Sit down with Austin's new city manager, T.C. Broadnax

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several weeks after starting as Austin's next city manager, T.C. Broadnax sat down with KXAN to talk about his time in the role so far and what to expect from him in his first 100 days.

Overall priorities

Broadnax put out a memo with some of his priorities earlier this month, which included hiring a new police chief, getting a contract signed with the Austin Police Association and addressing Austin's homelessness issues.

"I think that a city manager gleans from the council. And so understanding those priorities, whether it's hiring a police chief, whether it's really trying to figure out how we get better at our homelessness response systems, or get many of our capital projects moving, and understanding the gaps in other service delivery issues and challenges that the city has had -- that's how I came about that list," Broadnax said.

Working with APD

To address one of those priorities, the city recently launched its search for a new Chief of Police for the Austin Police Department. Applications will be accepted until June 10, unless the hiring agency sees a need to extend that deadline. We asked Broadnax what he wants from a permanent police chief and what the public engagement process will look like:

"We're going to be having a community survey that will ask the public, 'Hey, what do you want to see in your new police chief? What should their priorities be? What's important to you?' I think, going even further and to drill down, we're actually doing a similar survey internally to the police department," Broadnax said.

As for what Broadnax himself hopes to see: transparency, an understanding of the department and working "to get the best out of the men and women in the police force." That includes improving morale which will go hand-in-hand with incentivizing recruitment and retention, Broadnax said.

We also asked the city manager what his conversations with union leaders, including the Austin Police Association, have been like so far:

"Well, they want what's best for the people that they represent. And oddly, those things marry up with what I expect and what I would want from the people that work for me in the city. And so I have a vested interest in every employee, whether sworn or civilian. And so I think we want the same things," Broadnax said.

Staff changes

The city manager announced Monday, he is bringing two executives from Dallas to Austin to fill available positions. We asked about those appointments and if there would be any further staff changes:

"I'm excited about both of those appointments," Broadnax said. "We're going through a few more processes. Obviously, there are some vacant positions at many levels in the organization, so I don't have any specific individuals that I am looking to or for as it relates to any new positions that are coming about. But I am still learning and understanding the team that I've got and finding a way to assess that talent as well as assess what we're doing, and I'll make those decisions as I see fit in the future."

First Austin City Council meeting

Hundreds of speakers showed up to Thursday’s Austin City Council meeting as the body looked to make major Land Development Code changes. Council listened to the public from 10 a.m. Thursday until early the following morning.

We asked Broadnax about his first meeting on the dais with the Austin City Council:

"It was interesting. I will tell you, I think not having been here as it relates to all of the breadcrumbs that led to that meeting, for me it was telling just one how engaged the residents are and two how important the issues particularly around land use and zoning are," he said.

Overall, what have you heard from the public so far?

Broadnax says he's met with city council members, unions and city staff and heard from the public both in his hiring process and in some of his early days as city manager.

"All the conversations have been forward-looking, not looking in the rearview mirror about what hasn't happened, what didn't happen the correct way. It's really about how do we find ways to get where we all want to go and bring people along?" Broadnax said.

"I'm just looking forward to continually working in that type of environment and working with the community and then working with my team to figure out how we execute many of the things we've heard outside of City Hall," he said.