Buried Asset Management Institute

The establishment of the Buried Asset Management Institute-International, Inc. (BAMI-I) was inspired by Atlanta’s Mayor Shirley Franklin, “The Sewer Mayor.” During her first year in office (2002), she made it clear that her vision was to move the City’s water program beyond consent decree compliance to being “first-in-class.” With tremendous courage, she took innovative actions to execute this vision. Over the years, she has not relaxed year commitment. In 2002, she formed the Department of Watershed Management (DWM); appointed Jack Ravan as commissioner; transferred the drinking water program from a privatization program into the DWM; and began implementing a program to address huge challenges.

During the latter part of 2002, Commissioner Ravan appointed Dr. Troy Norris as a senior advisor. In January 2003, Dr. Norris and I met with Commissioner Ravan to discuss ideas to accomplish the Mayor’s vision. This discussion gave birth to what is known today as BAMI-I. For the first 1½ years, BAMI existed as an entity within the DWM with primary objective to assist the senior management team with investigating innovative approaches to overcoming the challenges in accomplishing the vision. One of the first initiatives was to seek a resolution between the City of Atlanta’s BAMI and the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM). Dr. Norris and Dr. Tom Iseley met with NCBM’s Energy and Environment Committee at their annual meeting in Houston in 2003. This resolution was approved by the Committee and the NCBM Board of Directors and signed by Mayor Franklin. This initiative has turned out to be a major milestone and accomplishment for BAMI-I. Another major milestone was the reception conducted at Atlanta’s City Hall to honor Mayor Franklin, Commissioner Ravan and the City Council for providing heroic leadership for the water industry.

BURIED ASSET MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE