Chatham County operates under the Commission-Manager Plan of local government. The Board of Commissioners makes policy, adopts laws, sets budget limits, sets tax rates and hears zoning cases. The Board appoints a county manager who serves as the chief administrative officer to carry out the policies and handle day-to-day responsibilities.
Savannah's City government adopted a council / manager form of government in 1954. The current city council, which consists of the Mayor and eight Alderman; levies taxes, enacts ordinances, adopts the annual budget and appoints the City Manager. The City Managers is responsible for carrying out the policies and programs established by Council, recommending the annual budget and work programs, appointing bureau and department heads, exercising general supervision and control over all employees of the City.
Gateway's mission is to be a leader in the provision of comprehensive community services for mental health, substance use disorders, and developmental disorders and disabilities to the people and communities it serves. Gateway Behavioral Health Services, as an instrumentality of the State of Georgia, is a public community-based organization serving eight Georgia counties: Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, Liberty, Chatham, Bryan, Long and Effingham.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission provides traditional and non-traditional planning for Chatham County and various municipalities located within the county to include such projects as: the Savannah Historic District, the Historic Site and Monument Commission, the Chatham County Historic Preservation Commission, the Chatham County Resource Protection Commission, the City and County Zoning Boards of Appeal, and the Coastal Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (CORE MPO) Committees.
The Armstrong Campus is the University’s residential campus in the vibrant city of Savannah. The intellectual home for about 7,000 students, the campus offers the feel of a private college with the affordability, diversity and resources of a Carnegie doctoral/research university. On the Armstrong Campus in Savannah, students can choose from more than fifty majors in areas of Science, Business, Education, Public Health, the Fine Arts, Humanities and the Health Professions. Indeed, the Water’s College of Health Professions continues to be the largest producer of undergraduate health professionals in Georgia.
The Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council (CCSNPC) is a county-wide planning body of key stakeholders interested in improving health care for the uninsured and underinsured. Our goal is to make the health care system for primary care stronger, increase the size of the system within our community, make it easier to find health care and link the uninsured and underinsured to a medical home. The Council also strives to make Chatham County healthier by working together on common problems.
Formed in 1985 by the Pattillo Construction Co, the Pittulloch Foundation focuses on the prevention of root causes. When the foundation was formed, they looked at issues from poverty to illiteracy and decided to the best way to address the wide range of disparities was to supporting education and reading in particular. The Pittulloch Foundation has been part of Reading Recovery, Head Start and most recently has joined forces with Resilient Teens and Resilient Georgia.
Reinvestment Fund is a mission-driven financial institution committed to making communities work for all people. They bring financial and analytical tools to partnerships that work to ensure everyone has access to essential opportunities: affordable places to live, access to nutritious food and health care, schools, where children can flourish, and strong local businesses that support jobs.
Georgia Tech-Savannah offers professional education courses and community outreach for individuals and businesses in the Coastal Empire and surrounding regions through education for veterans to K12 STEM enrichment and outreach, leadership training, coding bootcamps, OSHA training, and applied research.
The goal of the Chatham County Health Department (Coastal Health District) is to serve the more than 250,000 citizens of Chatham County by providing preventive healthcare services. At the Chatham County Health Department they offer adult and childhood immunizations, TB skin testing, STD testing, STD treatment and more. Our STD testing includes syphilis testing, gonorrhea testing, chlamydia testing and HIV testing. Family planning and women services include pap smears, birth control and pregnancy testing. The Chatham County Health Department has two locations in addition to an Environmental Health office and the Chatham CARE clinic, which is dedicated to the health needs of those living with HIV/AIDS.
Healthy Savannah Inc. is dedicated to making Savannah a healthier place to live. Our aim is to increase opportunities for citizens to engage in physical activity and consume a nutritious, balanced diet. During the summer of 2007, Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson launched the Healthy Savannah Initiative, with the aim of making Savannah a healthier place to live. Our mission is as follows: we will lead and support healthy lifestyles in Savannah by: Creating an environment that makes a healthy choice an easy choice; Building a collaborative network that identifies and shares resources; Collecting and disseminating information; and Promoting best practices, supporting innovative programs, and Advocating for effective policies.
Loop It Up is a community art program founded in 2008 which began at the West Broad St YMCA. The program grew quickly and now serves adults and children through schools, museums, community centers, businesses and neighborhoods. In 2015 Loop It Up became an independent nonprofit and serves over 10,000 people each year and growing.