendy, so it would not go out of style," Morrill said. "This should be a viable design for decades." Don't let the simplicity of the logo fool you into thinking it is just another pretty design. Months of research and proposed sketches by local design firm brightwhitespace, partnered with an identity design committee made up of city employees, went into the production and implementation of the updated logo, now visible all around Savannah. IDENTITY CRISIS The plan for rebranding the city of Savannah's image began during a conversation concerning the more than 40 individual logos that represented various service departments. Film Commissioner Jay Self and Assistant City Manager Chris Morrill discussed a need for one unifying look to represent the city as a single entity and thus began the initial stages of rebranding. The many existing department logos were not coherent or recognizable as part of the city of Savannah. Some didn't even represent the intended service to the public, creating potential confusion for citizens wondering which services their tax dollars supported. "We have thousands of employees, thousands of vehicles out there doing work all day and people don't think about them all being the city of Savannah," Self said. THEY GET SAVANNAH The city hired Ariel Janzen and Rigel Crockett of brightwhitespace to work on the project in stages. Their previous experience with identities for the Liberty Parking Shuttle and Tourism and Film Department provided some established trust, but more importantly, the committee chose the local firm because they "get" Savannah. "There's so much about Savannah that's so subtle," Morrill said. "You really have to live here to get it. Having a local company rather than some big national firm come in was important to the process." -43-  Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order From studies and surveys to sketches with various colors, typography and imagery, the two teams collaborated throughout the process. PLACE BRANDING "With so much competition for businesses, for visitors, you have to put out a positive image," Morrill said. "You have to put out an image that says 'we have our act together.' " Janzen and Crockett researched other cities with successful rebranding and conducted surveys with Savannah residents, which they used to help compile a list of identity requirements, design specifications and branding goals with the committee. "As with any identity problem, the challenge was one of perception," Crockett said. "Many city employees did not feel good about their outdated 1950s-style, institutional business cards. Additionally, because each of the city's departments had a unique logo, citizens were not always able to identify which services the city was actually delivering." WHAT'S IN A NAME "We realized that the word 'Savannah' itself has a very positive message in it," Self said. "It's a beautiful name to visitors and to locals alike. Instead of minimizing that, the word 'Savannah'