Christina Turner, 41, was appointed Morgan Hill’s newest city manager in October 2017. A native of Santa Clara and a Gilroy resident since 2001, Turner is in the process of moving to Morgan Hill with her husband, Lou Zulaica, and their 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.
Before the five-member city council appointed Turner to her current position, she worked as Morgan Hill’s Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services. She has a strong professional background in finance and public accounting, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce in Accounting from Santa Clara University, and subsequent work with a large accounting firm and credentials as a Certified Public Accountant.
“During this time, I grew familiar with the accounting, finances, and operations of Fortune 500 and high-tech companies, startups, nonprofits and the medical industry,” Turner said. “I then went into the private sector and worked for a large independent power producer in Securities Exchange Commission reporting and Financial Planning and Analysis.”
Her career in public service began with the City of Gilroy in 2006, where she worked as Assistant Finance Director, and then Finance Director/Treasurer for a decade before the City of Morgan Hill hired her.
Turner and her family enjoy the outdoors, and watching their teenagers play baseball, basketball, soccer and sing.
Below, Turner answered a few questions from the Times about her work in Morgan Hill, and the future of the community and local public services as the city continues to grow.
What are your ultimate personal and career goals as a public servant?
My goal as a public servant is for the Morgan Hill teammates and me to deliver the best possible customer service. I want residents, business owners and visitors to feel welcome when in Morgan Hill. I strive for Morgan Hill to always be a special place that provides a safe, fun and diverse community environment. I want to be approachable as a leader. I will collaborate with the council, community and teammates to carry out Morgan Hill’s vision.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the City of Morgan Hill in the coming years?
As with all cities, Morgan Hill has several fiscal challenges in the coming years. This includes replacing/maintaining critical infrastructure (primarily streets and roads), the rising costs of pensions and the escalation of other costs. To meet these demands, we need city revenues (sales tax, property tax, grants, etc.) to keep pace with the increasing expenditures.
Are there any ways you plan to use your knowledge of the City of Gilroy to promote more regional cooperation on issues that impact both cities equally?
Morgan Hill and Gilroy have unique opportunities to work together to achieve efficiencies. For many years, Morgan Hill has provided environmental services to Gilroy. In addition, the two cities have a joint sewer treatment plant. The cities partnered for the receipt of grant funding from the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program (CalGRIP), which successfully reduced gang and youth violence.
I will continue to foster the relationship between Morgan Hill and Gilroy and consider other areas where synergy can result from partnership. Discussions have commenced in other areas, including homelessness, High Speed Rail and public safety. Most recently, both cities are working together on transportation issues to ensure that South County benefits as much as possible from Measure B transportation funds. This includes expanded CalTrain service, as well as having the electrification of Caltrain to Gilroy, rather than stopping in San Jose.
Any thoughts on how to attract more jobs to Morgan Hill, where there are about 70 percent as many jobs as there are working residents (as of 2014)?
Morgan Hill adopted our Economic Blueprint that aims to target specific industries for the economic vitality of our City and to create jobs for our residents. These four industry areas are innovation and advanced manufacturing, retail, tourism and healthcare. We are establishing a work plan to target companies in each of these areas. The Economic Blueprint will allow us to focus our efforts in promoting Morgan Hill as the ideal place for companies to locate.
Do you think Morgan Hill will ever be able to attract a major high-tech company to set up shop in town? What are the barriers/challenges standing in the way of something like that happening?
Morgan Hill is special in so many ways, including our location in Santa Clara County, with a good mix of agriculture, business and residential developments. We have a very active Economic Development team that works with and solicits commercial and industrial development in our community to add to our existing rich portfolio of businesses.
We have the space and resources for a major high-tech company. Recently, we responded to the request for proposals from (online retail giant) Amazon for its second headquarters. The marketing and economic development research and preparation completed for our response will be helpful for other potential developments. Our success will depend on our ability to improve our telecommunications (and) transportation system, and provide adequate housing.
There are a number of restaurant/retail spaces, a hotel and more than 100 new housing units under construction in downtown Morgan Hill. How do you see the city being able to handle the associated impacts on streets infrastructure, traffic flow and downtown public safety when all these projects are complete?
Part of the fee structure for development projects includes development impact fees, which are intended to cover the projects’ incremental impact on the city’s infrastructure. These fees cover infrastructure such as sewer, water, traffic and public facilities. New development leads to additional sales tax and property tax that is used for providing operational services to the city, including public safety. The city receives gas tax based on population, that is used for the maintenance of streets.
In addition, the passage of Measure B (Santa Clara County transportation sales tax), as well as Senate Bill 1 will assist the city in road repairs. The city’s operational and capital expenditures are reviewed during the budget process and throughout the year to prioritize each of these needs.
After last winter’s heavy and, in some cases, devastating rains throughout the region, what has the City of Morgan Hill done to prepare for potential flooding and other rain-related impacts?
Morgan Hill has an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team with individuals from all city disciplines. We meet regularly to prepare for emergencies, from earthquakes to flooding. EOC members are trained in all aspects of emergency response and recovery.
All city workers are designated as City Disaster Workers and could be called upon during the event of an emergency. We have developed exit routes for citizens and periodically send out emergency reminders.
We are working closely with the Santa Clara Valley Water District regarding its plans for controlling the level of Anderson Dam. Officials from the district presented plans at a recent meeting and we will continue to jointly meet.
Recently, we responded to the request for proposals from (online retail giant) Amazon for its second headquarters. The marketing and economic development research and preparation completed for our response will be helpful for other potential developments.
