Chief of Police

[Colleen Pate]

Colleagues—

In light of the City Manager announcing the two finalists for Chief of Police, I wanted to share information with you about the upcoming meet-and-greet and our next steps as a Council.

Both finalists will be in town next week to be introduced to the community at a meet-and-greet at the Palmer Event Center on Tuesday, July 23rd. The event begins at 6 p.m., with doors opening to the public at 5:30 p.m. Free parking will be provided in the adjacent parking garage, accessed from Barton Springs Road or Riverside Drive.

Community members are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the event that may be included in the moderated discussion using the SpeakUp Austin page ( https://speakupaustin.org/e6382 ) or by calling 3-1-1 or (512) 974-2000. Questions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. today. The City will also accept questions from event attendees between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday ahead of the official start of the meet-and-greet which will be considered for the question-and-answer portion of the evening.

At the community event, the City Manager will introduce the two finalists he has selected. The public will hear opening remarks, followed by a question-and-answer session for each candidate, moderated by Emcee, Judy Maggio. After that, attendees will have an opportunity to interact directly with the candidates from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

I anticipate the Manager will select a sole finalist by Friday, July 26th, although that is entirely at his discretion. Should that be the case, I anticipate that the Council will meet to consider and possibly take action on the confirmation of the City’s next Chief of Police during a special called meeting on Tuesday, July 30th.

Thanks,

Kirk

On Behalf of Mayor Watson