PIQUA — The city of Piqua has announced Chris Johnson has been hired to fill the newly developed General Services Director position.

Johnson is a skilled public administrative leader with over 20 years of experience, said a city of Piqua press release.

Johnson said in the release, “I’m honored to be selected as the general services director for the newly created general services department at the city of Piqua. By centralizing and eliminating redundant procedures and establishing city-wide policies and processes, we should see more standardized operating methods, reduced costs, and ultimately added value for the citizens of Piqua.”

Previously, Johnson was the director of operations and facilities for the Miami County Board of Commissioners in Troy, providing administrative oversight for county operations and facilities, managing approximately $10 million in operating and capital project budgets, purchasing, energy and utility functions, property risk, and fleet services.

During his time at Miami County, he implemented a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) that was adopted by the County of Ohio Risk Sharing Association (CORSA) and expanded to 50-plus other Ohio counties, established a preventative maintenance process for all county facilities, and oversaw county facility projects including historic property renovations.

Prior to his time at the county, he consulted for private companies and public charter schools thru his firm DiLa Services LLC. He was previously the director of business operations for the Milton-Union Exempted Village Schools in West Milton, Ohio.

“After two years of assessing organizational efficiency, it was determined that there is a need for a general services director to oversee consolidated operations. By centralizing many functions, the general services director will be able to find efficiencies and reduce expenditures. This key role will optimize our internal operations while moving the community forward,” said Piqua City Manager Paul Oberdorfer in the release.

The general services director will be responsible for planning, directing, and evaluating municipal operations, including fleet management, GIS, facilities management, IT management, and purchasing and procurement. He will direct and supervise the general services department while also managing city purchasing affairs.