Morrill to Replace Esser as GFOA Executive Director

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WASHINGTON – Christopher Morrill, the city manager for Roanoke, Va., will take over as executive director of the Government Finance Officers Association on May 1, replacing Jeff Esser.

Esser will retire on June 30 after 35 years as GFOA executive director, giving Morrill a two-month transition period. Esser joined GFOA's office here in 1979 and served as director of the group's federal liaison center until 1982 when he took over as executive director. He oversaw a growth in GFOA's membership to 19,000 from 9,000 during his time with the organization.

Morrill, a former GFOA president and the city manager of Roanoke since 2010, said it is "an honor to take on the leadership of GFOA, an organization that has been an important part of my professional development."

He said in an interview that he first got involved with GFOA in 1990 and was drawn to the role of executive director in part because it will give him the opportunity to work on state and local issues at a broader level than he currently does with only one community.

Morrill said he plans to focus on the group's best practices, training, support and advocacy that have been well established under Esser, as well as building relationships with other state and local groups to accomplish goals like maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.

Morrill said one of the broadest challenges for state and local governments is finding how to work effectively in the 21st Century world. He gave examples of things like internet sales, hotels.com, Uber, and other aspects of the sharing economy that make traditional revenue generating for investments and infrastructure more complicated.

"These are challenging times for state, provincial, and local governments," Morrill said.

Marc Gonzales, GFOA president and chair of the search committee, said Morrill impressed the search committee and the GFOA board with "his vision, his leadership, and his commitment to the public finance arena." The search took several months and involved various rounds of interviews and presentations.

"His breadth of knowledge and ability to work effectively at all levels of government make him the right choice to lead GFOA at this important time in the world of state and local government finance," Gonzales said.

Before being appointed city manager of Roanoke in 2010, Morrill had served as assistant city manager for Savannah, Ga. since 2001. He was also research and budget director for Savannah from October 1990 to October 1992 as well as from December 1994 to October 1999.

Morrill also was a senior municipal finance advisor for the Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, N.C. from October 1999 to August 2001 and a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Lviv, Ukraine from December 1992 to October 1994.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Public Administration degree from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Morrill additionally has attended institutes focused on environmental leadership and earned certificates in county administration and budget and financial planning.

Before coming to GFOA, Esser was a staff director of government operations for the National Conference of State Legislators from 1975 to 1979 and director of criminal justice and consumer affairs for NCSL from 1973 to 1975. He has a BA degree in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and has worked toward his Master's degree in Public Administration at George Washington University.

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