About the City Manager

About the City Manager

Christopher P. Morrill

Christopher P. Morrill was appointed Roanoke's City Manager in March 2010. Mr. Morrill came to Roanoke from the City of Savannah, Ga. where he had served as Assistant City Manager since August 2001.

Previously, he served as Senior Municipal Finance Advisor for the Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, N.C. from October 1999 to August 2001 where he advised the South African National Treasury on local government finance reform; was a fellow of the Kellogg National Leadership Program from 1997 to 2000; and was Research and Budget Director for the City of Savannah, Ga. from December 1994 to October 1999, and from Oct. 1990 to October 1992. From December 1992 to October 1994, Mr. Morrill worked as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, City of Lviv, Ukraine.

He has been an instructor for Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) national courses including “Budgeting Best Practices,” “Budget Academy,” and “Capital Budgeting and Financial Planning”; and for an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) National Audioconference: “Practical Steps to Successful 311/ Constituent Relationship Management Service Implementation.”

Mr. Morrill is the author of The Savannah Story: The Road to Equity and Sustainable Community Development; with Henry Moore in Economic Development in American Cities: the Pursuit of an Equity Agenda, edited by Michael J. Bennet and Robert P. Giloth, State University of New York Press, 2007, pp. 189 – 214; “Best Practices: Ellis Square Public/Private Partnership in Savannah,” Government Finance Review, October 2006, pp. 44 – 47; “Capital Program Considerations in Challenging Times,” Government Finance Review, June 2009, with John Fishbein, pp. 8–13; and The Financial Responsibilities of Local Governments in Emerging Issues in Government Financing, Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2009, pp. 7–24.

He has been involved in numerous committees, programs, and initiatives including:

Government Finance Officers Association, President-elect (2011),

Virginia First Cities, Secretary (present),

National Standing Committee on Retirement Benefits Administration (2008 – present),

National Standing Committee on Economic Development and Financial Planning (2003 – 2008),

National Standing Committee on Budget and Management (1996 – 1999),

Elected School Council representative, Charles Ellis Public Montessori Academy (2005 – 2009),

President, Leadership Savannah Board of Directors (2007 – 2010),

Executive Board Member, United Way of the Coastal Empire (2007 – 2010), United Way of Roanoke Valley (2010 - present),

Elected Official, Southbridge Redevelopment Authority, Southbridge, MA, (1983-1984).

Mr. Morrill holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., and a Master of Public Administration degree from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. He also attended the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership at the University of Georgia Fanning Institute; the Gallup Leadership Institute; and earned certificates in County Administration and in Budgeting and Financial Planning from North Carolina Institute of Government. In addition, he is an International City/County Management Association Credentialed Manager.

He lives in Roanoke, VA with his wife and two sons.