Savannah City Council members are prepared Thursday to name Stephanie Cutter city manager.

Cutter was named acting city manager Oct. 4 after council, in a split vote, accepted the resignation of Rochelle Small-Toney.

The entire piece is well worth reading.

I have not met Stephanie Cutter, but there are a few things that seem obvious. She’s a capable manager. She has run the city for a little over six months with essentially no drama. I haven’t heard anything negative said about her by city employees — not a word. She has successfully won the confidence of the vast majority –if not all — of the members of city council.

Cutter also does not seem to be an ideologue or someone unwilling to revisit current policies and former decisions.

That flexibility will be critical to maintain. Especially since Cutter has been with the city for many years, she could fall into a defensive posture and not be able to respond adequately when city personnel prove inadequate or policies are clearly not working. The city is bringing on a new revenue director, for example, who will almost certainly want to see some changes to the current alcohol ordinance, which has many problematic elements. How will Cutter handle the prospect of changing policies that were once pushed by current council members?

I’ll add that I’m certainly not sorry to see us avoid another national search, which would almost certainly get wrapped up in issues of race.

And I hope that those who thought that the widespread opposition to Small-Toney was due only to racism and/or sexism are paying close attention to the support that Cutter has won in recent months. Small-Toney had an even longer period of time in which to win over the public and council.

P.O. Box 1027 Savannah, Georgia 31402
TEL: 912-651-6410 TDD: 912-651-6702 FAX (912) 651-6408
NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Date: October 4, 2012

Stephanie Cutter named Acting City Manager

Savannah City Council today accepted the resignation of Rochelle Small-Toney as City Manager and appointed Stephanie Cutter as the Acting City Manager. The action occurred at a Special City Council Meeting Thursday morning.

“What this action does is allow our City to begin moving forward again,” Mayor Edna B. Jackson said. “For too long our community has been divided along social, economic, racial and political lines. It is time for us to come together as a united Savannah, and create the community that all of us can be proud to call home.”

Ms. Cutter had served as Assistant City Manager of Administrative and Community Services since December 2011, and as Acting Assistant City Manager since May 2010. In this capacity, she oversaw two bureaus – Management Services and Community & Economic Development – which house a total of 28 departments.

She is a Savannah native and Windsor Forest High School graduate whose professional career began in 1976 with the Georgia Department of Corrections. She joined the City of Savannah in 1989 as a budget analyst. Over the next decade, she was promoted to Senior Budget Analyst, Management Services Coordinator for the Assistant City Manager, and Director of the Residential Refuse Department. In 2002, Ms. Cutter was appointed Acting Chief of the Sanitation Bureau, which became a permanent appointment the following year.

She earned both her Bachelorâ€s Degree in Accounting and Masters of Public Administration from Savannah State College (now university). She holds national certifications in Solid Waste Collection, Landfill Management and Public Works Management. She received Senior Executive Leadership Training from the University of Virginia in 2010, and is a Leadership Savannah graduate.

“I am truly honored to even be considered for this appointment,” Ms. Cutter said. “I assure you that during this period I will lead this city based on three principals: trust, transparency and accountability.”

I’ll repost here the organizational chart for the city so you can see how all these positions fit together:

Good question. On a bench in Charleston.