On August 26, 2024, the Thomasville City Council named a new City Manager; however, the new manager is not at all new to Thomasville. In fact, Chris White has more than 27 years of experience, most of that serving in various leadership capacities, and he is ready to put that experience to work making Thomasville truly a place a part. According to White, there are some challenges ahead, but there is also much to celebrate and build upon.
“First and foremost, I am incredibly humbled and honored to be called to serve my community in this capacity,” said White. He emphasized the importance of being ‘called to serve’ because, at the heart of it, that is what makes public service so rewarding.
“We have an outstanding Council, leadership team and staff that are all focused on making our community thrive,” he said. “Not everyone is cut out for public service, as it can be challenging at times; however, I firmly believe that the positives of giving back to your community are so rewarding that it makes it worthwhile to really build your career on the commitment to serve.”
White said that one of the hallmarks of his tenure will be the culture of service he hopes to instill in City staff. “We have a staff that is unmatched in experience, and they possess a dedicated commitment to serve,” he said. “I want to make sure that any new additions to Team Thomasville truly understand that each and everything we do is a part of our community’s history. When you look at it through that lens, you realize the importance of the work we do, the services we provide and the generational impacts our actions or inactions make. The work of our team truly makes the quality of life in Thomasville so special and the reason nearly 20,000 people choose to call Thomasville home.”
The City of Thomasville has long been the standard bearer across the state, with many accolades under the belt of Team Thomasville. “We were named Georgia’s Downtown of the Year in 2023, which acknowledges the strong downtown environment we have created in partnership with our incredible merchants, restauranteurs and other small business owners,” said White. “We also achieved a Water First designation, which exemplifies the exceptional quality of water service provided by our staff.” In addition, the City also holds a Plan First designation, something that is key in obtaining specific grant funding that in turn helps to build the City’s infrastructure system. Other City departments also share in the accolades, with multiple awards of excellence earned by the Financial Services team.
“Thomasville Police Department also holds the prestigious Gold Standard for the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, which is achieved by less than five percent of agencies in the United States. In addition, Thomasville Fire Rescue has achieved an ISO rating of 2, which is again quite an achievement for a department of our size,” he remarked.
White said that celebrating these successes is important because it acknowledges the achievements and decisions that were made by previous leadership. "Thomasville is the product of good decisions that have been made throughout our history by our leadership, both elected and appointed,” he said. “We are poised to continue in the impressive footsteps of our past, with the strong relationships our Council, leadership team and staff share with our community stakeholders, nonprofits and other invested citizens. I am excited to see the positive growth we will bring to Thomasville, together.”
While there is much to celebrate, White acknowledges that there are also many challenges, with aging infrastructure, paving, pedestrian sidewalks and housing among the items of concern. “Our streets need attention, that is evident,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have very limited funding available to maintain the street resurfacing plan, so that is certainly something that is a high priority.”
The City’s infrastructure, buried deep beneath the surface of our streets and roadways, is also a concern. “We have failing infrastructure that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later,” said White. “Water, sewer and stormwater capital improvement plans have all been devised; however, we lack the funding necessary to implement the improvements we know are needed throughout our community.”
White noted that funding is of great concern to City leadership. “We do not currently have a municipal property tax in our community,” he explained. “This means that other means of revenue, such as utilities revenues or SPLOST funds, are used for projects that are funded by more traditional methods in other communities. For Thomasville, that means that we must be more innovative with how we acquire the funding we need to bring our citizens the amenities that contribute to the quality of life we desire.”
According to White, one of those areas is City parks. “We completed a master plan for our City parks last year, which outlined about $12 million in improvements that were needed across our park system,” he said. “These are all upgrades and amenities that are important to our citizens, so we want to find a way to bring them to fruition. Unfortunately, we also have about $60 million in other infrastructure needs across all areas, so it is a bit of challenge to figure out how to do more with less.”
Doing more with less is a concept that is familiar to the City of Thomasville. “Just like everyone else, the City has also experienced a huge increase in the cost of providing essential services to our community,” he said. “We all know the impact increased costs have had to our personal budgets, but it has also impacted the City’s budget as well. We’ve seen increases in many areas exceeding 30% since 2019, and that certainly impacts our ability to provide essential services to the citizens of Thomasville.”
In addition to infrastructure, White said that City leadership is also concerned with the lack of affordable housing available locally. “In addition, we have hundreds of dilapidated and abandoned structures that create challenges for us,” he said. “Many of these properties are heir properties, which are a challenge across the state to resolve clear ownership rights. As a community, we need to figure out solutions to these obstacles so that we can increase the inventory of affordable housing available to all.”
While the challenges are great, White said that there is an air of excitement for City leadership. “We have a very strong relationship with our City Council, who are all keenly aware of the challenges we face as a community,” he said. “Our senior leadership team, which is comprised of myself along with Assistant City Manager Sheryl Sealy and Chief Financial Officer Ashley Cason, together with our Council have worked to draft a five-year strategic plan that I am very excited to implement for our overall success.”
White said that the opportunities also include technology advancements that look promising for many areas of our utility and enterprise operations. “We are looking at non-traditional, innovative ways we can recover our costs in areas such as our Landfill,” he said. “We also are cultivating strong partnerships with entities such as the Thomasville Community Development Corporation, our Payroll Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, and our state and local representatives, all aimed at producing collaborative efforts to help solve our local challenges.” Specifically, White said that working together for solutions to housing challenges, strategic industry recruitment and creative solutions to sales tax revenue opportunities are all topics that are worth exploring. “In some communities, they are using creative solutions such as Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax, Municipal Option Sales Tax, and Floating Local Option Sales Tax as revenue sources that allow visitors to our communities to share in the infrastructure costs rather than place the burden solely on our citizens. I think we certainly need to be open to these innovative conversations, as we all have challenges that simply shouldn’t be placed on the backs of our residents.”
White added that he understands the importance of exploring additional revenue streams, but as a manager, he must also focus on optimizing resources within the organization. “Sheryl, Ashley and I have been committed to maximizing efficiency and evaluating cost-saving measures for some time,” he said. “We have conducted many efficiency studies to ensure that we are using the money we are entrusted with to its maximum capabilities. That sometimes means asking if the way we’ve always done it is still the most efficient and effective method. We’ve found that in some cases, changes are necessary to continue being good stewards of the funds we are entrusted to manage,” said White.
“While we certainly have challenges ahead, the future for Thomasville is very bright,” White said. “I cannot say enough about the positive relationship we have built with our Council and our community, one that we look forward to continuing into 2025 and beyond. Our team is innovative, highly engaged, sustainable and offers well thought-out solutions to address our challenges. We have a phenomenal leadership team that is poised and ready to carry the torch of excellence for our community.”
“I built my career in service to the citizens of Thomasville, which has allowed me to build a unique perspective of service,” said White. “I grew up here, went to school here and raised my family here. I have been afforded the opportunity to build a vast network of utility and municipal relationships throughout the state, providing me insight and perspective on how other communities operate.”
White said that he knows the responsibility he has as City Manager, remarking, “I truly know how special Thomasville is, and I am committed to preserving the unique qualities that define our City, while we also build a diverse community that is inclusive for all. I am thankful for the opportunity to truly make a positive difference for the community that raised me.” He continued, “If I can make a meaningful impact for the future generations that come after me, a future that provides for long term sustainable economic vitality, for everyone to live, play, thrive and prosper, then I will have done my job.”