Pat Monahan is the current City Manager and is counting down the days (less than 80ish days) before retires to his hammock in his cabin in North Carolina - and he's serious this time. After turning down the offer over and over, Pat decided to step out of retirement and assist the city (Georgia's 2nd largest municipal organization) as interim City Manager in July 2019, during a transition period when former City Manager, Rob Hernandez, took a job down in Florida. Pat had already served 29 years as the Assistant County Manager and retired in 2012, before he started his own consulting business, Governomics. One of his iconic projects includes the Savannah International Trade Center.
In the first 2 weeks as City Manager, Pat performed a SWOT analysis, which helped identify the focus areas/targets he delved deep into during his 10 months, including:
- Adopted Budget - millage rate
- SPLOST passage
- Arena groundbreaking
- Vacancies filled
- 5-Year Capital Improvements Plan development
- Federal Highway money for DeRenne project
- New Public Works Complex
- Municipal Complex to house all City services
- Homelessness initiatives
- Choice Neighborhood Grant
Pat says he's definitely retiring. However, Bret pulled together TOP 10 WAYS TO GET PAT MONAHAN TO STAY ON AS CITY MANAGER and this list goes like this:
10. Mike Nadeau agrees to throw in lifetime supply of high-end minimalist running shoes.
9. Set aside time every City Council Meeting for Pat's "This Week in Obscure Savannah History" lecture.
8. Henry's Restaurant agrees to make All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Wednesdays a daily thing.
7. Repaint the majestic City Hall Gold Dome a hideous Florida Gator orange.
6. Move the Waving Girl to Talahi Island as a nice treat for Pat when he commutes home every evening.
5. Robert McCorkle agrees to submit no more rezoning requests.
4. Convert City Manager's Office into woodworking shop. Change City Manager duties to that of City Carpenter.
3. Allow Pat to work remotely from hammock on porch of North Carolina cabin.
2. Flat out bribe him with the title of 2020 St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshal.
1. New City Council agrees to act sanely, use good judgement, and conduct efficient meetings.