Published in the February 3-16, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
City hires new assistant city manager
Christina Turner
The city of Morgan Hill hired Christina Turner as the city’s new assistant city manager for administrative services, according to a release by the city. As a member of the city’s leadership team, Turner will be directly responsible to lead Morgan Hill’s administrative services team which includes finance, human resources, information services, council services and utility billing divisions.
Turner will be involved in transitioning the city to a two-year budget cycle, providing strategic leadership for information services, and assessing existing policies and processes to enhance customer satisfaction and organizational efficiency in the most cost-effective manner.
Most recently, Turner has served as the city of Gilroy’s finance director and treasurer, where she was responsible for many functions similar to those she will now oversee in Morgan Hill. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Santa Clara University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Christina also serves as the First Vice President for the Fiscal Officers Department of the League of California Cities and is a member of the League’s Revenue and Taxation Committee.
Turner lives with her family in the Gilroy. “I am extremely excited about becoming part of the Morgan Hill team,” she said in the release.
She will begin March 7.
SCVWD head resigns
Beau Goldie
Beau Goldie, the Santa Clara Valley Water District CEO and a Morgan Hill resident, announced his resignation from the water management and flood protection agency Jan. 15. Goldie was CEO of the water district for about seven years.
SCVWD provides drinking water and flood protection for the county’s 1.9 million residents and has a budget of about $400 million.
The “acting CEO” position will be filled on a rotating basis by the three chief operating officers (COO) starting with COO Jim Fiedler, according to a statement released by the district.
This rotation will continue until an interim CEO can be selected. The interim CEO will be chosen from internal candidates.
The intent is for the interim CEO to serve until the board can select a permanent CEO.
Morgan Hill residents give city high marks
A survey recently commissioned by the city shows residents are highly satisfied with Morgan Hill’s quality of life, with 90.5 percent of respondents rating the city’s quality of life as “excellent” or “good.” The survey also showed that residents view maintaining public safety, streets and roads, fiscal stability, and maintaining a safe, clean, reliable local water supply, as important city priorities.
The survey was conducted by Godbe Research from Nov. 20 to Dec. 9 2015. It cost $33,050 and was funded through the general, water, waste water and community development funds.
“We are happy residents have given us a good quality of life rating,” Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer said.
Among other findings, the survey found respondents prioritized maintenance and repairs to the city’s water system. An overwhelming 86.4 percent of respondents agreed this infrastructure work is necessary.
The survey also showed respondents value Morgan Hill as a great place to raise a family with 92.2 percent saying Morgan Hill was an “excellent” or “good” community for doing so.
“Ensuring Morgan Hill is a great community for all families is always one of our priorities,” said Rymer. “We must ensure the city can continue to provide quality parks and youth programs needed to keep kids safe and out of trouble.”
The survey also showed residents were interested in providing local funds for city services, including public safety, streets and roads, parks and city buildings, among others. About 58 percent of likely November 2016 voters indicated they were interested in providing locally-controlled funding that cannot be taken by the state, for these types of programs.
For more information about community survey results, visit www.morganhill.ca.gov/1493/2015-Community-Survey.
Good news from 2014 ag report
The agricultural economics report, commissioned and released by Santa Clara County Agricultural Commissioner Joe Deviney, shows good news.
The county’s 2014 ag production was valued at $276.2 million, up nearly 5 percent from 2013. The top two crops for the past decade have been nursery stock and mushrooms, which require less land than more traditional crops.
Nursery crops brought in $75.5 million, and mushrooms $72.1 million. Bell peppers, a land-intense row crop, were third at $15.4 million. Cherry production was down 70 percent to $2.6 million.
– Staff Reports
